Jay Weber Show transcript 1-11-21 7:40am
We talked about Ron Johnson deciding to run for re-election, and finally making the announcement official on Sunday, in a Wall St Journal op-ed.
Today-I want to applaud the absolute brilliance of Johnson and his political team- in putting out two ads-immediately- that address his biggest weakness, or issue, on the GOP side of the aisle.
It won’t be the smear campaign that the left has engaged in by misrepresenting his position on the covid vaccines...
And it won’t be the left’s attempt to insist he’s just another Donald Trump.
The issue that has the most potential to harm Ron Johnson with his own side of the aisle, and with his past voters, is the pledge to only serve one more term-and then retire.
And for the record? All sorts of politicians at all levels of government have made that promise- and broken it- and no one has cared.
All sorts of people who ran for office on the issue of ‘term limits’ have gone back on the promise, and gotten re-elected, because voters tend not to care. From mayor to dog catcher, to US senator...it’s a historical standard: somehow, pledges to ‘term limit’ themselves are never kept, and it never matters to voters.
And so-as a precursor to the topic-I will say that-history tells us that most republicans and past Johnson supporters aren’t going to care.
And even if they do ‘in the moment’? Well, come November, what are they going to do? Vote for Mandela Barnes or the democrat?
Come on.
I heard some whining down the dial about this yesterday morning, ‘oh, Johnson made a pledge’. So, what’s Scaffidi going to do? Vote democrat in that race?
If he is, he’s not much of a republican.
So-let’s start with the political baseline that-in general-voters pretend to care about term limits but really don’t care about such pledges.
However- since Ron Johnson -did get elected-as a tea party guy and since he is seen as a more honest, standup guy, by his supporters- it could be more of a problem for him.
And so- to that end- it is brilliant that he had ads ready to go-and got them up immediately addressing this question, and what is his biggest potential liability on his own side of the aisle: but, you said you wouldn’t run again.
There are two versions of the ad-here’s one...
That is a perfectly logical explanation of why senator Ron Johnson wants to remain in Washington DC. And maybe you ‘buy it’, maybe you don’t.
But either way-it gets Johnson past the ‘term limit’ question quickly. And now. Ten months before the election.
It’s genius to do this early-and with these ads. Johnson narrates them himself. He’ll tell you -in his own words-why he’s going back on that pledge-
And- he’ll do so with a compelling argument. Listen to the second version, which is like the first, but focuses more on the logic that- in one short year- the democrats have totally screwed up the country- and I’m the best chance to keep this seat for republicans, so we can block this terrible Biden agenda and rebuild.
I believe the tone of these ads is pitch perfect. He’s stating the obvious. Noting what we have all lived thru and know to be true. These Democrats have screwed everything up.
And then saying...we all must stand up and fight for freedom, and that includes me, and I’m in a rare position to make a difference in DC now. I’m not walking away.
And if you, as republicans, conservatives, and former Johnson voters can’t understand that, well then, you’re going to have a hard vote to take in fall.
You are really going to leave the arrow blank, or vote for a socialist leaning democrat like Mandela Barnes or Alex Lasry?
Really?
That’s your way to ‘punish’ Ron Johnson?
So, he loses the election and goes into a quiet and peaceful retirement with his wife-and his comfortable millions of dollars-
And Wisconsin has a pseudo-socialist representing us in DC?
Who does that punish? Us? Or Johnson?
Come on. Think logically.
Even on the ‘crackpot question’. Even for the people who think, well, Ron Johnson has said some weird things about covid and vaccines and i don’t think he’s helping-
Okay- i can expose nearly all of those controversies as left wing spin-but the main question remains: sooooo....you’re going to vote for a socialist progressive, instead?
Really?
So, you have no discipline, or ideological compass, or overriding value system? You’re just going to vote for the other guy next fall?
Okay.
But it’s stupid.
You think Mandela Barnes can do that better?
Brane’s official statement on Johnson running again was-quote: “the only people celebrating Ron Johnson’s announcement are his donors and the corporate special interest groups he’s bailed out time and time again. Let’s get to work and retire this failed senator.”
Does that sound unifying, or even original?
It’s the same mindless pap- and snotty division-that today’s democrats are famous for.
And by the way: it is a rock-solid guarantee that Mandela Barnes has way more donations from corporate interests and special interest groups than Ron Johnson does. Want to bet?
I’ll be my house on that one.
Every election, lying democrats pretend that corporate America and special interest donors are ‘on the GOP side’. And every election, it is the democrats who get-and take-huge amounts of money from their corporate friends and special interests.
There is-zero chances- Ron Johnson gets more corporate and special interest donations than Mandela Barnes or -whichever-democrat ends up with that nomination.
Zero chance.
So, even Mandela’s mindless, nasty, reflexive statement is a lie. And he knows it.
photo credit: Getty Images