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Posted on 01/06/2011 6:56:16 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Washingtonn — Minutes after taking the oath of office Wednesday, Republican Ron Johnson's first words on how it feels to be a United States senator were:
"It feels very nice. I'm looking forward to getting to work and try to limit the size and scope of the federal government."
He may be a newcomer to politics, but there are no mixed signals with the wealthy Oshkosh businessman.
In an interview just after his swearing-in, the freshman lawmaker returned again and again to the theme of his campaign: shrinking government.
Consider his choice of legislative mentor, Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, perhaps the Senate's most single-minded critic of federal spending.
At Coburn's suggestion, Johnson has asked for a seat on the appropriations committee, a counterintuitive choice for a lawmaker who ran on fiscal austerity.
But Johnson said the idea of his serving on appropriations is "not to spend money," but "to get a pretty good overview of what's happened with this federal government, where's the money being spent and what we can do to try and rein it in."
Johnson has also requested a seat on the budget committee. Those committee assignments have not been made yet.
Johnson joined two House Republicans from Wisconsin in taking the oath Wednesday as new members of Congress: Sean Duffy of Ashland and Reid Ribble of De Pere.
Since the election, Johnson has by his count spent all but two weeks in Washington, putting together a staff. During orientation, he asked Coburn to be his mentor.
"I view him as a citizen legislator, somebody who has practiced in the private sector as a physician. I've always appreciated the amount of principle he brings to the issue," said Johnson Wednesday.
If nothing else, the choice of Coburn as a model underscores the political chasm between Johnson and the senator he replaced, Democrat Russ Feingold.
According to one respected congressional rating system (devised by political scientist Keith Poole of the University of Georgia), Coburn was the single most conservative senator of the 111th Congress. Feingold was the single most liberal. Johnson's mentor and predecessor couldn't be any further apart ideologically.
Johnson said it gets back to the spending issue.
"Obviously, I'm trying to slim the size and scope of the federal government. That entails limiting spending, and I think Tom Coburn has provided a pretty good example in how you try and limit spending," Johnson said.
If he gets the assignment he's seeking on appropriations, Johnson said he would not be a traditional appropriator.
"When people come in and have problems with the federal government in terms of working through the bureaucracy or when they have regulatory overburden, I'll have a very receptive ear," he said of businesses and other interests in the state. "People coming to me begging for money, I'll be a little bit more skeptical about it."
Tax deal criticized
Asked about the recent lame-duck session, Johnson criticized the tax agreement reached by President Barack Obama and GOP congressional leaders, though he would not say whether he thinks Republicans should have opposed the deal.
"I don't think you should be just pushing through pretty major policy proposals in a lame duck," he said. "I did not like the fact that we had to spend in excess of $100 billion in order not to increase taxes on any sector of the economy," Johnson said of the trade-offs in the deal.
Johnson also defended the Republican push to repeal the health care law against criticism that it's an empty gesture that has no chance of being enacted.
"I think it's important to get people on the record: Do you support the repeal or do you not support the repeal?" he said. "It's certainly what got me in the race. I talked about it all the time. People that did elect me in Wisconsin knew exactly where I stood on that. I am absolutely for repeal of the health care bill."
Johnson and Feingold both talked Wednesday about the meeting they arranged with each other after the election in Washington. Feingold called it a "nice chat" about the institution of the Senate. Johnson called it a "very gracious meeting." He said Feingold offered his help in the transition, and Johnson said he told Feingold: "I would be happy to interview anybody that worked in his offices from a casework standpoint, so that we could continue to serve the people of Wisconsin."
In the interview Wednesday, Johnson was asked about the polarization in Wisconsin over issues like health care and the role of government, and how he hoped to win over voters who did not support him in the election.
"I'm not going to compromise my principles, but I think it's obviously my duty to communicate to the voters of Wisconsin, 'This is why I'm taking these votes. In the end, you have to win the argument," he said.
"I've got to communicate my position why I think the size and scope of the federal government is the root cause of holding our economy back. That's the case you have to make."
We’re coming for you next, Herbert Kohl !
Happy New Government and New Year to you, Di!!!
Mrs. Johnson: Yeppers. Dose are some plugs, alrighty den!
LOL! I love your dialect! Hey, girl!
Woo-Hoo!
I donated a little to him!
Dat’s da way we talk, Yah Hey! But we get tings dun, You Betcha! :)
I am SO excited going into this new Congress. I hope I’m not disappointed, but at this point in time I’m pretty jaded about Wisconsin Politics. *Rolleyes*
How’s by you?
He’ll return to ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan’ and open a bagel shop, LOL!
I don’t give a flyin’ flip what he does from here on out. He’s GONE and that’s all that matters. :)
We needed all the help we could get in this state!
I can’t remember who our last Republican Senator was 18 years ago. Can you help me with that?
I stand corrected. Rusty is going to teach Law at Marquette University. (Milwaukeestan, WI) *SPIT*
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/feingold-specter-to-teach-law.php
I can’t find who he defeated. Rusty was in the Wisconsin Senate (now called ‘Assembly’) since 1982, then he won his US Senate seat in 1992.
My experience with him was that he was an @ss. I had to go to him for a measly $30K to keep a program running for military families during ODS and he acted as if he were writing a personal check to fund Wisconsin military families! Grrrrrr!
“No more Kohl” is my next campaign slogan for my liberal friends in the UAW (United Against Work).
Mark my words, Kohl is going to retire and ‘ol Rusty is going to run for that seat.
Bob Kasten
Plenty of liberals there...
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