Johnson Tells Tea Party He Wasn’t Really Endorsed by GOP, Tells GOP He’s Bringing Tea Party to GOP, Denies Ties to Tea Party
MADISON — As Tea Party activists are scheduled to meet in Marshfield this weekend, multimillionaire, U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson spent the last week misleading Tea Party activists, Republicans and the media following reports that Wisconsin Tea Party/Patriot groups are upset over Johnson’s self-proclaimed support from the Tea Party.
GOP “isn’t really endorsing me.”
At a Tea Party event in Janesville on Saturday, Johnson attempted to distance himself from the Republican Party’s decision to double-down on an unknown saying:
“I was honestly just as surprised I got that endorsement from the Republican Party. Trust me, I really was. But I think what was most gratifying to me about it is it really wasn’t endorsing me because people don’t really know who I am.”
“I’m taking the Tea Party with me.”
And one of the reasons Johnson told Republicans to endorse his unknown candidacy during their May convention was reported by Wispolitics.com on May 19 when Johnson said:
“I’m joining the Republican Party, and I’m taking the Tea Party with me.”
Campaign Says He’s Not a Tea Party Candidate
Yet last week, Johnson’s campaign manager Juston Johnson tried to claim to the Wisconsin State Journal that the multimillionaire has never said he was a Tea Party favorite:
“[H]e [Ron Johnson] has always made it a point to correct any perception that he is somehow a tea party candidate.”
“For his part, Johnson is right on at least one point: people don’t really know who he is because he won’t shoot straight with anyone. Even the loyal Tea Party activists have called Johnson out for proclaiming he is the Tea Party candidate,” said Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Maybe Tea Partiers can get some answers out of Johnson in Marshfield this weekend. Where does he stand on the Patriot Act? Does he support the recent Supreme Court decision that gives corporations free reign over elections? And where does he stand on the $10 trillion of debt that George Bush ran up and passed on to all of us?”
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