As predicted, the election of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) to the House Speaker position has sent Democrats and their media allies into fits of howling outrage, with the attacks on his Christian faith commencing apace and mudslingers digging deep in the Wayback machine to find a Confederate soldier family connection.
But so far, the attacks from the Usual Suspects on both Johnson and his family don't seem to have done much if any damage to him among the Republican faithful. In fact, they might actually be helping instead, as the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has reported their highest one-day fundraising numbers in a year and a half:
The House GOP campaign arm reported its best online fundraising day in 18 months Friday, providing a glimpse into Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) potential to carry on the fundraising torch passed down by his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the political committee helping elect more Republicans in the House, pulled in $175,000, the group’s best online fundraising day since February 2022.
The total amount raised between Friday and Saturday ultimately came to more than $475,000.
The Hill also noted that "Roughly three-quarters of the fundraising haul came from emails signed by Johnson" and that the NRCC "also saw record-shattering sign-ups from the monthly donors and a heavy influx of individual donations."
Of course, while impressive fundraising hauls are nice, it should also be noted that with this power comes great responsibility -- not just to the Republican House members who put him in the position after three weeks of drama, infighting, and Democrat meddling but also to the GOP grassroots who seem to be, for the time being, impressed with who and what they see.
The modern history of the Republican Party is riddled with instances of party diehards rallying around this person or that person in hopes that they will eagerly promote and defend conservative ideals and in the process be a standard bearer for standing firm for years to come as future candidates step into the ring to make their mark.
But though some succeed, others often end up falling short, and conservative voters wind up being the ones who are left holding the bag along with the cheap bumper sticker that won't peel off the back of their car.
Johnson has a rather large task in front of him headed into 2024: Keeping the various GOP factions in the House united while fighting against the Democrat/Biden agenda while also trying to implement one that his members - and the average Joe and Jane conservatives who are counting on him to deliver - can enthusiastically get behind.
It's a tall order to be sure, but as we've noted before, Johnson's conservative/leadership creds are solid, and on paper, at least, he looks to be the man who has the will and determination to get it done.
Will he, though? We shall see...