I'm really not sure why Mike Johnson chose to do this call-in show on C-Span. Perhaps the polls are showing that the public has soured on Republicans regarding this shutdown, and that a dose of PR with a display of faux empathy was warranted. If that was the plan, though, it backfired, as caller after caller berated Johnson for his ineffectiveness, his inability to guarantee the military would be paid, and his cowardice over not seating duly-elected Adelita Grijalva.
Source: Politico
Speaker Mike Johnson heard a plea from a military family to move legislation paying active-duty forces amid the government shutdown in a remarkable televised exchange Thursday.
Johnson is already under pressure from a growing number of fellow House Republicans to pass legislation to prevent a potential missed paycheck due Oct. 15 — in addition to the seven-week continuing resolution the House passed last month that would also pay the troops. But on C-SPAN, he heard directly from “Samantha,” a caller who identified herself as a Republican military mom from Fort Belvoir in Virginia and urged him to call the House back and take action.
“I’m begging you to pass this legislation,” she said, her voice cracking. “My kids could die.”
Johnson so far has ruled out that possibility, arguing that it’s incumbent on Senate Democrats to pass the seven-week CR, and he’s kept the House out of session since it passed Sept. 19. The caller was not convinced by that argument.
“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you, because you do have the power to call the House back,” she said, adding, “You could stop this and you could be the one that could say: ‘Military is getting paid.’... And I think it is awful and the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.”
The caller said she has “two medically fragile children,” a husband who has PTSD from two tours in Afghanistan and that her family lives paycheck to paycheck.
Johnson then pretended to give a shit, saying, “Samantha, I’m so sorry to hear about your situation," and then he was so "angry" because of situations like hers. In reality, though, Mike Johnson couldn't care less. His only real job is keeping Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives and placating Donald Trump.
She really should have.
