Caffeinated Politics

The Wisconsin State Journal wrote this weekend in an editorial that, “When (Wisconsin Senator Ron) Johnson, a fan of conspiracy theories, is the voice of reason, you know things are bad. Some found that sentence all too true, given the absurdity that has been unleashed by Donald Trump’s Iran war; others surely laughed. I have to say it just made me sad.

The sadness comes from what the sentence honestly implies: that the bar for leadership within the Republican Party has sunk so low that even figures known for promoting truly bizarre fringe ideas can, in certain moments, appear comparatively steady. That inversion of roles, one where the outlier becomes the anchor, signals the deeply troubled times in which we find ourselves. We witness every day an erosion in our political discourse from this White House as it furthers spectacle, outrage, and unseriousness to the point that even the improbable Johnson can seem like the adult in the room. Think about that for a moment.

I do not think it at all unreasonable to expect our senators, at all times, to be serious‑minded, well‑informed, and grounded in reality. I do not expect them to perform or orate like Henry Clay or Daniel Webster. But I do expect them to be of sturdier timber so as not to succumb to outlandish conspiracy theories, the likes of which Johnson has often spread. What struck me this past week was how refreshing it was to read about how he took a stand for common sense and reasonableness as opposed to the vulgarity and threats of war crimes against the Iranian people being espoused by Trump. It is not partisan to state that how Johnson spoke and acted in that sliver of time is what we pay him to do 365 days a year.

Based on the uplift of his words (though they are the type we have long expected and associated with reasoned elected officials) and the way the WSJ wrote their editorial, it underscores the troubling truth about this matter. We have grown so used to the lowest common denominator holding the Republican Party that one senator and one moment becomes a headline.

We have resigned ourselves to the bombast, crudeness, and mediocrity of Trump. We have given up on the GOP finding its spine and acting as if Congress were a separate and powerful branch of government. So, when a senator of that party cannot tolerate behavior that once would have been rejected outright by all, it is a huge news story. Think about that for a moment.

Too often over the past decade, we have witnessed rhetoric supplanting reason and noise far outpacing facts. Senator Johnson has often been a cheerleader for those wrong elements within his party. As such, I was absolutely surprised when that habitual provocateur took on the role of a rational politician. Wouldn’t it be nice if he grew into that role?