Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson Paralyzes Senate Over Budget Fight

Benjy Sarlin | June 28, 2011, 4:49PM

Ad from candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson (R-WI), "57"

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) ground the Senate to a halt on Tuesday, threatening to block "business as usual" until Democrats submit a budget.

Johnson began his broadside by objecting to a quorum call, blocking the Senate from proceeding with a vote. Quorum calls, like many basic Senate procedures, are approved by unanimous consent and Johnson threatened in a floor speech to wreak havoc on these uncontroversial motions.

"Business as usual is bankrupting America," he said in a floor speech. "It must stop."

Read more »

Campaign Finance

Ron Johnson Ducks TPM Questions On His $10 Million Payday: 'It's A Private Company'

Benjy Sarlin and Susan Crabtree | June 28, 2011, 1:04PM

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Legal experts say that whether Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) $10 million parting gift from his company potentially violates campaign laws depends on when it was negotiated. But asked by TPM to directly address the timing, Johnson repeatedly ducked the question.

Johnson's collected $10 million in deferred compensation from his former company, Pacur, a figure that Wisconsin papers have noted lines up conveniently with the $9 million he spent on his Senate campaign in 2010 against incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold. The freshman lawmaker has offered few details on how or when the company worked out the $10 million number, but legal experts told TPM that if the package was negotiated after his Senate run it could potentially count as an illegal corporate donation to his campaign.

Read more »

Ron Johnson

Johnson Has Yet To Produce Written $10M Compensation Agreement

Susan Crabtree | June 28, 2011, 5:45AM

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who defeated longtime campaign finance crusader Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) last year, has been under the microscope in recent days for possibly violating laws against corporate underwriting of campaigns.

Last week the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel started asking uncomfortable questions about $10 million in deferred compensation Johnson received from his former company, Pacur, weeks after his $9 million self-financed successful 2010 campaign came to an end.

Read more »

Deficit

Republicans: Sending Biden To Negotiate Economy = 'Phoning It In'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 8, 2011, 1:28PM

Republican candidate for Senate Ron Johnson (WI).

President Obama has dispatched Vice President Biden, the number two man in the government and nominally the head of the U.S. Senate, to handle negotiations with the GOP over deficit reduction.

Today, Republicans said that shows Obama doesn't really care much about getting the economy back on track.

"As a business person, the people I know running businesses, if their business was in jeopardy of going out of business, they'd be rolling up their sleeves, they'd be working 16, 17, 18 hours a day to solve a problem," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said. "And yet our president is totally disengaged. He sent his Vice President to negotiate what, maybe once a week? Twice a week?"

Read more »