The GOP’s new Speaker candidate is basically Diet Jim Jordan

After anointing and ditching a new Speaker-designate in a span of four hours, House Republicans settled on their latest choice: Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Johnson lacks the name recognition and bombastic personality of a Jim Jordan—but make no mistake: he’s as repulsive as Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and the rest of the right-wing clown show.

Additionally, his relatively low profile may indeed be an asset which carries him over the finish line in the floor vote tentatively scheduled for this afternoon. Despite Johnson’s radical record and rhetoric, his obscurity may cause so-called “moderate” Republicans to believe their support won’t trigger electoral consequences.

Democrats and their supporters must make it clear that supporting Johnson carries the same political risk for these “moderates” as supporting Jim Jordan. They can do so by persistently, publicly noting that Mike Johnson:

• Is election denier who organized a comprehensive amicus brief supporting the attempt by Texas to overturn the 2020 election

• Objected to the certification of President Biden’s victory on January 6

• Is a cosponsor of at least three bills which would ban abortions nationwide

• Blames his desire to cut Social Security and Medicare on women not being forced to birth more “able-bodied workers”

• Had to be publicly shamed by Jon Stewart into supporting permanent health care funding for 9/11 first responders

Though Johnson won his closed door vote to become Speaker designate 128-76, he was still far from the so-called “magic number” of 217 needed to defeat Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a full vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

If properly leveraged, the facts previously mentioned could ensure that Johnson’s bid for the Speakership implodes as utterly as those of Scalise, Jordan, and Emmer.