Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote the foreword and publicly promoted a 2022 book that spread baseless and discredited conspiracy theories and used derogatory homophobic insults.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote the foreword and publicly promoted a 2022 book that spread baseless and discredited conspiracy theories and used derogatory homophobic insults.
Written by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger, the book, “The Revivalist Manifesto,” gives credence to unfounded conspiracy theories often embraced by the far-right – including the “Pizzagate” hoax, which falsely claimed top Democratic officials were involved in a pedophile ring, among other conspiracies.
The book also propagates baseless and inaccurate claims, implying that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was subjected to blackmail and connected to the disgraced underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Other sections of the book defend podcaster Joe Rogan from racism charges after it was revealed he used the N-word, which Rogan later apologized for. The book also disparages poor voters as “unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency” and easy to manipulate with “Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.”
“Scott McKay presents a valuable and timely contribution with The Revivalist Manifesto because he has managed here to articulate well what millions of conscientious, freedom-loving Americans are sensing,” Johnson writes in his 300-word foreword.
It would be legitimately refreshing to see a no-shit feelgood story about a truly good person who happened to be a Republican. In reality though, it's become very clear that every last one is a piece of shit, it's just a matter of degree.
Hell, at this point finding out a Republican is only dogshit is a feel-good story.
But this should be a feel-good for you: even though Kentucky re-elected a Republican for our Secretary of State, he strongly encouraged voters to vote early to reduce waiting times on election day (his words) and has been generally working towards making voting easier. So that's nice.
Everyone leaving apathetic comments, this shit should infuriate you. We have an extremist as our speaker who would tear down the walls of equality and use the material to build god a throne in our capital. We should be offering two options; The voluntary removal of christian extremists from our government or a forceful removal. You do not hand the biggest stick in the world to people who are itching to swing it.
I'm tired of being angry, fatigued with fury. It hasn't gotten me anything to hold on the to the heat behind my passion. It can burn you out inside.
You can still maintain resolve without kindling your hate and ire. It also allows you to look beyond the passionate reactionism to find realistic and functional solutions to problems.
The Twelve Labors of Heracles is a great tale, and illustrates the importance of controlling your emotions instead of casting them aside. You need your anger, use it, don't extinguish it. These injustices should fill you with fire. Being angry is the first step in taking action, it is when we lose control of this anger that our goals are never realized.
I had no idea who Mike Johnson was earlier this year. Now, everytime I find out something about him, it is something horrible or crazy. And this guy could be president if something happens to a very old man and a women. Good health and safe travels Biden and Harris.
The book also propagates baseless and inaccurate claims, implying that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was subjected to blackmail and connected to the disgraced underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
While McKay remains ambiguous in his book regarding the elements he asserts weren’t disproven, he explicitly writes on his public Facebook page that the conspiracy related to code words was not debunked and goes as far as labeling Podesta as a pedophile.
Jared Holt, an expert on right wing conspiracy theories at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think-tank that studies disinformation, told CNN that Johnson’s promotion of the book raised questions about the new House speaker’s judgment.
Another section takes aim at poor voters, who the author calls, “unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency” and says they are easily manipulated with “bowdlerizing old monuments, or midnight basketball, or Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.”
McKay’s book also shares other unfounded conspiracy theories, including the debunked claim that the Democratic National Committee’s emails in 2016 were not hacked but leaked by a staffer named Seth Rich.
The book targets and taunts prominent Democratic officials, including calling Interior Secretary Deb Haaland “half oppressed” because her mother is Native American and father is of Norwegian descent and writes that former President Barack Obama’s “chief selling point was that he was black.”
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