Mike Johnson and Democracy

The Non-democratic Careers of Modern-Day Extremists

A few years ago, now-Speaker Mike Johnson said we do not live in a democracy. As I wrote several months ago, it’s a common right-wing refrain.

But the truth is, in HIS political career, he has not participated in a democracy.

Johnson turns out to offer the perfect example of how in today’s gerrymandered world, people can ride to the highest levels of power without facing a real election their entire careers.

Which means they can be complete extremists and never face accountability for it. It also means that not only do they not know democracy, they actually come to fear it. Not just because they have never experienced it, but because it poses the biggest risk to their grasp on power.

Let’s take a look at Johnson’s career to see how it works:

Before entering office, he spent his years fighting for right-wing causes as a lawyer—like fighting same-sex marriage and to keep in place laws criminalizing sodomy. That’s his right to do, of course, and I’m glad he was largely unsuccessful.

But then his political career began:

In early 2015, when the state representative where he lived in Louisiana ran for another office, Johnson ran for the vacancy.

Incredibly, even that first run for office was unopposed. There ended up not even being an election! So he initially assumed power without ever having faced the voters in a general election.

(No wonder he thinks we’re not a democracy!)

Once in office, he got to work advancing the goals he had fought for as a lawyer, but now as a legislator. One law he pushed within months was so extreme that major Louisiana companies lobbied against it, and even Republicans rejected it, tabling it 10-2 in committee.

What did the voters think about the fact that in only months, he had already proven to be too extreme for even his own party?

We don’t know, because when Johnson ran again that Fall for next 2-year term, he was again unopposed.

No primary.

No general.

How easy! He pays the filing fee, gathers some signatures, and gets to go right back to the legislature with no accountability to the people whatsoever.

(Again, no wonder he doesn’t think we’re a democracy!)

On the strength of his failed bill, and unopposed election victories—on that unmistakable mandate from a people who had no choice in the matter—Johnson decides it’s time to take his political juggernaut to Congress.

And then he encounters the marvels of lopsided districts. He wins in 2016, 2018 and 2020 with the winning margins we have come to expect in a gerrymandered world:

• 30% (2016)

• 30% (2018)

• 35% (2020)

And then in 2022, even after being one of the most active participants in Trump’s January 6 coup attempt, he returns to his roots and runs unopposed again.

For the third time—no wonder he thinks we’re not a democracy!

Bottom line: the now-Speaker of the House is the perfect example of the modern extremist.

He’s spent his entire career in a world devoid of democracy—devoid of accountability:

• It’s how he entered—even his initial entree unopposed (that’s pretty rare, actually. Not even a primary).

• It’s how he rose.

• It’s his most recent race.

• It’s all he’s ever known!

And it’s why all the unabashed and toxic extremism he’s espoused along the way has essentially gone unchecked the entire time.

Mike Johnson IS the current generation of GOP leaders and members. No accountability—ever! Which means all the incentives he’s faced encouraged him to keep being extreme.

Now imagine hundreds just like him. Of course they’re going to be extremists when they thrive in a world where they CAN be extremists, never facing any real opposition (often no opposition at all) despite taking positions that only a few years ago were soundly rejected by their own party.

You actually don’t have to imagine it—just look around. It’s so many states. And it’s the GOP chaos caucus in the House.

None of this will end until we do two things.

One…end gerrymandering. It’s poisoning politics by removing almost all accountability from politics. It’s fueling the insane and extremist behavior of the U.S. House and so many of the American statehouses that are careening out of control.

Two…run everywhere!!

Johnson is not a rare case. We have a crisis of unopposed extremists like him everywhere.

Democrats focus so much on federal offices in a few swing states, we have decided it’s acceptable to let the young Mike Johnsons of the world, or the Tennessee Republicans of the world, or the book banners, or the abortion banners (no exceptions), and so on, do all the damage they’re doing in statehouses, and not even face opposition in elections that could be referenda on their extremist actions if we made them that.

Just look at these charts (from my book Saving Democracy — which you should consider buying, by the way, if you think what I’m saying here is important):

• 80% unopposed in Louisiana!

• 48% in Tennessee!

• 43% in Arkansas!

• 42% in Texas!

On and on. Unopposed!

That’s right: they’re running their extremist agenda through these statehouses, through these districts. Doing untold damage to lives, communities, and democracy itself. And then being rewarded for it, including rising to offices as high as Speaker of the House.

And we largely stand to the side and let it all happen without an iota of accountability or opposition. Not even a door knock saying to those in their districts: “did you know that friendly, bespectacled state rep of yours is actually a total extremist?”

Those charts show us that Mike Johnson’s career path is HOW they are rising all over—rewarded for extremism—through a system of rigged districts and a collective decision that running against these people at those levels doesn’t matter.

Look around at what’s happening to this country and tell me it doesn’t matter!

We have to start running everywhere, folks.

Bringing accountability everywhere.

Until we do, all this will keep happening. Mike Johnsons and Jim Jordans and MTGs will keep emerging everywhere, along with hundreds of others like them we will never hear of, we will not run against, but who will be doing great damage every step of the way, while rising through the ranks.

By the way, there IS a way to run everywhere.

It starts with showing people we value them running everywhere.

How do we do that? We crowd-fund support to candidates running against the Mike Johnsons of the world, in tough districts. In Ohio, we’ve started this.

We call it Blue Ohio. It’s starting to work. We have more than 1,000 members supporting the cause, pitching in monthly and meeting monthly. Because of that fired-up membership, we will soon be the third-largest supporters of Democratic statehouse candidates in the state. And our priority is to run everywhere, and value the candidates that take on the Mike Johnsons of the world. Who bring accountability to that otherwise unaccountable world:

To learn more, check it out here. Better yet, sign up and join our growing community!

Bottom line: If we don’t change our mindset and start running everywhere, our future will be Mike Johnsons doing damage in states across the country, and Mike Johnsons rising to the highest offices in the land, without ever experiencing democracy any step along the way.

And that continues to be dangerous as hell to our country.