Ron Johnson Tapdances on Great Lakes Oil Drilling; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Applauds His Pirouettes

Question: When does "yeah" at one point mean "no" subsequently? 

Answer: When Ron Johnson, the Republican Party's anointed primary candidate for US Senate, says "yeah" in a response to a WisPolitics question about whether he supported drilling for oil in the Great Lakes, and then issues press releases and TV ads saying he's against it. See Xoff here, here, and here.

Question: How does Johnson get away with it?

Answer: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial page helpfully ignores the "yeah" and selectively quotes Johnson to make his position(s) less contradictory, and then blames both Johnson and Feingold for slinging mud.

Question: When are Lake Erie and Lake Ontario not part of the Great Lakes?

Answer: When Ron Johnson's TV response ads claim that Russ Feingold was the only Great Lakes Senator to vote against banning oil drilling in the Great Lakes, when, in fact, New York's two Senators, Schumer and Clinton, voted no along with Feingold, all three because the bill's Great Lakes protections were too weak.

Question: When Ron Johnson later claims that "he did not think he ever heard the Great Lakes portion of the question," why doesn't the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel or WisPolitics call him on it?

Answer: Johnson's campaign must be supported for its entertainment value until November.  Dave Westlake is too dull and too consistent on conservative issues, and the Tea Party folks seem too willing to go over the cliff with their Republican "kingmakers" and talk radio blowhards.

- Barry Orton

Comments

[John Peterson]

Great work Barry. The media loves the fight and will anything to promote the match, even ignore the simplest unambiguous message.

It's time we all call them out on it.

[Vance]

Maybe his "yeah" is in acknowledgement to the question. Similar to what happened to Rand Paul here

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/05/21/4323347-new-york-times-gets-rand-paul-wrong

Without video it's hard to judge. Putting too much credence in a 'yeah' or 'yes' being translated into print seems foolhardy.

Much ado about nothing? Yes.