As the WI-SEN campaign enters its final three weeks and Ron Johnson's horrific first debate performance -- the first time many outside of Wisconsin have seen him speak -- begins to settle into the national consciousness, more and more of the national punditocracy and blogosphere is coming to the realization that he is as dangerous as any radical right-wing candidate in the nation running for office this year:
Chuck Todd tweets that Feingold should be sad he doesn't get to debate Johnson 5 more times.
Talking Points Memo rounds up some of the "darndest things" Johnson has said on the campaign trail this year so far.
And while the top slot is an admittedly high bar to clear, a Huffington Post blogger today pegs Ron Johnson as the #2 nuttiest candidate in the entire nation:
2. For the number two position in the lineup, we turn to Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson. Johnson has portrayed himself as a level-headed businessman who can create jobs, especially in the onslaught of television ads he has foisted on the state. But a scratch below the surface shows his worthiness for the GOP Tea Party All-Star squad.
Johnson has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," blamed climate change on sunspots, calleddismantling Social Security and Medicare a "starting point," and is "open" to abolishing the Federal Reserve.
Johnson's extreme business-first, the-people-last approach to the world was on display in his decision totestify against a state child abuse protection bill in January. Why would anyone have a problem with legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil actions related to child abuse? Well, Johnson wasn't happy with the provision that included corporations. Johnson's first concern wasn't the victims of abuse, but how it would affect businesses. He testified, "I think it is extremely important to consider the economic havoc." Johnson proposes massive federal spending cuts, but he refuses to identify which programs he would cut: "I'm not going to get in the game here and, you know, start naming specific things to be attacked about, quite honestly." And if you want some good old-fashioned hypocrisy to go with his extreme, out-of-the-mainstream policy positions, how about this: Johnson has campaigned against subsidies for businesses, but he has used prison labor at his factories, with the state picking up the health care costs of the prisoners.