Senator Ron Johnson Exempts The Donald From Name Calling
On the heels of another Republican primary debate featuring Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, Senator Ron Johnson still refuses to denounce Trump and his candidacy.
On Monday, the senator was asked directly if he thought Trump was a demagogue, and replied ”I don’t call people names,” all while reiterating that he would support whomever becomes the Republican nominee.
Senator Johnson, who has compared his own campaign to Trump’s in the past, seems to think only The Donald is exempt from Johnson’s name calling. In the past, Johnson has called climate change activists “crazy,” and said that it was “lunacy” to think we could do anything about the problem. (1) (2)
Johnson has gone as far as calling single mothers “dependents,” and speculated that an increase in out-of-wedlock birthrates could possibly be attributed to a change in the water. (3) (4)
Johnson also called out college students, saying that undergraduates took five or six years to finish their degree because “college is a lot of fun.” The Senator followed that with another insult a few months later, calling students who use vouchers to attend better schools “idiot inner-city kids.” (5) (6)
“Senator Ron Johnson has made a habit of calling people names during his time in office, but when asked about Donald Trump and his candidacy, Johnson is as quiet as a church mouse,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Kory Kozloski said on Wednesday. “If he can make the time in between lobbing insults at mothers and students, the Senator should do what is right and follow his fellow Republicans by denouncing Donald Trump and his candidacy.”
Background:
1) Johnson Said It Was “Lunacy” To Think “We Can Do Anything To Prevent The Climate From Changing.” “He told reporters that while he considers himself an advocate for a ‘pristine environment,’ he still believes that ‘we have larger factors at play that cause climate change. Always have caused it, always will cause it.’ ‘I don’t think it’s possible,’ said Johnson of efforts to quell climate change. ‘It’s lunacy from a standpoint of thinking we can do anything to prevent the climate from changing because it’s always going to change.’” [WisPolitics, 5/15/15]
2) Johnson Called Believers In Climate Change “Crazy.” “Johnson, in an interview last month, described believers in man made causes of climate change as “crazy” and the theory as ‘lunacy.’” [Journal-Sentinel, 8/16/10]
3) Johnson On Helping Single Mothers: “I Don’t Think You Help People By Turning Them Into Dependents.” “He cited the single mother who receives more government aid for having more out-of-wedlock births as an example of the unintended negative consequences of a well-intended effort such as the war on poverty. ‘I don’t think you help people by turning them into dependents,’ Johnson said.” [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 1/21/14]
4) Johnson: “Out Of Wedlock Birthrates Went From Eight Percent To 41%. Now What Caused That? I Mean, Did The Water Change?” JOHNSON: “I’ve heard estimates. 20 or 30 trillion dollars. Let’s use 16 trillion. Ask you, did it work? So what my slide shows is number of people in poverty went from 29 million to 47 million. You know, population grew so not the best metric. Poverty rates grew at a flat line of 18%. Here’s the controversial but most relevant statistic. Out of wedlock birthrates went from eight percent to 41%. Now what caused that? I mean, did the water change? [00:00:31.04] What happened in our society where all of a sudden the foundation the building block of any successful society, the American family, was undermined?” [Town Hall, University Club, 8/25/15] (VIDEO)
5) Johnson Defended His Statement That Some Students Take 5 Or 6 Years To Complete A 4 Year Degree Because “College Is A Lot Of Fun.” JOHNSON: “So, what we need because, again, so much money has sloshed into college because so many kids are going that really would probably be better off doing something else, and they don’t really know what they’re doing. Enter the workforce there’s something wrong when it’s taking close to 5 ½-6 years to graduate with a 4-year degree particularly when kids are going to college with a years worth of credit in high school. So, what’s wrong partly because student loans aren’t available, and kids are using them, and I’m sorry, and I’ve been criticized on this because I’ve said college is a lot of fun. For a lot of kids it is a lot of fun. There are those that certainly apply themselves, but there are certainly kids there because we’ve told people universally for decades you have to get a 4-year degree.” [Sen. Johnson, Oconto Town Hall, 5/2/15] (VIDEO)
6) Johnson Called The Students Who Used Vouchers To Attend Better Schools “Idiot Inner-City Kids.” On a local radio show, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) made a passing reference to liberals’ indifference to ‘those idiot inner city kids.’ He was talking about the issue of school choice, and what he and other Republicans view as the hypocrisy of President Obama and other Democrats sending their children to the best private schools while not wanting other families to have the same opportunity. ’It’s unbelievable to me that liberals, that President Obama, of course he sends his children to private school, as did Al Gore, and Bill Clinton and every other celebrated liberal,’ Johnson said Monday on 1310 WIBA–Milwaukee. ‘They just don’t want to let those idiot inner city kids that they purport to be so supportive of…they don’t want to give them the same opportunity their own kids have. It’s disgraceful.’” [Washington Post, 7/23/15]
