Louisiana’s GOP confederacy on the wrong side of history…again
13th May 2024 · 0 Comments
The policy positions of a majority of Louisiana’s congressional delegation, especially those of 56th House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-District 4), recall the old saying, “Enough is enough, and too much stinks.”
After weeks of debate over whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green’s promise to whip a vote to remove him from the speaker’s position holds water, one political observer reminded television viewers that Johnson’s loyalty to former President Donald J. Trump Sr. earned him the nickname the “legal architect of January 6.”
When Johnson’s speakership was announced last October, NBC News reported that the “political team of Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming – who broke with Trump over his baseless claims of a stolen election – circulated a New York Times article that called him “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections” on January 6, 2021.
Indeed, Johnson had led an amicus brief and rallied about 126 House representatives to sign it, all to halt the “unconstitutional acts” of ballot counting in four swing states that Biden won: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Given his Trump-like inclinations, it’s not a stretch to say James Michael Johnson is the leader of Louisiana’s and the GOP’s 21st version of the Confederacy. The Confederacy was on the wrong side of history, and so too are the majority of current GOP elected officials.
The Confederates fought and died to keep human beings enslaved. Today’s Confederates – the GOP – want to turn back the clock to the mid-1800s and refight the Civil War, but most Americans don’t want to go there.
Still, the rebels persist in resurrecting the enslavement of women’s bodies. Just as enslaved women were forced to breed and bear children, so were southern elected officials forcing women of childbearing age to bring children into this world without regard for the life of the mother or child. Ironic, given their proclivity to call themselves pro-life.
Johnson claims to defend religious freedom but is clearly not a defender of liberty and justice for all. Nor are several of his fellow Louisiana elected officials. Reps. Steven Scalise, Garrett Graves, Clay Higgins and Senator John N. Kennedy opposed the certification of the Electoral College ballots. Former Rep. Cedric Richmond and Sen. Bill Cassidy were the only Louisiana officials to accept the electoral counts, WWNO reported.
Scalise, Johnson and Higgins objected to the Electoral College ballots in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Kennedy, one of six senators to do so, objected to the electoral votes in Arizona. Graves objected to the votes in Pennsylvania.
Their obstinance in the face of 60 failed lawsuits contesting electoral counts can only be viewed as anti-American.
Johnson wants a nationwide federal ban on abortion, is pro-gun, and is a staunch proponent of states’ rights. If he had his way, there wouldn’t be a federal government, just a fascist regime.
It’s funny that none of them are smart enough to know that history repeats itself just as much as Trump repeats his diatribes of grievance, because Trump will kick them to the curb when he’s done with them. Just ask former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. The political landscape is littered with Trump cast-offs.
Johnson and his cohorts pursue instant gratification instead of long-term benefits.
They don’t get it. This America isn’t their parents’, nor the America in which they grew up. Nope. This America belongs to and will eventually be run by the millennials and successive generations. Given their intellectual prowess and their demands and protests for truth and justice, they will secure American democracy and their constitutional rights.
No matter what clever word salads they come up with, the fact is that Republican elected officials are trying to turn our democracy into a theocracy, autocracy and fascist state. They, like Trump, want to shred the Constitution in favor of a dictatorial seat of power.
Johnson is opposed to same-sex marriage, a woman’s right to choose and he supports sodomy laws that would criminalize homosexuality.
In 2004, Johnson defended Louisiana Amendment 1, which defined marriage as one man and one woman within the Louisiana Constitution, against legal challenges. Last fall, Johnson also introduced the national version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law in the U.S. House.
And looking at his actions, if he had his way, peaceful protests and the First Amendment would sunset.
What we, the people, are experiencing are wholesale attempts by Republicans and their wealthy donors to install a dictator. It’s not enough for Trump and his minions to have passed the most significant tax cut for the rich in American history. No. Now, they’re coming for women’s wombs, free speech, peaceful protests and the repression of knowledge surrounding what our children can be taught.
The adage remains: “Knowledge is power.” Heaven forbid our children and American citizens to be educated about this country’s history, the U.S. Constitution and civil rights.
With our freedoms threatened and our rights dismantled, we, the people, must do our civic duty for the good of all this fall. And keep America on the right side of history.
This article originally published in the May 13, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
