Ron Johnson dismisses voter concerns; issues false statement about protesters

Among Ron Johnson’s detractors and supporters alike, one of the frustrations Wisconsinites have expressed is his lack of availability and responsiveness to voter concerns.

So no one among the several dozen people who gathered in front of the senator’s office in Oshkosh to protest the large cuts to Medicaid that the House pushed a lot closer to reality on Tuesday evening expected much satisfaction from Johnson. The House voted 215-213 to advance a resolution drastically cutting social programs, extending Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefitted the wealthiest Americans, all while raising the deficit some $3 trillion.  

In Wisconsin, nearly 1.5 million people receive Medicaid or nearly 1 in 4, including 500,000 children, 150,000 seniors and nearly 200,000 with disabilities.

For Jackie Nider, who helped organize the rally as part of Hands Off Medicaid - District 8, it's pretty simple. And it should not be a partisan issue.

"Medicaid is not a red or blue, urban or rural issue," she said. "It impacts people across the state who rely on a stable healthcare economy. We really need leaders who will take our concerns seriously rather than engage in political spin."

Nider spoke of her own brother, Wesley, diagnosed as mentally handicapped as a toddler and who is now 64 and living a thriving, purposeful life. None of that, Nider said, would have been possible without Medicaid providing the assistance he needs.

The Senate, which has its own budget reconciliation bill, will ultimately negotiate with the House over the final language in legislation that, if passed, could cut Medicaid – that 77 million Americans rely on – by nearly a trillion dollars.

And while all those folks in Oshkosh – so many of whom are either dependent on Medicaid for themselves or family members – didn’t expect they would be able to pressure Johnson into voting against the cuts, they sure didn’t expect the confrontational language he used in a statement that stoked further outrage.

It is difficult to respond to complaints and protests that have no basis in truth or fact, the statement began. It is unfortunate that Democrat elected officials are lying to their supporters regarding the Senate Budget Resolution and encouraging them to take to the “streets.” I sincerely hope their actions do not result in violence. My primary goal is to keep my Wisconsin staff safe while enabling them to continue dedicating their efforts to help constituents.

Republicans are trying to convince Americans that there is no direct call for cuts to Medicaid, which is misleading. In fact, the House Committee for Energy and Commerce is charged with coming up with nearly $1 trillion in cuts and there is no program other than Medicaid that would generate that level of savings.

The suggestion by Johnson that the protestors on hand were threatening violence was supported by nothing that actually took place on Wednesday. There were no reports of unruly behavior and there were no law enforcement officers called to the scene. It was, it seems, pure deflection on Johnson’s part.

The combination of Johnson’s lie about violence and his suggestion that his constituents’ concerns were based on misinformation angered those on hand, with one stating:

"I'm offended that he would ever imply that any of us would be violent. We come to this from a place of love. We love our individuals and our families who are dependent on Medicaid. I guess I'm really just offended by that, and I feel like that’s gaslighting.”

The further irony of Johnson falsely imputing violence to folks who were wholly peaceful while barely condemning the Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol and beat and attacked police, was particularly galling, folks said.

Johnson has gone so far as to refer to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists as “people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement and would never do anything to break the law.”

He went on to deny that it was an insurrection at all.

Those on hand Wednesday were also angry that Johnson has focused much of his time in office chasing down debunked conspiracy theories and that he almost always votes in favor of legislation supporting the wealthy while ignoring the concerns of the neediest.

He  just, for instance, voted to permanently repeal the estate tax, which would further cement wealth among the richest families in America. As it stands now, only estates worth $14 million or more are subject to the tax; Johnson’s bill would exempt even those. He has also voted against the Affordable Care Act. He opposed the extension of the doubling of the child tax credits which helps so many struggling families with young children. And during negotiations for Trump’s $2 trillion tax cut in 2017, Johnson demanded there be the so-called “pass-through” loophole attached, from which his company personally benefited handsomely.