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CNN is out with a new report that says House Speaker Mike Johnson previously worked with an organization that pushed so-called conversion therapy, the widely discredited — and widely banned — practice of trying to force LGBTQ people to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
After he won the speakership, Johnson’s anti-LGBTQ positions have been well documented. Progressive Christian writer Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons noted several of them in a recent piece for MSNBC, including Johnson’s past support for criminalizing gay sex and his vehement opposition to same-sex marriage protections.
CNN’s reporting appears to add to that track record. In the report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, the outlet said Johnson worked for a right-wing legal advocacy group that collaborated with Exodus International, an organization that promoted conversion therapy worldwide, for several years in the 2000s before he entered politics.
Founded in 1976, Exodus International was a leader in the so-called “ex-gay” movement, which aimed to make gay individuals straight through conversion therapy programs using religious and counseling methods. Exodus International connected ministries across the world using these controversial approaches.
The group shut down in 2013, with its founder posting a public apology for the “pain and hurt” his organization caused. Conversion therapy has been widely condemned by most major medical institutions and has been shown to be harmful to struggling LGBTQ people.
Citing Johnson’s past media appearances, CNN also reported that he partnered with Exodus International on an anti-gay annual event known as the “Day of Truth.” CNN said Johnson didn’t respond to its request for comment.
Democrats are already using the report to highlight how extreme Johnson is.
I’m fascinated by the potential fallout for Republicans after they elected Johnson.
For the GOP, in theory, one upside to having a staunch ideologue as House speaker is that he leaves no confusion about where he stands on matters. It’s almost always far, far to the right. And Republicans have seemed gleeful about that.
But, to quote a popular song, you can’t always get what you want. Or, perhaps better put: You shouldn’t. There’s a reason parents tend not to let their children gorge on all of their Halloween candy in one night. Sometimes, overindulging in the things you want most can ultimately hurt you.
And similarly, there are reasons why political extremists aren’t ideal House speakers. One seemingly obvious reason is that making such a person a face of your party risks backlash.
And Johnson is now a face of the party whose anti-gay views are out of sync with most Americans.
Republicans may have thought they found their man in Mike Johnson. But because he is so ideologically extreme, it seems he’s had no problem flaunting his most revanchist views throughout his not-so-far-in-the-past life before politics. Which means Johnson is something of an open book … a book full of oppo research that Democrats can — and almost certainly will — use as they try to win back the House.