He Said What?

MADISON, Wis. — The stunning frequency with which Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson proves himself to be utterly out-of-touch, misinformed and even downright foolish in his public statements inspired One Wisconsin Now’s new website, www.OurDumbSenator.com, dedicated to chronicling the Senator’s inanity.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross commented, “It is almost unbelievable that a single elected official could make so many wrongheaded, ill-informed and outright offensive public statements in such a short time. But Sen. Johnson has done it, and we’ve got the website to prove it.”

Among Sen. Johnson’s “highlights” featured on the website are his:

• Theory on sunspots;
• Fantastical position on the impact of outsourcing jobs on our economy;
• Response to questions about what can be done by the government to help homeless service veterans; and
• “Helpful” suggestions for how women may be able to find affordable contraception.

While touting his personal wealth and ownership of businesses in his public appearances, Johnson regularly omits the origins of his fortune, marriage into a wealthy family. The history of “his” company, PACUR, includes its creation as an offshoot of the successful plastics company owned by Johnson’s father-in law. In fact, for many years, PACUR’s sole client was the business of Johnson’s father-in-law.

PACUR has proven to be lucrative for Johnson in many ways. For example, he received a $10 million payout of “deferred compensation” from PACUR almost immediately after the November 2010 election in which he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Interestingly, Johnson had given his campaign a $9 million personal “loan” to help fund his run.

Ross noted that, while One Wisconsin Now has kicked off this ambitious project, the public can assist in the herculean task of tracking Sen. Johnson’s buffoonery by emailing submissions to rojo@onewisconsinnow.org

“As long as Sen. Johnson is going to speak, we’ll be here to catalogue the sheer lunacy sure to follow”, concluded Ross.