Mike Lee

[[File:Mike_Lee_official_portrait_112th_Congress.jpg|thumb|165px|Look out [[Michele Bachmann]], Mike Lee is gonna bring the crazy!]]
{{uspolitics}}
'''Michael Shumway Lee''' {{lived|1971}} is the [[Tea Party movement|Teabagger]] senior [[Senator]] from [[Utah]], formerly the chair of the Joint Economic Committee, and as of 2025 the chair of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources<ref>[https://www.lee.senate.gov/committee-assignments Committee on Energy and Natural Resources] ''Mike Lee, US Senator for Utah''.</ref>  — because [[Climate change|burn, baby burn]].<ref>[https://www.lcv.org/moc/mike-lee/ Senator Mike Lee] ''League of Conservation Voters''.</ref> During his campaign for Senate in 2010, he repeatedly promised to vote against the debt ceiling and possibly filibuster it.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101129055254/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec10/teaparty_11-08.html Tea Party Sen.-Elect Lee Vows to Vote Against Debt Limit Increase] (Nov. 8, 2010) ''PBS Newshour'' (archived from November 29, 2010).</ref> Sane people realized that if the bill to raise the debt ceiling did not pass, the US would likely have had to [[Fiscal cliff|default on its debt]], causing the country to lose its good credit and the [[dollar]] to be destroyed, ultimately leading to a global financial meltdown. Yet somehow his stance on this issue became popular with Utah voters. Guess it's worth sacrificing the world economy to "balance the budget". The idea of balancing the budget got completely defenestrated by Lee<ref>[https://www.energy.senate.gov/2025/6/chairman-lee-releases-enr-budget-reconciliation-text Chairman Lee Releases ENR Budget Reconciliation Text] (June 11, 2025) ''Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: Republican News''.</ref> and other Republicans 2025, when they decided that increasing billionaires' wealth with massive tax cuts was better than increasing the national debt by trillions of dollars.<ref>[https://www.pgpf.org/article/house-reconciliation-bill-would-add-trillions-to-the-national-debt/ House Reconciliation Bill Would Add Trillions to the National Debt] (June 10, 2025) ''Peter G. Peterson Foundation''.</ref>

His term as Senator had barely begun when he denounced the following things as unconstitutional:<ref>[http://politicsunspun.com/?p=433 List here] and [http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/14/lee-child-labor/ hilarious/scary video]</ref>
*[[Child labor]] laws
*Federal disaster relief
*Unemployment insurance
*Food safety laws

His other brilliant ideas include repealing the federal income [[tax]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment|birthright citizenship]].<ref>[http://www.tnr.com/article/80296/utah-republican-mike-lee-tea-party Senator Junior DeMint], ''The New Republic''</ref> In 2011, he admitted that he wants to take down the government with a harebrained scheme to "solve the debt ceiling" by passing a new Constitutional amendment in the span of fewer than two weeks.<ref>[http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/07/26/republican-senator-admits-that-he-wants-to-bring-america-down/ Republican Senator admits that he wants to bring America down]</ref> Surely one absolute whackjob of a senator can't do something like that though…

In the 2014 [[North Carolina]] Senate race, Lee endorsed Greg Brannon,<ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/06/3677968/utah-sen-mike-lee-endorses-greg.html Utah Sen. Mike Lee endorses Greg Brannon in contested Senate primary]</ref> an associate of [[League of the South]].<ref>[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/rand-paul-endorse-greg-brannon-secessionist-rally Rand Paul-Backed GOP Senate Candidate Held Rally With Secessionist Group]</ref>

In a display of the [[stopped clock]] phenomenon, he voted against the extending of the [[Patriot Act]].<ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/02/senate-to-vote-tuesday-on-shor.html Washington Post: Senate passes short-term extension of Patriot Act provisions]</ref>

Lee claimed that [[climate change]] was a serious issue but then proposed a stupid idea to fix it, having more babies.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/27/senators-argument-against-green-new-deal-machine-gun-toting-ronald-reagan-riding-velociraptor/ A senator's argument against the Green New Deal: A machine gun-toting Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor] by Allyson Chiu (March 27, 2019 at 6:37 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Lee has in fact attempted to prevent anything that would seriously address climate change: he voted to limit the [[EPA]]'s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions,<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00054 U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 112<sup>th</sup> Congress] United States Senate</ref> he voted to make it harder for Congress to pass a [[carbon tax]],<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00059 U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113<sup>th</sup> Congress]</ref> and he urged [[Donald Trump|Trump]] to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/01/republican-senators-paris-climate-deal-energy-donations The Republicans who urged Trump to pull out of Paris deal are big oil darlings. Twenty-two senators wrote a letter to the president when he was said to be on the fence about backing out. They received more than $10m from [[Fossil fuel|oil, gas and coal]] companies the past three election cycles] by Tom McCarthy & Lauren Gambino (1 Jun 2017 06.00 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> In 2016, Lee had claimed that the idea that climate change was settled science was a public-relations ploy,<ref>[http://www.sentinelnews.net/article/31-5-2016/updates-senator-lees-office#.V_GDEZMrKRt Updates From Senator Lee's Office] (May 31, 2016 - 8:45am) ''Sentinel News''.</ref> making Lee a [[denialist]].

Approximately one month before the [[2020 U.S. presidential election]], Lee [[Twitter|tweeted]] the following gems: "We’re not a [[democracy]]."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201009195353/https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1314016169993670656 We’re not a democracy.] by Mike Lee (6:34 PM - 7 Oct 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 9, 2020).</ref> "Democracy isn’t the objective; [[liberty]], [[peace]], and prospefity{{sic}} are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201009183538/https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1314089207875371008 Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are.  We want the human condition to flourish.  Rank democracy can thwart that.] by Mike Lee (11:24 PM - 7 Oct 2020) ''Twitter'' (archived from October 9, 2020).</ref>

==Senator Shitpost==
{{cquote|"Thanks for willingness to speak truth in spite of opposition! Can we expect to see @catturd2 running for president in 2028?"
|||Mike Lee, endorsing the potential presidential campaign of a man who willingly identifies himself with feline feces<ref>[https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1681698581269315588] by Mike Lee (July 19, 2023) ''Twitter''</ref>}}

Lee's [[Twitter]] addiction has only gotten worse since 2020, with Lee becoming a [[Alt-right#The dawn of shitposting|shitposting]] [[edgelord]], posting 1400 times in one month (averaging 46 posts/day), including between 3-6 a.m. in his time zone.<ref name=perticone>[https://www.thebulwark.com/p/mike-lee-tina-smith-utah-twitter-minnesota-senate-salt-finance-committee Mike Lee Needs an Intervention: The senator spends nearly every waking hour in an online bubble] by Joe Perticone (Jun 17, 2025) ''The Bulwark''.</ref> Things blew up in his face after he posted 4 false and inflammatory tweets about the assassination of [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] lawmakers from Minnesota, subsequently deleting only 3 of them.<ref name=perticone/><ref>[https://archive.ph/T0vYh This is what happens: When Marxists don’t get their way] by Mike Lee (2:50 PM · Jun 15, 2025) ''Twitter'' (archived from 17 Jun 2025 14:31:55 UTC). Deleted tweet.</ref><ref>[https://archive.is/wjskf Nightmare on Waltz Street] by Mike Lee (3:15 PM · Jun 15, 2025) ''Twitter'' (archived from 16 Jun 2025 22:23:40 UTC). Deleted tweet. This is a reference to Governor Tim Waltz of Minnesota, and the slasher film franchise ''A Nightmare on Elm Street''.</ref><ref>[https://archive.fo/i88Zg Marxism is a deadly mental illness Marxism is a deadly mental illness] by Mike Lee (3:19 AM · Jun 15, 2025) ''Twitter'' (archived from 16 Jun 2025 15:49:28 UTC). Deleted tweet.</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/wip/axeyb My guess: He’s not MAGA] by Mike Lee (11:59 AM · Jun 14, 2025) ''Twitter'' (archived from 19 Jun 2025 17:43:45 UTC). The false but not deleted tweet, in which he used this text with a photo of the alleged assassin.</ref> The blowback was so bad that even the [[Theodemocracy|theodemocratic]] Mormon church reprimanded him by hitting him with some wet noodles from one of their many [[Survivalism|food warehouses]].<ref>[https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/06/17/wasatch-front-shootings-dont-define-who-we-are/ Opinion: Weekend shootings should not define us: Sen. Mike Lee’s comments cast a poor light on Utah] (June 17, 2025, 3:15 p.m. MDT) by The Deseret News Editorial Board. ''Deseret News''.</ref> Being a Mormon Republican Senator from Utah is normally effectively a lifetime appointment, but who knows now:
{{cquote|He’s making himself really vulnerable. It’s obvious this is not going to play well with Utahns who place a high value on [[civility]]. This kind of action—the lacking in empathy, the indecency and just nastiness—has really motivated people and caused them to say, ‘We’ve got to find something better.'|||Brian King, chair of the Utah Democratic Party<ref>[https://www.thebulwark.com/p/is-mike-lee-shitposting-his-way-out-of-congress-utah-democrats Is Mike Lee Shitposting His Way Out of Congress? The Utah Republican has given Democrats in the state the rarest of opportunities. They’re already charting out how to retire him.] by Lauren Egan (Jun 19, 2025) ''The Bulwark''.</ref>}}

==See also==
*[[Ted Cruz]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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{{stub|politics}}
[[Category:Alt-right]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Mormons]]
[[Category:Tea Party]]
[[Category:United States politicians]]
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Vatniks]]

Categories: Alt-right, Lawyers, Global warming denialists, Lawyers, Living people, Mormons, Tea Party, United States politicians, United States Senators, Vatniks