Mike Johnson finally helps Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Louisiana’s Mike Johnson accidentally became Speaker of the House of Representatives when eight renegade Republicans voted with Democrats to unseat the hapless Kevin McCarthy in October. After some senior members failed to win enough support, the booby prize went to Johnson.

Johnson has been an exceptionally weak speaker, and not just because of the narrowness of his majority. He gave in to the right-wing mob to frame Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on false charges and jumped to obey Donald Trump’s reckless order to defeat the Senate’s hard-fought, bipartisan measure on immigration reform. The amount of actual legislation this Congress has passed on behalf of the country is a record low.

But on Saturday, Johnson did good for America and good for the world by introducing several bills to provide desperately needed military aid to democratic allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, who are under attack from the nastiest parts of the world: Russia, Iran and China. .

Each relief package yielded only Democratic votes, while isolationist idiots in the Republican party said no to all three measures.

To their credit, every Democrat supported the $8 billion for Taiwan and not a single Democrat voted against the $61 billion for Ukraine when the pro-Putin caucus captured Ronald Reagan’s party, while a majority of Republicans said no against Volodymyr Zelenskij when he tries to fend off the Russians.

There is also an embarrassing anti-Israel claque on the left of the Democratic Party (including New Yorkers Nydia Velázquez, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman) who rejected the $26 billion for Israel fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza and against Iranian ballistic missiles. , cruise missiles and drones.

But overall, there were large majorities in favor of joining our friends abroad, who are under siege by Moscow, Tehran (and its Hamas and Hezbollah buddies), and Beijing.

That all bills were dependent on Democrats and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is a slight to Johnson within his party’s conference. He now has three lunatics calling on him to resign or be thrown out, McCarthy-style. First in line is crazy Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has filed a motion to vacate the seat. Joining her were Thomas Massie and Paul Gosar, a pair of Grade A lunatics.

Johnson had 218 on his side for Saturday’s roll call, while Jeffries had 213, but that GOP total immediately dropped by one when Wisconsin’s Mike Gallagher resigned immediately afterwards. Gallagher was one of only three Republicans to vote against Mayorkas’ terribly wrong impeachment (another dissident resigned a month ago).

And there’s a special election in Buffalo next week, which should add another Democrat, so the balance will be 217 to 214, making the Three Stooges of Greene, Massie and Gosar the kingmakers.

If they attempt another coup to overthrow another chairman, Democrats will have to bail out Johnson. That will further weaken him within his own party and strengthen the outer fringe of the Republican Party, but the center can hold on.

Johnson’s political career may not last beyond this year, but his brief tenure will be remembered as America came to the aid of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. And that’s far more important than the fate of a congressman no one had ever heard of before October.