Voting Station

Ron Johnson

Please vote to return to collections.

U.S. Senator

The Resume

    (April 8, 1955- )
    Born in Mankato, Minnesota
    Birth name is Ronald Harold Johnson
    Republican
    Represents Wisconsin in the United States Senate (2011 - )
    Formerly the chief executive officer of polyester and plastics manufacturer, PACUR, LLC
    Elected during the Tea Party electoral sweep in November 2010, ousting incumbent Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, from his seat
    Attained viral celebrity on C-SPAN during the initial 2013 Benghazi hearings, as the guy at whom Hillary Clinton yelled 'what difference does it make?' in response to accusations that she promoted inaccurate version of the events in the attacks on the American Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, and their cause (a spontaneous protest vs. a terrorist attack)
    Was challenged for his Senate seat by former incumbent Feingold, who announced his candidacy on May 14, 2015

Why he might be annoying:

    He married into money.
    He went to night school to get his Masters but never completed his thesis.
    Several of his 2010 primary opponents accused his campaign of using thug tactics to win the GOP nomination.
    His name sounds like Don Johnson (but Google searches tend to turn up results of the CEO of J.C. Penney, with the same name).
    He briefly sprouted a goatee that made him look like Burl Ives (around the same time Paul Ryan ripped off the Alan Rickman look).
    He has called scientists who attribute global warming to man-made causes 'crazy,' calling the theory as a whole, 'lunacy.'
    He positioned himself as a Tea Party candidate but cut ties with the group after a spokesperson said he came off as 'unprepared,' without any clear positions, at an event.
    His campaign was dogged by revelations that he had a major role in inviting controversial eugenicist author Charles Murray to be the keynote speaker at one of his company events.
    He said he didn’t trust Iranian head of state Ali Khamenei to negotiate a Nuclear Deal, but told the press in the same interview '[I'm] not so sure I’m trusting President Obama.'
    He came off as condescending and obnoxious at the Benghazi Hearings, badgering Hillary Clinton and cutting her off regularly during her testimony, charging her with taking part in an elaborate cover-up of the Benghazi terror attacks.
    The frequent interruptions contributed to the tense atmosphere of their exchange, with his 'I realize that's a good excuse' jab prompting Hillary to shoot back the now infamous line 'with all due respect, we have four dead Americans. Was it terrorists or was it because of a guy out for a walk one night who said lets go kill some Americans? At this point - what difference does it make?' (Jan. 22, 2013)
    The outburst went viral on YouTube and became a widely circulated internet meme, usually making it sound like she was saying that the deaths of three American servicemen and an Ambassador 'made no difference' to her, when she was actually referring to the Republican fixation on early talking points relating the attacks to a protest over an offensive video.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He has been taken out of context by the Daily Kos on several occasions.
    His early jobs included work as a golf caddy, dairy farm hand, and a restaurant dishwasher.
    He's a millionaire who self-financed his 2010 Senate campaign.
    He Senate win in 2010 came as a legitimate surprise to many, given Russ Feingold's high favorability ratings, as well as his national popularity (surprising even for the bizarre 2010 midterm season).
    After he was elected to the Senate, he [allegedly] 'sold every liquid asset so there would be absolutely no chance for conflict of interest.'
    He co-sponsored legislation which would have allowed people at risk of losing their healthcare coverage due to Obamacare to keep their current healthcare plans.
    He was among the few Senate Republicans to express some regret over signing Sen. Tom Cotton's controversial Iran Letter (2015).
    He got the breakout moment that every 2016 Presidential hopeful in the Senate wanted -- effectively getting under Secretary Clinton's skin enough to extract a sound-bite from her.
    His heated exchange with Clinton also yielded a New York Post front page depicting Hillary pounding her fist on the Senate hearing table next to a caption reading 'No Wonder Bill's Afraid!'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 143 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 678 Votes: 54.72% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 969 Votes: 54.08% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 35 Votes: 51.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 32 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 64 Votes: 59.38% Annoying