Ron Johnson for Senator of Dumbeddownistan (Part I)

One of the things that strikes me the most about Ron Johnson is his lack of substance, especially when compared to Russ Feingold's well thought out positions.  Analyzing Ron Johnson is really quite easy to do because there is so little there to work with.  His website lists 11 "issues" with paragraph length solutions.  Man, if life were only that simple.  So, here's a quick analysis of Ron Johnson on the issues:


First Issue:  The 2nd Amendment and Gun Rights

Ron will be a staunch defender of our right to keep and bear arms.

Ron does not support licensing or registration of firearms, and the people of Wisconsin can trust him not to play politics with our Constitutional rights.

Unlike Russ Feingold, who voted for every anti-gun justice on the Supreme Court today, Ron will only support Supreme Court Justices who correctly interpret the Constitution and protect our right to keep and bear arms.

The Constitution affirms peoples' right to bear arms (whether this is an individual right, or the right of states to maintain militias is another question).  No where in the Constitution does it say that guns shall not be licensed or registered.  One could make a legitimate argument that the the licensing and registration of guns falls under the interstate commerce clause as well as the 2nd Amendment since guns are usually sold (including across state lines).  The state and the public have a legitimate interest in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, and otherwise unstable people.  You may have the right to free speech, but you don't have the right to unrestricted free speech (like yelling fire in a crowded building), likewise you have a right to bear arms but not an unrestricted right to bear arms.  Ron Johnson would be an NRA puppet in the Senate.

As for Russ Feingold voting for "anti-gun" justices.  I'd like to know how Ron defines "anti-gun," who are these nefarious anti-gun justices?  Has there been any substantial gun control in the last who knows how many years?  If anything, the Court is primed to take away the ability of states to regulate guns at all.  So, how pray tell is the Court anti-gun?  As far as Ron Johnson voting for those who "correctly interpret" the Constitution, how does he interpret it and why is it more correct than the interpretation of someone who studies the Constitution for a profession? Also, Justices are not static and sometimes their interpretation of the Constitution evolves over their lifetime, how will Ron control for this?

Second Issue: Spending

Washington has been on a spending spree and now the nation’s debt is a record $13 trillion.  Ron believes we reduce spending by reducing the size of government.

Ok, lets cut the deficit by reducing spending.  So what is Ron going to cut?  Social Security?  Medicare?  Fact is, there is not a lot of spending that you can cut that won't have a big impact on the economy or on the social safety net.  Fact is, the economy tanked, we're still fighting two wars, and President Bush never paid for his tax cuts with spending cuts, and that is why the deficit is the way it is.  When you deal with an economic crisis in the size and scope of the Great Recession, the deficit is bound to increase as counter-cyclical spending is necessary to pull the economy out of a death spiral.  When the economy is back on firm footing then you can raise the necessary taxes and withdraw the spending needed to backstop the economy in crisis.  Hoover tried to ride out the Great Depression without massive government spending, we see how well that worked.  In addition, much of the stimulus money went to keep cash strapped states afloat, to prevent the pro-cyclical effects of fiscal contraction at the state level.  So, the stimulus likely prevented much misery and an even worse downturn.  If economic logic makes no sense to you, don't worry, you can still run for Senate in Wisconsin.  No money? Oops! well then you are out of luck.

Third Issue: Health Care

Ron will vote to repeal the Health Care Bill and replace it with market-based solutions that will include: portability, malpractice reform, mandate reduction, insurance purchase across state lines, lower costs, and a safety net for those with pre-existing conditions.

The Health Care Bill is a $1 trillion experiment that will lead to higher cost, lower quality health care and rationing by government bureaucrats.  A free- market approach to health care reform is critical to ensuring doctors and patients stay in control of the decision-making process.  The free market is essential for the development of new drugs, treatments and medical procedures that will save lives and keep our country on the forefront of medical innovation.

The Health Care Bill will further bust an already broken budget.  Obama Administration estimates are simply not believable.  When Medicare was passed in 1965, the government estimated its cost in 1990 would be $12 billion.  The actual cost in 1990 was $111 billion…nearly ten times the original estimate.  The estimated cost of the Health Care Bill will not be any more accurate.

Sorry, Ron, your half-measures will do very little to improve access and affordability of health care.  What is going to be this safety net for covering people with pre-existing conditions?  Require insurers to insure people with PECs?  This cannot work without an individual mandate.  People with PECs will undoubtably sign up for health insurance, and their conditions will be costly, requiring premium increases, these premium increases will push healthy people out of the insurance pool and premiums will go up further.  Unless you "assault" Ron Johnson's freedom with an individual mandate spreading costs amongst everyone, people with PECs will not be covered.  If this makes no sense to you, don't worry, Ron doesn't get it either.

Can we finally stop saying we have the "greatest healthcare system in the world?"  A system that leaves 40+ million people out, costs more, and gets worse outcomes is not that great.  The system might be great for wealthy people like Ron, but it prices too many people out.  This IS a form of rationing!  Apparently Ron can also do a better job accounting than the entire Office of Management of the Budget (OBM), but can't understand basic insurance principles.

This is the first in a series of "Ron Johnson, on the (11) issues....

Quotes are from www.ronjohnsonforsenate.com