Will His Mania To Destroy The U.S. Post Office Be Ron Johnson's Final Undoing?

I suppose once the likes of right-wing steeped-in-profound-ignorance sociopaths Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cory Gardner (R-CO) and James Lankford (R-OK) show up scores will change, but right now ProgressivePunch rates Wisconsin nut-case Ron Johnson as owner of the worst voting record in the Senate. It's not just that his 0.48 Lifetime crucial vote score is significantly lower than even radical right freaks like Ted Cruz (2.60), Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (2.36) and Mike Lee (6.31), it's that when you take the partisan lean of states into account, Johnson is the senator least likely to serve the basic interests of the most people in his state. His score there is -79.52. I've never seen a score that low before, or even close to that low. Johnson doesn't care what people back in Wisconsin think or need; he's governed entirely by a bizarre, foreign ideology that would be right at home in 1930s Europe. That's MINUS 79.52. Is he trying to lose his seat in 2016?

Wisconsin appears to be pretty ready for Hillary and the state is usually unkind to Republicans in presidential years to begin with. With Russ Feingold likely to run for his old seat, Johnson, the 10th richest member of the Senate (with a net worth of north of $13 million), is looking like the underdog. Polls have consistently shown that Feingold would beat him by between 6 and 10 points in a rematch.

With the Republicans having grabbed control of the Senate, Johnson will be the new head of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which, among other things, oversees the post office-- which Johnson wants to drive into bankruptcy and then privatize, not a popular option back in Wisconsin... but we already saw that he doesn't care what people want back in Wisconsin. And he opposes the bipartisan compromise reform package worked out by Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK). He sees destroying the U.S. Post Office as a last legacy. If you're wondering, yes, the man is seriously insane and, yes, he really hates working families.

How did a crackpot like Ron Johnson ever get into the Senate? Long, sad story, but he always claims he self-funded his way to the top. That's not 100% true-- and, of course, not free from the corruption that is always swirling around Ron Johnson and the family firm, Pacur, a plastics manufacturer that's involved in medical device packaging and high-tech printing applications. He told a CNN audience on Thursday that he's not going to self-finance his campaign "again" in 2016. "I made my $9 million investment in this country…I gave it once," he boasted, "I don't think I should do it again."

According to campaign finance data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Johnson did in fact contribute $8.8 million to his 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate while working at PACUR, a plastics company started by Johnson’s brother in law whose biggest client is a company founded by his now-deceased father in law and is currently run by another brother in law.

But like most every other story with Tailgunner Ron, you need to know the rest of the story - his "investment in America" was immediately paid back by his in law's company as soon as the campaign was over. Johnson wants voters to think this was a selfless act-- a great generous contribution-- but it was no more than a Ponzi scheme to get elected.

A quick fact check reveals that the former family-made businessman received a $10 million deferred compensation payoff from PACUR shortly after the election. Federal law prohibits corporations from donating to individuals running for public office; absent a written deferred compensation agreement signed and dated prior to Johnson’s Senate campaign, the compensation package potentially constitutes an illegal corporate campaign contribution.

Despite previous calls for transparency in campaign finance disclosures, Johnson was unwilling to offer an explanation for the questionable payout. Speaking with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time, Johnson said, "It's a private business. I've complied with all the disclosure laws, and I don't have to explain it any further to someone like you."

“Through his words and his actions in the U.S. Senate, Ron Johnson has made clear that he is not to be taken seriously, but the same can’t be said for corporate money flowing through campaigns in the dark,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Wednesday. “We know that Tailgunner Ron’s family business financed his first campaign but it’s anyone’s guess which special interests will underwrite his second campaign.”