Ron Johnson

[[File:Ron Johnson, official portrait, 112th Congress.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Ro-Jo<ref>[https://715newsroom.com/2021/03/17/no-go-for-ro-jo-governor-run/ No Go for Ro-Jo Governor Run] by Morgan McCarthy ( March 17, 2021) ''The 715 Newsroom''.</ref> in 2011]]
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{{cquote|I get it, God created our immune system — but He also created Ron Johnson, so He has been known to shank it.|||Stephen Colbert on the January 4th, 2022, edition of <i>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert</i><ref>https://theweek.com/stephen-colbert/1008622/stephen-colbert-and-jimmy-fallon-gape-at-the-27-hour-i-95-snow-in-round-up</ref>}}

'''Ron Johnson''' is a [[Tea Party]] affiliated [[United States]] Senator, representing the state of [[Wisconsin]]. He was the CEO of a plastic manufacturer prior to his election.

==Election==
Johnson's predecessor was Russ Feingold, a [[progressive]] [[Democrat]]. Feingold had an issue though, in between voting against both the [[Patriot Act]] (Feingold was the ''only'' Senator to vote against it, in fact) and the [[Iraq War]], his support for a [[Universal healthcare|single-payer healthcare system]], and being quite [[liberal]] in general, he was deemed too "left-wing" for Wisconsin. This wasn't the case in 1992, 1998, and 2004. Then again, those years didn't have a red wave.

Johnson was able to throw millions behind his own campaign (the $8.2 million he used on his own campaign made up roughly 64% of campaign contributions) and was riding on the Tea Party's growing popularity, both of which basically guaranteed his election. However, it surprised many that Johnson beat other [[Republican]]s for the nomination despite having been initially seen as more incompetent and less organized than some of his opponents.<ref>http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/article_f9f290a0-497b-562b-828f-5bf8f69b0cc7.html</ref> Since he's been elected senator he's been known for being [[Fractal wrongness|fractally wrong]] on nearly everything he bothers to talk about.

In 2016, Johnson was challenged by Feingold for the seat in a rematch of the 2010 election, but despite lagging behind in almost every poll prior to the election, Johnson pulled off a major upset and once again defeated Feingold, this time by a margin of about 100,000 voters. Not coincidentally, studies have shown that Wisconsin's Voter-ID laws turned away approximately ''200,000'' voters.<ref>https://www.thenation.com/article/wisconsins-voter-id-law-suppressed-200000-votes-trump-won-by-23000/</ref> Democracy at work, folks!

Johnson had considered retiring in 2022, but decided to run again anyway. His opponent was Mandela Barnes, the progressive Lieutenant Governor, in a campaign where Johnson used every [[dog whistle]] in the book. However, he was still able to win reelection, albeit ''very narrowly'' (a margin of about 26,000 votes).<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/ron-johnson-defeats-mandela-barnes-wisconsin-senate-race-nbc-news-proj-rcna54938 Ron Johnson defeats Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin Senate race, NBC News projects], Adam Edelman, ''NBC News'' 9 November 2022</ref>

==Inspiring positions==
Being the ingenious [[patriot]] he is, Johnson has done the following since he won his bid for senator:

*Called [[global warming]] "lunacy", claiming that scientists who believe it's man-made are "crazy", and saying it's caused by "sunspot activity or [[Not even wrong|just something in the geologic eons of time]]." Also, excess carbon dioxide gets "sucked down by trees and helps the trees grow".<ref>http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/100814454.html?page=1#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=mostthumbsupfirst</ref>
*Claimed to be "disappointed that the [[Obama]] administration is launching an assault on BP" after the BP oil spill.
*Opposed the repeal of [[DADT]].
*Opposed funding for [[stem cell]] research.
*Opposed [[ObamaCare]] and pushed the myth that it will increase the national debt and lead to "rationed care".<ref>[http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/plank/105327/cbo-obamacare-deficit-medicaid-expansion-cost-revenue-exchange The CBO would like a word with you]</ref>
*Voted against universal background checks for [[gun]] ownership.
*Besides voting against [[impeach]]ing [[Donald Trump]] for inciting a riot in the Capitol in 2021, Johnson has spent his post-[[2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol]] time claiming that the insurrection was not an armed insurrection.<ref name=blake>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/16/ron-johnson-emerging-hoax-ification-capitol-riot/ Ron Johnson and the emerging hoax-ification of the Capitol riot] by Aaron Blake (Feb. 16, 2021 at 9:12 a.m. PST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> This was despite the fact that on the day of the insurrection, "Guns, bombs and stun guns were seized from members of the mob, while other rioters used wrenches, clubs and flagpoles as weapons. An officer has said that police 'had been seizing guns all day.'"<ref name=blake/>
*Repeatedly spread [[Anti-vaccination movement|anti-vaccine]] misinformation and downplayed the urgency of [[COVID-19]] vaccination, and got his [[YouTube]] account suspended for posting dubious information to [[YouTube]].<ref>Daniella Diaz and Elizabeth Joseph, [http://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_0dec2f2922cb055cdbe435032e861d10 YouTube suspends Sen. Ron Johnson's account for posting video about dubious Covid-19 treatments]. CNN, 12 June 2021.</ref>
*In 2025, Johnson promoted a [[quack]] doctor's book, Pierre Kory's ''The War on Chlorine Dioxide'', which claims that chlorine dioxide (ClO<sub>2</sub>) is a "wonder drug" that can "treat everything from [[cancer]] and [[malaria]] to [[autism]] and COVID."<ref>[https://www.propublica.org/article/ron-johnson-wisconsin-chlorine-dioxide-pierre-kory-endorsement Senator Endorses Discredited Doctor’s Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer] by Megan O’Matz (December 11, 2025, 5:30 am) ''ProPublica''.</ref>

==Racism==
In his 2022 Senate reelection campaign against Lieutenant Governor Democrat Mandela Barnes, Johnson's campaign [[advertisement]]s have use [[Dog whistle|racially-coded symbols]] against Barnes: writing Barnes name in graffiti, calling Barnes "different", and making Barnes' skin color darker than it actually is.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/06/johnson-barnes-racism-senate/ Ron Johnson pushes racial divisions in his closing message to Wis. GOP voters: The senator is drawing sharp rebukes for how he invokes race when talking about his Black opponent] by Annie Linskey (November 6, 2022 at 3:24 p.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Dunning-Kruger effect]]
*[[Louie Gohmert]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

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[[Category:Autism woo]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:COVID-19 denialists]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Shysters]]
[[Category:Tea Party]]
[[Category:United States politicians]]
[[Category:United States Senators]]

Categories: Autism woo, Business, COVID-19 denialists, Denialists, Global warming denialists, Living people, Pseudoscience promoters, Racists, Shysters, Tea Party, United States politicians, United States Senators