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Wednesday, Jan 12 2022

Column: Ron Johnson Running To “Keep Serving Billionaire Class”

Jan 12, 2022

Wisconsin-based columnist for The Nation John Nichols has been observing Ron Johnson for years, and his latest Nation column gets it exactly right: While Ron Johnson technically “identifies himself as a representative from Wisconsin,” he doesn’t really represent Wisconsinites in any meaningful way. Instead, Johnson has repeatedly sold out Wisconsin families and workers to benefit his biggest donors, his most powerful corporate backers, and himself.

The Nation: Nichols: Ron Johnson Breaks His Term-Limit Pledge in Order to Keep Serving the Billionaire Class

By John Nichols, 1/12/22

Key Points:

  • “Johnson identifies himself as a representative from Wisconsin […] But the senator really represents Wall Street and the investor class that knows no loyalty to states or nations.”
  • “He’s been an ardent supporter of Wall Street–backed ‘free trade’ deals and outsourcing schemes, a visceral critic of unions and regulations that protect workers and consumers, and, above all, a champion of tax breaks for the super-rich and the corporations they control.”
  • “Johnson eschews criticism of the billionaire class and multinational corporations. His primary function as a senator has always been, and remains, the service of the über-rich.”
  • “Johnson […]  has historically made service to the investor class his top priority. He bought his Senate seat with a generous outlay of family cash and contributions from other wealthy families in 2010, and he headed to Washington on a mission to lower his own taxes, cut regulations on corporations like the ones his family owns, and generally serve the billionaires who funded his 2016 reelection bid and are already writing checks for the 2022 race.”
  • [During Johnson’s maneuvering around the 2017 GOP tax law,] “Wisconsin media speculated that ‘Johnson Wants a Bigger Tax Cut for Himself.’ There was certainly something to that argument. But it turns out that, in this particular instance, Johnson was not just thinking of himself. Confidential tax records obtained by ProPublica revealed ‘that Johnson’s last-minute maneuver benefited two families more than almost any others in the country—both are worth billions and both are among the senator’s biggest donors.’”

Read the full column here.

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Published: Jan 12, 2022 | Last Modified: Jan 14, 2022

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