{"id":2224706,"date":"2024-04-18T20:16:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T00:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-mike-johnson-is-correct\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T20:20:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T00:20:04","slug":"why-mike-johnson-is-correct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-mike-johnson-is-correct\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Johnson&#8217;s Accuracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">6<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-mike-johnson-is-correct%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2224706&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The challenges of \u200dbeing\u200d Speaker of \u2063the House with a \u200dslim majority\u200c are\u200c highlighted, emphasizing the need for consensus-building\u2064 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/focusing-on-russia-instead-of-china-would-be-the-united-statess-biggest-foreign-policy-mistake-ever\/\" title=\"Focusing On Russia Instead Of China Would Be The United States\u2019s Biggest Foreign Policy Mistake Ever\">strategic decision-making<\/a>.\u2064 Speaker Mike Johnson&#8217;s push for \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-border-crisis-helps-sink-israel-and-ukraine-aid-washington-photos-of-the-week\/\" title=\"Biden's border crisis impacts Israel and Ukraine aid: Washington Week in Photos\">foreign aid legislation<\/a> is explained,\u200b shedding light on the\u2063 importance of\u200d American foreign aid in supporting allies and safeguarding national interests amidst differing viewpoints on its value and relevance. Navigating the Speaker of the \u200cHouse role\u200d with a narrow majority\u2064 underscores the \u2064criticality of \u200bconsensus-building and strategic choices. Speaker \u200bMike\u200d Johnson&#8217;s advocacy for foreign aid legislation underscores its vital\u200c role in bolstering allies and\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-chinas-long-game-to-infiltrate-us-politics\/\" title=\"China's strategy to infiltrate US politics: a closer look.\">protecting \u200bnational \u200cinterests<\/a>, amid differing perspectives\u2064 on its\u200c significance and impact.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being Speaker of the House with an extraordinarily slim majority is a really tough job. You have to cut deals because you have no other capacity to get anything done. That\u2019s because given the fact there is a one-vote \u201cmotion to vacate\u201d rule that is in place in the House of Representatives, any one member of the Republican caucus can challenge the job of the Speaker of the House at any given time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It also means if a bunch of headline-grabbing people in the Republican caucus are more interested in being on television than in actually governing, maintaining a majority, or growing that majority to get big things done, that can hold up the works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All this is coming to a head because House Speaker Mike Johnson has now put forward a series of bills related to foreign aid.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Foreign aid is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">not <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the United States being wildly charitable. It is not the United States randomly deciding to drop goody bags in poor parts of the world. It does not involve simply sending food to Somalia or something of that nature. When it comes to foreign aid, there are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">always <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">strings attached.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s what makes it in America\u2019s interest. It\u2019s the same way as attempting to sponsor a friend in order to accomplish a particular goal; you might lend or give that friend money to get back on their feet in order to make sure that person remains a friend or that an ally is able to be strong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That is what American foreign aid does, and this has historically been the role of American foreign aid. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States effectively single-handedly rebuilt Europe with the Marshall Plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/episode\/ep-1950-will-america-s-cowardly-streak-continue-member-exclusive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of people on the Republican side of the aisle have said that all foreign aid is somehow bad, terrible, useless, or, worse than useless, that it\u2019s counterproductive because we\u2019re not spending it at home; thus, we shouldn\u2019t be spending it at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Such an argument is insanely shortsighted because there are two ways we spend our defense money. One: actual defense, meaning, for example, creating F-35s, F-22s, aircraft carriers, and submarines. Two: providing for our national defense by strengthening our allies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When our allies are not strong, we have to step in and take the lead. It turns out that stepping in is a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">lot<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  more expensive. Allies who are unable to defend themselves lead to enemies who are able to take advantage of that, thus threatening American interests and forcing American involvement. This has happened over and over in American history. When our allies are not strong enough, the United States ends up taking a lead role in areas we have no interest in being.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Foreign aid represents well under 1% of the federal budget of the United States nearly every year. Yet I have been noticing a lot of people screaming to the heavens about the cost of foreign aid: \u201cOh, I can\u2019t believe how much this is costing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are some people who are consistent libertarians. There are some people who say the government shouldn\u2019t be spending on Social Security, disability, welfare, and foreign aid. That is, at least, a consistent position. I think it\u2019s wrongheaded because America\u2019s foreign policy interests require that we have strong allies who eventually will be able to take care of themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But there is also a group of people in the Republican Party who are taking the view that foreign aid is a uniquely bad spend, that we\u2019re wasting taxpayer dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don\u2019t believe this is about fiscal responsibility, as they proclaim. When you continue to vote in favor of $5, $6, $7 trillion budgets every single year, but foreign aid is where you begin pinching pennies, I start to get a little suspicious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We currently spend about 22% of our federal budget every year on Social Security, which is a giant Ponzi scheme because it is a defined benefits plan, not a defined contribution plan. What you pay in is not, in fact, what you get out. For most people, you get out way more from Social Security than you ever paid in. Health care, which is Medicare\/Medicaid, represents about 26% of the federal budget. National defense only represents 13% of the federal budget.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when you tell me that you are deeply worried about the less-than-one percent spent on foreign aid to allies in war time, I think that perhaps you have a different set of priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That suggests to me that there may be a set of ulterior motives I don\u2019t fully understand. I don\u2019t really understand what the motivation is for those who seem to suggest that Russia taking Ukraine is of zero interest to the United States. Russia taking Ukraine would be of major interest to the United States, not only because Ukraine is the third largest producer of wheat on planet Earth, but also because Ukraine is strategically placed directly on the border between Russia and Europe, which is presumably the reason why Vladimir Putin wants it. It would be a danger to Eastern Europe, particularly the Baltic states, if Russia were to take Ukraine.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ukraine\u2019s border being far from the borders of Lithuania and Latvia creates a massive problem for the Russian military. They would have to worry about NATO\u2019s forces being deployed against Russia via Ukraine. It would free up American forces, NATO\u2019s forces, and allied forces to fight an invasion of NATO\u2019s allies like Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right now, Ukraine is fighting NATO\u2019s war. That is a reality. Ukraine is weakening the Russian military and providing a bulwark against NATO\u2019s states being invaded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Wall Street Journal <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/mike-johnsons-ukraine-israel-aid-plan-implodes-as-republicans-rebel-c5da23af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  on this, saying:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would plunge ahead with a high-stakes vote to move long-stalled funding for Ukraine, Israel and other overseas allies, elbowing aside criticism from his conservative flank. The move sets up an unpredictable weekend showdown that could determine both the fate of the foreign-aid package\u2014and Johnson\u2019s political career.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Democrats will line up behind the aid effort. Johnson\u2019s plan is to bring the subjects of Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the TikTok ban, and package all of them together. The reality is that all of them are going to pass with a majority of both parties voting in favor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, Johnson will require Democratic support in order to pass that bill. A majority of Republicans in the House will vote for that bill. Also, there is a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president, which means that if it is any priority for Ukraine not to simply fall by running out of ammo to the Russians, then you\u2019ve got to make the deal that you can make.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an interview <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/04\/17\/politics\/mike-johnson-foreign-aid-analysis\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with CNN<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Johnson stated: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since World War II, really, the responsibility for the free world has been shifted onto our shoulders. And we accept that role. We\u2019re an exceptional nation. We\u2019re the greatest nation on the planet, and we have to act like it. And we have to project to Putin and Xi and Iran and North Korea and anybody else that we will defend freedom. It doesn\u2019t mean boots on the ground. We\u2019re not the world\u2019s policeman, but we\u2019re going to do the right thing. And I think the Congress is going to take an important stand here.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is basic Reagan Republicanism. I know \u201cReagan\u201d has become a dirty word for some reason, despite the fact Reagan won the Cold War and led to the greatest peacetime economic expansion in American history. Somehow, we\u2019re supposed to believe a bunch of clowns riding the back seats of the House of Representatives, who have not actually accomplished anything in their entire political career, and have some really mean words about Ronald Reagan\u2019s foreign policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, is this going to be a perfect bill? No. There\u2019s going to be a bunch of crap in the bill you don\u2019t like. There\u2019s going to be a bunch of crap in the bill <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  don\u2019t like. Is this bill perfect? No. Does it have a lot of problems? Yes. Is this bill necessary in order to preserve the strength of America\u2019s allies? Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That is why Johnson is right to move the bill forward. There\u2019s also a politically important reason to do so: If you want Republicans to win a broader majority and actually make the serious kinds of cuts to government that are necessary, you need to win Congress by more than three votes. In order for that to happen, you have to win purple districts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the bill is relatively popular in purple districts, by every available polling metric.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Serving as Speaker of the House with a razor-thin majority is incredibly challenging. Negotiations are crucial as options are limited. The one-vote &#8220;motion to vacate&#8221; rule in the House of Representatives underscores the delicate balance, making consensus-building essential for progress<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":2224707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2147857304.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2147857304.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}