Perhaps because Sen. Ron Johnson began his career in manufacturing instead of law school, he doesn’t come across as an incumbent having spent the last six years in Washington.
Johnson still exhibits an outsider mentality and is willing to point out uncomfortable truths to his colleagues.
One of those truths is the nearly $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities looming over entitlement programs. Johnson has been ringing alarm bells about the threat posed by a pending tsunami of Baby Boomer retirements. But nothing is getting done because many of Johnson’s colleagues share President Obama’s cavalier attitude toward fiscal restraint.
Johnson has a simple solution for fixing this nation’s fiscal woes: Generate more revenue through economic growth and cut expenses by shrinking government.
The far left has been complicating reform efforts by misleading many Americans into thinking profitable companies are evil, college should be free for everyone and nothing needs to be done to protect Social Security’s and Medicare’s future.
More governmental control over the economy isn’t the answer, despite claims to the contrary from Johnson’s opponent, Russ Feingold. Big government has become this economy’s beer belly, weighing down worker productivity and GDP growth.
The Obama administration is largely to blame, and Obama’s aggressive regulation of the energy sector has been particularly harmful.
“We all want a clean environment, but let’s utilize our God-given energy resources so energy prices remain as low as possible so we can compete globally,” Johnson said in an interview with The Gazette Editorial Board.
If Hillary Clinton becomes president, and that’s a strong likelihood if the polls are at all accurate, Johnson’s common sense will be desperately needed on several fronts.
As chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Johnson has played a major role in determining the extent of damage caused by Clinton’s handling of classified information during her time as secretary of state.
Some of Clinton’s emails on her private server were so sensitive, Johnson noted, that not even he had the security clearance to view them.
“Extremely careless doesn’t even begin to describe what she did,” Johnson said, referencing FBI Director James Comey’s description of Clinton’s private server usage.
The Senate acts as a check on executive power, and it’s imperative the Senate remains under Republican control to guard against presidential abuse of authority.
The next president could ask the Senate to confirm the nominations of as many as three Supreme Court justices, and diligent vetting will be necessary to prevent the court from becoming stacked with liberal activists.
Polls show the Johnson-Feingold race is close, and whoever wins could determine the balance of the Senate. A Feingold victory could bring about a Democratic-controlled Senate, a potential disaster when mixed with a Clinton presidency.
Only a Johnson victory would give us hope.