A homophobe can only hide for so long.
Ever since Mike Johnson’s improbable ascension to House Speaker, the Louisiana Republican has tried to mask his virulent anti-gay past. Despite clamoring for the reintroduction of sodomy laws and calling homosexuality a “dangerous lifestyle,” Johnson now says he “loves” gay people.
But his tone changes when he needs to raise money.
In a new fundraising email, Johnson abandons his pretense of moderation, and dives right back into gay-bashing.
His target, you ask?
LGBTQ+ high school students, of course!
“1 in 4 high school students identifies as something other than straight,” Johnson frets in the email. “What are they being taught in school?”
“Our culture has fallen so far since the founding of our country, and it’s just getting worse. I fear America may be beyond redemption.”
The message was sent via the National Republican Campaign Committee, the primary campaign arm of House Republicans.
Johnson appears to be referencing 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says 25.7% of high school students don’t identify as straight. Of those, 3.2% identify as gay or lesbian, 11.9% identifier as bisexual and 9% identify as something else, or are questioning.
His doomsday rhetoric in the aforementioned email isn’t anything new. In previous editorials, Johnson has warned homosexuality would lead to legalized pedophilia and possibly even destroy “the entire democratic system.”
In an old interview with CNN, the religious zealot blamed gay sex for the downfall of the Roman Empire.
“Some credit to the fall of Rome to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” he said.
Johnson, in his fundraising email, says America could face God’s wrath for the existence of queer teenagers.
“Let’s face it- we live in a depraved culture,” he writes. “I didn’t want to believe it at first, but I fear God may allow our nation to enter into a time of judgment for our collective sins. We have much to repent for if we want to avoid the judgment we so clearly deserve.”
Keep in mind, this is how the person who’s second in line for the presidency talks about America.
Prior to joining Congress, Johnson worked on campaigns designed to isolate LGBTQ+ high schoolers. He provided legal advice to an organization called Exodus International, a leader in the “ex-gay” movement.
As a counter to GLSEN’s Day of Silence, which spreads awareness about the impact of bullying on LGBTQ+ youth, Exodus International launched an event called the Day of Truth. The idea was for homophobes to counter that silence by distributing anti-gay propaganda.
During his days as a conservative attorney, Johnson represented a group that endorses conversion therapy, as well as extremists who said the government should terrorize LGBTQ+ people.
One of Johnson’s former clients, radical Christian preacher Grant Storms, staged a violent protest in 2003 against New Orleans’ Southern Decadence, an annual celebration of LGBTQ+ people. One of the attendees attempted to murder a man with a five-inch steak knife.
The stabber admitted in a recorded confession he “wanted to kill a gay man.”
Following that episode, Storms spoke at an event called the “International Conference on Homo-Fascism” (where’s our invite?) and invoked violent imagery. Years later, he was arrested for masturbating in his van near a playground.
Johnson, for those wondering, didn’t represent him in that criminal matter.
This man shouldn’t be in any position of power
— Christine Galea (@chrisgalea) December 5, 2023
Johnson rose to MAGA prominence when he represented Trump in two separate senate impeachment trials. The former backbencher also played a leading effort in the ex-president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Last month, he promised to release the remaining 44,000 hours of January 6 footage. On Tuesday, he said he was blurring the faces of some of the participants, to protect them from legal jeopardy.
Republicans are aaaaall about law and order, huh?
Johnson also supports Republicans’ efforts to impeach President Biden.
Despite all of his Trumpist pandering, the Speaker’s agenda is already blowing up in his face. Following his support of a stopgap funding bill, members of the far-right are already warning Johnson his honeymoon is over.
Tough break for a swell guy. Some good ol’ fashioned homophobia probably can’t even save him.
Mister P
There is no evidence that god is judging anything.
The Speaker of the House is judging though.
whereshouldistart
There is also no evidence that there’s a god.
abfab
No God. Especially no ONE GOD. That’s just silly! Poppy -c o c k !
OMG!
I like the ”idea” that there are gazillions of gods. Uncountable numbers of gods. They are the stars and comets.
Nous somme du soilel.
Fenwick22
GOD is just another LOL to me. A joke…..a bad one.
abfab
Did you happen to see The Life Of Brian? And I must agree, the joke is on us. We blew it.
abfab
A Gay Public Service Announcement for those of us who are ‘Good Without A God’.
Lookup:
American Humanist Associatiion
~~
ADVOCATING PROGRESSIVE VALUES AND EQUALITY FOR HUMANISTS, ATHEISTS, AND FREETHINKERS
ZzBomb
“1 in 4 high school students identifies as something other than straight,” Johnson frets
– Maybe b/c we are, and the kids are, more tolerant of others than you Mikey boy.
“Some credit to the fall of Rome to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” he said.
– There are a variety of reasons for the fall of Rome, none of which deal in people’s sexuality. You in fact could argue the decline in Rome began to really accelerate when they began accepting Christianity. But let’s also not talk about the lead lining they put in everything including aquaducts b/c that’d be to “science-y”
“I didn’t want to believe it at first, but I fear God may allow our nation to enter into a time of judgment for our collective sins.”
– Get some new material. This same bs line has been used for centuries now. Get a grip.
Kangol2
Exactly. Also, this is the man who set a pornography pledge and revelation system with his teenage son. He’s clearly very afraid of his own sexuality, desires and what will happen if he were to full explore and address them. This fearful loon is who the GQP put in control of one of the two chambers of Congress!
ZzBomb
@kangol
Oh that “accountability buddy” thing w/ his son is both extremely gross and cringe beyond anything I ever could imagine. It’s amazing how much these same people scream about “groomers” and then we find out about something like this and it’s crickets.
My2CentsWorth
The U. S. is in decline. For a lot of reasons. The horrible people who have pushed themselves into positions of leadership – and their supporters – are perhaps the main reason.
It is hard to believe that a nation that I grew up in reading and hearing how much smarter and better it was when compared to other places is the nation of the current extreme right-wing controls and is destroying. A nation that has such a large segment of the population that supports these folks without reservations.
I fear that Trump and a lot of those who are supporting him will be swept into office and the consequences WILL BE HORRIBLE.
ZzBomb
@My2Cents
This is the result of decades of de-funding education in rural states as the Republicans have and replaced it with their own manufactured outrage du-jour to keep the gullible masses in check.
Den
“You in fact could argue the decline in Rome began to really accelerate when they began accepting Christianity.”
Given the timeline of collapse, this is more than something you could argue. It is very likely true. What is odd is the Christian paradigm that people are intrinsically evil. They really believe that if they didn’t fear hell they’d all be out stealing, raping and murdering! By contrast atheists believe the exact opposite. If people accept that this life is it, empathy and community become so much more important. You don’t see atheists rampaging and pillaging because “do unto others…” is all that they’ve got.
MAGA Mike exemplifies all that is creepy both about the Trump Cult and Evangelicals.
Den
“This is the result of decades of de-funding education in rural states”
Some years ago, if you all recall, the Texas Republican party made opposition to the teaching of critical thought (empiricism, logic, parsing of media etc.) part of their party platform. That to me was a huge red flag regarding the future of our nation. If the last two elections are any indication (especially in view of court decisions supporting voter enfranchisement), Trump will not get the popular vote. Hopefully he will also miss out on the Electoral College vote (and the electoral college system needs to be trashed! It’s a holdover from the slave economy). The danger is what the MAGATs will attempt when they fail to “take back their country”. The Trump camp, and Johnson is firmly in that camp are fine installing Trump as dictator by force if they can do it.
None of them have reacted at all to the recent recriminalization of homosexuality in Russia and the subsequent raids of bars and other gathering places, so you know they are envious of the freedom Putin has to do such things!
Kangol2
Mike Johnson appears terrified of his own sexuality, and instead of getting psychological help–counseling, therapy, something!–he is projecting his fear outward. He’s already proved how off the charts loony he is but he now has immense power as the head of the House GQP. He should be urged at every press conference to resign and get help for himself instead of endangering the lives of countless US kids and the country as a whole.
Fahd
What Kango said and bring back Nancy Pelosi or at least a Democratic Speaker. The nation can’t take much more of these Republican speakers especially as the bring their formerly fringe political views into some sort of thing with which all Americans have to live. McCarthy and now Johnson are tearing the nation apart with their denial, isolationism, corporate tax breaks, welfare for the rich, etc. The Democratic party should be focusing all efforts on regaining the House majority, starting with the seat newly vacated by the conman Santoast.
Jeremiah
Ah yes focus on the supposed dangers of high schoolers questioning their orientation while at the same time remaining silent when the leader of Florida’s GOP hosts 3-ways in which he and the wife assault the 3rd wheel.
Imjustsaying
Closet cases are gay people’s worst enemy.
whereshouldistart
THE SQUEAKY WHEEL ALWAYS CRAVES THE K-Y!
Every.
Single.
Time.
NEXT!!!
m
Aneurysm, pay him a visit.
James
Mike Johnson, ugly trash.
bachy
There is no such thing as a Christian Democracy. There is no such thing as a Muslim Democracy or a Jewish Democracy either (or a solely Heterosexual one, for that matter). True Democracy means True Equality and no religion sees itself as equal to all the others (and they feel especially unequal to secularism and atheism). Of all the problems we face in unifying the “United” States of America, one of the largest and most damaging is those who believe that their religion should be the official religion of our Democracy. – Robbie Gennet
Fname Optional Lname
This
Brian
If he’s right that a schoolteacher can simply convince a child to switch their sexual orientation, then there would be practically zero gay/lesbian people in the world. From kindergarten to college, most students read only books with heterosexual people in them. All of the fiction, all of the non-fiction, all of the biographies, all of the book reports, all of it is straight people. Why do any gay/lesbian people exist? They should’ve been converted long ago!
abfab
And that’s it!
These people are hallucinating. And how the hell does he keep his son from porno? That would be a full time job…non-stop helicoptering.
Fname Optional Lname
Even as a young adult I would have paid good money for the magic solution on how to become straight. Pride didn’t enter my heart until the 90’s when we had a brief window of change. Seems like they truly believe sexuality is a choice and that we are just gay because it’s trendy. You cannot win over ignorance with logic.
abfab
House Speaker Johnson wants to blur January 6 footage to protect Capitol rioters
By Holmes Lybrand and Haley Talbot, CNN
December 5, 2023
Nice.
inbama
There is a connection between Trump, January 6 rioters and Christian Nationalists who want to execute gays.
Today’s “All Things Considered” on NPR – google ” Speaker Mike Johnson draws scrutiny for ties to far right Christian movements “
Bosch
Whaaaat? High school students are experimenting with their sexuality? Having a moratorium of sorts, at an appropriate age? What a revelation!! Stop the presses!!
Maybe he should be more worried about all the teen pregnancies and teen std’s in areas with failing sex education.