COMMENTARY: A message to Mike Johnson on the eve of No Kings Day. Would you please stop the weirdness already?
News and views for Florida's Left Coast
House Speaker Mike Johnson took a break from doing nothing to solve the government shutdown to offer these keen insights into tomorrow’s No Kings Day rallies across America:
“We call it the ‘Hate America Rally’,” he said. “Let’s see who shows up for that. I bet you see pro-Hamas supporters, I bet you see Antifa-types, I bet you see the Marxists in full display. The people who don’t want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic.”
Other Republicans, following carefully scripted GOP talking points, like to refer to it as an event sponsored by the “terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party.
Actually, it was refreshing—in an odd sort of way—to see Johnson show up for work. I was beginning to think maybe he’d gotten himself lost in the tunnels under the Capitol.
He didn’t actually gavel the House of Representatives back into session, of course. If he did that, then he’d be forced to swear in Arizona’s newest representative, who has promised to sign the discharge petition that would force the House to vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Can’t have that.
Why Johnson and the majority of his fellow Republicans are so reluctant to release those files—even though their lord and master, Donald Trump, had promised to do so—is a puzzle.
But to be totally fair, he’s been awfully busy licking Trump’s elevator shoes ever since he assumed the speakership, so he may not have had time to give the matter his full attention.
But about this “terrorist wing” jab:
The only organized domestic terrorism currently taking place is being directed on Trump’s behalf by Kristi “ICE Barbie” Noem as she dispatches goons around the country, blowing down doors and kidnapping people out of cars and sending them off to who knows where.
Among those ICE detainees have been more than 170 United States citizens, according to a report from ProPublica, many of them Hispanic in appearance because the Supreme Court has said you can arrest people who don’t look American enough. You can read it here:
But what about Johnson’s assertion regarding “foundational truths?”
Let’s break this down:
America was founded by immigrants who believed in freedom from tyranny—both external and internal—and they especially didn’t want their new country to be ruled by a king or a dictator.
Some of George Washington’s officers misguidedly proposed he become the nation’s new sovereign, but he said “no” in the strongest possible terms. He insisted it was inappropriate and dishonorable, and that the new nation should be a republic, not a monarchy.
Yet the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue brazenly announced he would be a dictator on the first day he assumed office, and he told supporters if he were elected they would never have to worry about voting again.
He literally said this: “In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
Ever since, he’s run roughshod over the government while Congress, which is supposed to be an equal partner and watchdog over the executive, has been somnambulant.
So, whose behavior is at odds with our “foundational truths?”
Is it Americans exercising their First Amendment right to express themselves, specifically to reject, as Washington did, the idea of a government centered on one person?
Or the man who would be king?
And why are Johnson and other GOP leaders such lickspittles about this? Why do they feel compelled to suggest that their fellow citizens “hate America” just because they oppose the president’s authoritarian behavior?
Do Johnson and the others really believe that Trump is the living embodiment of the republic, some sort of Sun God to be worshipped or something? Because their slavish devotion to him certainly suggests it.
If the rallies tomorrow didn’t already have a name, I’d offer this as an alternative:
“Stop the Weirdness Already.”
What do you think? Share your views by clicking on the COMMENTS link at the end of this newsletter. Join the conversation. Thanks!
Find a No Kings Day Rally near you
Tropic Watch
The National Hurricane Center is tracking a tropical wave coming off the coast of Africa and heading for the Caribbean, unusual for this time in October. There is only a 20 percent chance this system will develop into a tropical storm, but it will bear watching in the week ahead.
Thoughts for the day
“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
—Abraham Lincoln
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
— Winston Churchill
More online
Thank you for reading the Tropic Press newsletter. You also have access to the Tropic Press website for additional and previous posts, copies of the Monthly Memo, an archive of posts from our advice columnist, Miss Mingo, occasional guest commentaries, and information about The Strange Files series of mysterious adventures and other books.
J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.
Thanks to our sponsor
Today’s report is brought to you by Tropic Press Books, home of The Strange Files. Interested in sponsoring these reports? Contact: Advertising@Tropic.Press
It’s good to share
Tropic Press is a reader-supported publication. Here’s a big shout-out to all our loyal subscribers. Feel free to forward this email to your friends so they can enjoy it too. The more people we reach, the greater community of like-minded people we build. This is your chance to be part of all that. Thank you.
When all else fails. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1773834629/mike-johnson-house-speaker-voodoo-doll
I'll be there in Port Charlotte! With tie-dye, peace signs, bubbles, and plenty of American flags to pass out! See you there! ❤️🤍💙