OPINION
Our representatives in Washington, D.C. too often lack vision, courage, and leadership.
But newly minted U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is demonstrating those qualities right before our very eyes.
That’s rare among people today, and particularly among politicians.
Mike Johnson’s guiding principles are rooted in his sincere faith.
At 12 years old, his father, a firefighter, survived an explosion that left him severely burned. "I saw an actual miracle of my father surviving when they said that he shouldn’t," Johnson shared.
"It made me a person of very deep faith."
It’s not hard to see that Johnson is intelligent, outspoken and politically savvy — though still relatively new to the Washington, D.C., social and political circles.
He’s an astute constitutional lawyer, a first-generation college graduate and an unabashedly pro-family Christian father.
There is a lot to hope for from Johnson as the GOP’s new speaker of the House — and a lot for progressives to dislike.
Take, for instance, the legislation that he wrote that would prohibit federal funding from going to "develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10."
He also co-sponsored legislation intended to prevent children under the age of 18 from gender-transition operations or "care."
He’s also been a long-time, staunch defender of marriage and the family.
He worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) from 2002 to 2010, and during that time supported or influenced numerous pieces of legislation aimed at defending traditional marriage.
In 2005, he was honored by the Family Research Council for his work in his home state of Louisiana in defense of just this institution.
Johnson’s faith is also central to his life in politics.
Since his election as speaker, he has repeatedly taken time for prayer.
Speaker Johnson has also been an unwavering protector of innocent life.
Rolling Stone called him one of the "most anti-abortion lawmakers in Congress" and noted that he has repeatedly championed the legal protection of workers who refuse on religious or conscience grounds to administer abortifacients in the course of their work.
In 2005, he called abortion a "holocaust" while excoriating the mainstream judicial philosophy of American courts at the time.
"This disregard for life has been fostered by the courts," he wrote. "During business hours today, 4,500 innocent American children will be killed. It is a holocaust that has been repeated every day for 32 years, since 1973's Roe v. Wade." [Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)]
He has repeatedly shown conviction in leadership, including helping lead a "Life March" in Louisiana in 2015 and 2016. The 2015 event had around 7,000 people in attendance.
In short, Johnson seems like the sort of politician whose beliefs shine through his work quite clearly.
He has been a long-term advocate of religious liberty, the protection of unborn life, the support and defense of traditional families and the limitation of overweening federal power.
We’d do well with more elected officials like Johnson in positions of authority.
He seems well aware of the Founders’ intentions for the American government.
His relative newness to D.C. also works to his advantage, rather than being the weakness some make it out to be.
After all, America was not designed to pamper decadent career politicians but to further the interests of the citizens and nation through interdependent processes of deliberation, instigation and judicial review.
Our government was built for political push and pull tied closely to the interests and views of the citizens who elect the men who represent them — precisely the sort of political push and pull Johnson might be prepared to restore to Congress.
President Joe Biden’s presidency is leaving a vast and complex trail of destruction in its wake. At times, it almost seems that the Biden administration is trying to degrade and weaken America’s foundation domestically and prowess internationally.
Republican leadership has a clear and daunting mission as they set about working to reverse the harms wrought by his administration.
Only time will tell whether Johnson is the right man for the job, but his political record suggests that conservative voters have every reason to be overwhelmingly optimistic.
Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
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