Sen. Ron Johnson is so angry about this obviously satirical tweet about him, he just read it...

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Will Sommer
@willsommer
Sen. Ron Johnson is so angry about this obviously satirical tweet about him, he just read it at the Senate tech hearing. Johnson says he wants the tweet taken down— "That could definitely affect my ability to get re-elected."

Mary T. Hagan
@marytherese5
Sen Ron Johnson is my neighbor and strangled our dog, Buttons, right in front of my 4 yr old son and 3 yr old daughter. The police refuse to investigate.This is a complete lie but important to retweet and note that there are more of my lies to come.
10:18 AM · Oct 28, 2020

[brush]

1. WTF? Is it a completely made up tweet?

[LizBeth]

2. He is clearly saying it is made up. That is the argument Republicans are making out loud to be able

to tell lies about Hunter and Biden.

[brush]

3. Oh, the Hunter Biden stuff is made up. But is the killing the dog...

tweet made up?

[BComplex]

4. The tweeter said it was made up.

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. Well, she would say that, wouldn't she?

After she was paid off in the middle of the tweet to deny what she was just typing at the beginning of the tweet. I mean that what's some people are saying. In fact, I just said it to my cat, and she nodded, so I guess she heard it too.

[marble falls]

47. I don't get your point.

[Miguelito Loveless]

52. You just have to know that "people say"

This woman said Johnson strangled a dog in front of her children, then claimed the statement was a lie. So, people say, she was obviously paid off between the time she started the tweet and when she finished. After all, it is on the Internet, so it must be true. After all, "people say"...

[Skittles]

90. I got your point

well played!

[Ilsa]

99. Well done, but some of us haven't

sucked down that second cup of cofeve and had difficulty untying the secondary, but relevant, strands of sarcasm regarding constructing one's own reality.

[Miguelito Loveless]

103. Every day

sarcasm becomes more difficult to discern on the Internet because the Internet has decided to allow crazy people computers.

[DENVERPOPS]

112. Sadly

it is getting more difficult to separate Sacrasm from Reality these days.........Even the ONION is having problems coming up with stuff that could easily be reality with TRUMP INC......

[Ligyron]

106. I just assume everything I read is false and unproven until it is proven.

At least that's what I do until I see something like NYT, WP etc. attached. Because there's a lot of crap floating around in the various media especially with this election.

I'm a big fan of sarcasm and ironic wit myself and can usual spot it right off. It's one of the only things that keep me halfway sane in this madness.

[groundloop]

53. That's ok, some of us are more satirically challenged than others.

It's all good (and will be a hell of a lot better when Joe's hand is on his bible Jan. 20th).

[RVN VET71]

107. In an English Lit class I taught at the U. of MD years ago

I assigned Swift's brilliant "Modest Proposal". Class discussion was fascinating, especially for a smart little redhead named O'Brien who missed Swift's delicious irony completely and could hardly talk through her anger at this demonic, insane cannibal. She said she understood that the "Brits" had a history of disliking the Irish, but couldn't believe that such a proposal could have actually been sold in public.

A few in the class laughed at her anger and one took the pains to explain irony to her. She was somewhat mollified by the explanation but still thought Swift a monster for even thinking of such things.

And so it goes.

[yardwork]

54. Don't fall for fake news. The eagle flies at dawn.

[Miguelito Loveless]

57. The lark has left vomit

in the choco.

[yardwork]

59. Oooooh. I hadn't realized we'd reached defcon 6.

[ResistantAmerican17]

72. Soup cans at the ready!! Sir, or Ma'am.

[lonely bird]

102. Don't forget the tuna!

[flying rabbit]

93. John has a long moustache. nt

[jaxexpat]

98. Is it "one if by land"? ..?.... or .....the other? Always mix that up. Longfellow, meh.

Can I buy a vowel?
Dawn?! That's EARLY! ....................it's early, right? Text me a wake-up, OK?

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

96. Lol, yep.

I mean, we all know how important it is to always report it if some people are saying that some people are saying that some people are saying that...

And would be blatantly evil liberal bias to investigate the facts and report if any of it were true or false.

[greenjar_01]

16. The tweeter's children are possibly legally blind. Who could know if it was Johnson, but it

probably was, since he has a well-known reputation as a dog strangler. That's what I've heard, anyway.

[BComplex]

22. The republicans always strangle democrat's dogs. Everyone knows that.

It's been going on for generations.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. They are also terrified of cats.

Cats know better than to trust Republicans.

[634-5789]

46. I have ALSO heard that Johnson is a dog strangler. Wow. Must be true.

[TheRealNorth]

24. Thats just the way QQ communicates

You see, a negative is really a double-negative in what QQ writes.

[CaptYossarian]

66. QQ is Limbaugh's bra size.

It takes forever for him to leave a sporting goods store.

[LizBeth]

5. Yes. That is the point. Yes, and he is saying in that tweet it is made up.

[brush]

10. I'm not sure how to take this? Do we want to go down that rabbit hole?

We all know the repugs cheat and make up stuff all the time. I don't think our party should go there.

We can play hardball by staying united and standing our ground as Speaker Pelosi just demonstrated, but out-and-out lying and making stuff up?

Nah.

Everybody doesn't get the sarcasm and will believe it. It's a slippery slope.

[LizBeth]

18. Here is the point. In the very same tweet he stated he was lying. Trumpco's want to be allowed to

put it out without even clarifying it is a lie. They are literally arguing to courts and media that they should be able to lie. Republican is now complaining putting it out will effect election. I mean, we are not going there. We are making an argument and Johnson enforced our argument.

[stopdiggin]

36. even while I'm totally in your corner

about staying on the "right" side of some solid lines ....
With both tweets clearly stating, "this is a lie" -- I think this is so obviously satire (and instructive and pointed humor at that) -- that I don't think it falls into any sort of category for deliberate falsehood or misinformation. In short -- I think you're kind of alone on this slippery slope. (even while I appreciate and endorse your larger premise)
----- -----

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. The tweet says it's a complete lie.

Reading all three sentences shouldn't be a challenge.

[Mr.Bill]

40. It would be a challenge for Trump. n/t

[Maeve]

48. Short Attention Span Theater

Reading is hard

[yardwork]

55. Now, who is we here?

[brush]

78. I'm referring to the Demcratic Party as a whole. I get that...

Last edited Wed Oct 28, 2020, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

this is just an individual tweet, announced as make believe, as opposed to how the repubican party as a whole actively engages in lies and deliberate make believe.

I just don't want us to get on that track where we leave off the "made up" part and it becomes a tactic that we are ok with.

[yardwork]

82. Conflating am individual tweet with Democratic Party leadership seems unwarranted.

Often, those of us who identify as Democrats give up our power by taking on responsibility for others' behavior and even apologizing for them.

I've noticed that Republicans don't do this.

[brush]

84. I specifically pointed out the difference of that tweet and Dem...

party policy. Did you not read that?

[yardwork]

86. Your second paragraph...

Who is "we?"

"I just don't want us to get on that track where we leave off the "made up" part and it becomes a tactic that we are ok with."

[brush]

87. Yes. The operative words are "leave off" the made up part.

That's how the repugs got to where they are. They've left off the "made up" part and just straight out lie.

I don't want our party to get to that point. It may never happen but it's my personal concern. We have been the party that for the most part doesn't lie and cheat.

[yardwork]

100. I've thought about this and decided that Buttons did nothing wrong.

I prayed on it.

[marble falls]

104. And I heard that prayer. You've done well. If the disclaimer "this is a lie" doesn't work for ...

others, well I hope they keep a fainting couch and smelling salts near.

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. Some people are saying

that the Senator strangles childrens' dogs in front of them.

What's the problem?

[greenjar_01]

14. We just put it out there and let other people decide what to believe

[Stallion]

27. Since People Are Saying Ron Johnson Strangled "Buttons", Johnson Must Produce His Emails

[MizLibby]

65. You win!!

[Poiuyt]

8. It says right there that it is a complete lie.

Johnson is too stupid to see the sarcasm

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Like a tRump tweet. . . . nt

[klook]

88. Some people are saying... (nt)

[Boogiemack]

97. Reading it on the Senate floor?? Isn't that now a part of the historical record?

[Pantagruel]

9. I once saw RJ

characterized as the dumbest man in the Senate. Not surprised he didn't get it.

[NonPC]

29. Another Leak?

You know it may have been Kevin Nunez's Cow overhearing RJ talking about strangling a neighbor's dog. We better investigate this!

[underpants]

11. Sounds like the opening of "House of Cards"

Just saying.

[greenjar_01]

12. Mary T. Hagan has it on video, Senator! The video is currently in the hands of a Democratic lawyer

after having been handed over to the FBI. He's shopped it to Rachel Maddow and the New York Daily News.

[malaise]

23. Nicely played

[madaboutharry]

13. Gee, he doesn't like it when someone lies about him.

No. fucking. Self. Awareness.

[NCjack]

15. I had no idea that Sen. Johnson murders little girls in front of their

dogs.

I hope he is not reelected. I am not voting for him.

[Wicked Blue]

50. First he unbuttons them, from what I hear

Total depravity

[Silent3]

60. The PEOPLE have a RIGHT TO KNOW if the assertion that the story was just made up...

...wasn't just part of a cover-up operation. Nothing less than a full investigation will do!

[dixiechiken1]

68. You're killin' me, Smalls...

You're KILLIN' me!

[TheRealNorth]

80. While eating pizza bought by RW billionaire Diane Hendricks

what is going on there? People are saying many things.

[dixiechiken1]

67. [snork]

[onecaliberal]

17. It might be a bad thing but it might not be a bad thing. I mean, let the people decide.

[soothsayer]

19. Retweet!

[Greybnk48]

20. I just jumped in on this!

It's really hilarious!

[soothsayer]

21. Russian asset says what?

[byronius]

41. Perfect.

[UpInArms]

25. Well, it's not like it's a "paid for" ad ...

So that is probably why RJ is upset ... cuz if it was an ad that was lying, it would be up to the voters to decide if what it said meant anything

[stillcool]

26. You'd think they'd know...

their own work, when they see it. I guess the admission that it's a complete lie, makes it unrecognizable.

[DFW]

28. I am very concerned

....that a sitting US senator would take this seriously enough to get publicly upset about it.

[Nevilledog]

31. It's almost like an admission it's true.

[OnDoutside]

56. That's certainly the way i read it....

[panader0]

69. I wouldn't have ever heard of this depravity if he hadn't made a fuss.

Hats off and raise a glass for Buttons.

[DFW]

85. Republicans don't read Shakespeare

They read Breitbart.

Methinks the Senator doth protest too much.

[Buns_of_Fire]

30. I'm not hearing a denial, Senator. nt

[soothsayer]

49. Hahaha!

[yardwork]

58. Perfect!

[matt819]

32. Perhaps the more important question to be raised in future tweets of this sort. . .

concern Johnson obtaining her children's laptops abandoned at a computer store 3,000 miles from the tweeter's home.

Standing back and standing by for updates.

BTW, what must it be like to be married to a moron like Johnson or to call this moron your father?

[Wicked Blue]

34. but ... Buttons

[Stallion]

45. RIP Buttons

may you reach the notoriety of Devin's Cow

[RainCaster]

38. Will there be any tweets about McTurtle?

[PurgedVoter]

42. This is really scary

Someone stop Ron Johnson before he does it again!
People who abuse pets often become mass murderers. Ron Johnson needs to be stopped. Sure, he tries to say this was all a lie, but what about Buttons? Poor Buttons. I understand that Ron Johnson isn't a real person and he is all made up, but that doesn't justify his being a mass murderer. Lots of Republicans are not real people. Look at Ted Cruiz. His name is Rafael he was born in Canada and he calls himself a Texan. Does Ted Cruz kill imaginary pets with the same joy that Ron Johnson does? Probably. These people start imagining things and then it gets real. They need to be stopped.

[yardwork]

101. Why would Rafael Cruz take on Ted Bundy's name if he's not a serial killer?

It's right there.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

43. Did Johnson ever deny strangling the dog? All he has to do is deny it. Otherwise ...

See also, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/485/46

Respondent, a nationally known minister and commentator on politics and public affairs, filed a diversity action in Federal District Court against petitioners, a nationally circulated magazine and its publisher, to recover damages for, inter alia, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from the publication of an advertisement "parody" which, among other things, portrayed respondent as having engaged in a drunken incestuous rendezvous with his mother in an outhouse. The jury found against respondent on the libel claim, specifically finding that the parody could not "reasonably be understood as describing actual facts . . . or events," but ruled in his favor on the emotional distress claim, stating that he should be awarded compensatory and punitive damages. The Court of Appeals affirmed, rejecting petitioners' contention that the "actual malice" standard of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 must be met before respondent can recover for emotional distress. Rejecting as irrelevant the contention that, because the jury found that the parody did not describe actual facts, the ad was an opinion protected by the First Amendment to the Federal Constitution, the court ruled that the issue was whether the ad's publication was sufficiently outrageous to constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Held: In order to protect the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern, the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit public figures and public officials from recovering damages for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress by reason of the publication of a caricature such as the ad parody at issue without showing in addition that the publication contains a false statement of fact which was made with "actual malice," i.e., with knowledge that the statement was false or with reckless disregard as to whether or not it was true. The State's interest in protecting public figures from emotional distress is not sufficient to deny First Amendment protection to speech that is patently offensive and is intended to inflict emotional injury when that speech could not reasonably have been interpreted as stating actual facts about the public figure involved. Here, respondent is clearly a "public figure" for First Amendment purposes, and the lower courts' finding that the ad parody was not reasonably believable must be accepted. "Outrageousness" in the area of political and social discourse has an inherent subjectiveness about it which would allow a jury to impose liability on the basis of the jurors' tastes or views, or perhaps on the basis of their dislike of a particular expression, and cannot, consistently with the First Amendment, form a basis for the award of damages for conduct such as that involved here. Pp. 50-57.

797 F.2d 1270 (CA4 1986), reversed.

(Bold added).

[marble falls]

44. That tweet might squash his re-election? Where can I post one??

[soothsayer]

51. Retweet it!

Justice for Buttons!

[CaptYossarian]

70. Don't leave out the fact that he matriculated in college, just like Rudy did.

His sister is also a thespian. And Johnson is a known homo sapien.

Let the rural Wisconsin voters know all of it. (And watch him deny the homo sapien bit.)

[PurgedVoter]

83. He masticates at the table. Honestly!

He has been know to masticate in public.

[CaptYossarian]

89. So does Pee Wee Herman.

[NoMoreRepugs]

61. I understand it's hard, even for some here, to read all 3 sentences. BUT - if you

think this isn't a really good comparison to much of what is done by the Reich I'm not sure you've been paying much attention these past 20 years.

[yardwork]

62. It's the part where they state it's a lie that is the bad comparison.

The Republicans don't admit that their lying ads are lies. And when called on their lies and video manipulations, they say let the people decide.

Except the very last thing a Republican wants is for people to make informed decisions.

[Darkstar53142]

63. I'm in Wisconsin. I'd be embarrased if I voted for him...

...and he embarrasses the state.

[CountAllVotes]

109. Welcome to the Democratic Underground Darkstar53142 !!

and WELCOME!

[Heartstrings]

113. Welcome to du!

From another embarrassed Wisconsinite!

[Darkstar53142]

114. Thanks, Heartstrings. I've been lurking around here for quite some time.

[Talitha]

64. This thread just made my day, hahaha!

[dixiechiken1]

71. BEST. THREAD. EVER.

Some serious wit on DU. I for real snorted, I was laughing so hard. Gawd, I love this place!

[Biophilic]

73. OH, yes!

I have been sitting here, reading this thread, slowly going from "oh, not good" to "Too funny, oh my god, too funny" and I'm laughing so hard I'm having trouble writing this post. Well, played throughout. Bravo! All of you. Bravo!

[andym]

74. What's his problem? -- I thought he was for free speech

no matter the veracity. Otherwise he would hold trump to task.

[Mr. Ected]

75. I'm sure Johnson's voters are Russian to vote for his opponent now

I'd hate to be Putin this position if I was him.

[Wawannabe]

108. Hehe!

Berry punny!

[LunaSea]

76. !JUSTICE For BUTTONS!

T shirt in 3, 2, 1...

[dchill]

77. Now THAT'S what I call "fighting fire with fire."

Ron Johnson is the guy who walked right into the fire he started.

[TrevEB]

79. Ron Johnson's pinned tweet is the lie about the Biden notebook

and he is all butt hurt about being accused of strangling a dog?
Oh LincolnProject, could we please have a Ron Johnson strangles dogs billboard?
We need to make this stick to him like more cowbell.
Ron and Mitt should go on a road trip together.

[TheRealNorth]

81. What does Ron Johnson's dog have to say about his owner's cruel nature?

I haven't checked Twitter yet.

[H2O Man]

91. Recommended.

Hilarious!

[Stallion]

92. That Dog Don't Hunt No More--Poor Buttons--He Loved to Hunt Until Ron Johnson

[Blue Owl]

94. Bwahahaha!

[voteearlyvoteoften]

95. My cat Zipper told me there are lies going around that Senator Ron Johnson's son kicks cats.

They might be true, time for an investigation. Can’t have a senator whose spawn is a demon cat kicker.

[Nitram]

105. It would be nice if Republicans came out in public against Republican lies. Sorta like the way

they keep insisting Muslims should come out against terrorist attacks by Muslims.muslims actually do, but it's rare for a Republican to do so.

[BobTheSubgenius]

110. It might have a small effect on voting, but

if that's true, he has a plurality of imbeciles supporting him.

[czarjak]

111. It's almost like making crap up and firing people from fake jobs!