By Sen. Ron Johnson We appreciate former FDA Commissioners Scott Gottlieb's and Mark McClellan's belated realization that a "good weapon for the Covid arsenal would be a safe and effective drug that could be taken at home" ("Covid Arsenal Needs Pills as Well as Shots," op-ed, April 5). Unfortunately, it took them over a year to use their reputations to call for such common-sense action. Meanwhile, more than 500,000 died under federal guidelines that in effect say, "Isolate at home and do nothing until you are so sick you require hospitalization." Fortunately, there are doctors with the compassion to ignore this callous approach and instead save lives. Yet media and agencies have vilified these courageous physicians. The New York Times even labeled some as "snake-oil salesmen" for pointing out that early treatment is essential. Sen. Johnson has written to agencies asking what resources were devoted to exploring repurposed drugs. This has yielded little to no response, leading us to assume those agencies have done little to no such research. This must change. Drs. Gottlieb and McClellan say therapeutic antibodies and drugs like remdesivir and dexamethasone have been the only options. We disagree and have published detailed reviews of successful early treatment. Thousands of lives have been saved. Two drugs used, ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, have two of the best safety records on the market, with billions of doses safely prescribed. The former commissioners suggest judging drugs on whether they "shorten the duration of symptoms or reduce viral load"--poorly measured and unimportant outcomes compared with hospitalization and mortality. We already have evidence for generics reducing Covid death rates. Agencies should devote their efforts to confirming these results instead of chasing new, more expensive drugs.

By Sen. Ronald Johnson I'm amazed but not surprised. Those who seek political advantage by dividing the nation hurl the worst possible accusations to silence anyone who challenges their left-wing agenda. In a recent radio interview on the Joe Pags Show, I explained why I wasn't concerned by the Trump supporters who came to Washington on Jan. 6 to protest peacefully. Thousands of protesters--no one knows the actual number--marched to the Capitol. Only about 800 people illegally entered the Capitol. Still fewer engaged in violent acts. I condemned those lawbreakers at the time and continue to do so. But I feel compelled to push back as Democrats and their media allies try to equate the two groups by implying that all present were "armed insurrectionists" determined to overthrow the government. … Leftists who want to memory hole last summer's political violence immediately started lecturing me that the 2020 protests were mostly peaceful. Apparently they've forgotten that, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, 570 leftist protests became riots last year. Twenty-five people lost their lives and 700 law enforcement officers were injured. Braying about "peaceful protests" offers no comfort to those victims or the other innocent Americans whose homes, businesses and property were destroyed. The same people fail to see the damage they do by pushing a narrative designed to portray the 74 million Americans who voted for Mr. Trump as potential domestic terrorists or armed insurrectionists. We should all be disgusted at the cynical way antifa and other leftists hide behind the banner of equality--a goal we all share--even as they carry signs calling for an end to America or talk of burning cities down. It was also sadly predictable that liberals would hurl the accusation of racism. This isn't about race. It's about riots. The rioters who burned Kenosha weren't of any one ethnicity; they were united by their radical leftism. Their politics, together with their taste for violence--so different from the Trump supporters I know personally or the Trump rallies we all saw carried out peacefully--should concern us. There's a reason why the boarded-up windows in the downtowns of major cities came down soon after Joe Biden won the election: Nobody was worried what Trump supporters would do if their guy lost; they were worried about what Biden supporters would do if their guy didn't win.

By Sen. Ronald Johnson In an unhinged and uninformed editorial, the Journal Sentinel called for my resignation or expulsion from the U.S. Senate. Among its many baseless charges, it accuses me of "inciting violence and an act of domestic terrorism," being "a leading member of the Senate Sedition Caucus," "stoking an insurrection," "violating my solemn oaths," being a racist (they must have overlooked my involvement with Milwaukee's Joseph Project), and "shilling for Trump" (apparently along with 74 million other Americans who voted for him). All this because I did half of what Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer did in 2005 when she objected to Ohio's electors, forcing a two-hour debate. Unlike Senator Boxer -- who to my knowledge was never asked to resign or be expelled -- I did not vote to sustain the objection. When asked by the AP immediately afterward why I voted no, I responded, "We needed to have the debate, but we also need to respect the rule of law and our constitutional constraints." Does that sound like incitement or a violation of my oath? Far from "stoking an insurrection," an honest examination of my actions would show me attempting to defuse growing passions. Ever since the Electoral College met, I have acknowledged that Vice President Biden is the president-elect and repeatedly said I could not envision any scenario where Biden electors would be rejected. Supporting the first objection gave me a voice in negotiations to bring about an honest but not endless debate. But we needed to have the debate. A growing belief that votes to disallow electors would be based on one vote per state -- where Republicans have an advantage -- instead of involving every member, had to be proven false. It is also important to acknowledge -- instead of scornfully dismissing -- the legitimate concerns of tens of millions of Americans and to recognize that it is not sustainable that so many have lost faith in our institutions and the fairness of our electoral process. Those who have lost confidence are not crazy. They are citizens who dearly love America and are alarmed by what they witnessed over the last four years: political opponents decrying a duly elected president as illegitimate and participating in a resistance to him; a thoroughly corrupt FBI investigation of that duly elected president; a grossly biased media that chose a side and used its power to interfere in our politics to a far greater extent than any foreign entity could ever hope to achieve; an increasingly powerful social media that censors news and conservative voices; and courts and election officials that usurp the constitutional authority of state legislatures in setting the times, places and manner of holding elections. They were reminded of the Carter-Baker Commission's caution regarding absentee balloting: "Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud." Then they saw Covid being exploited to dramatically increase absentee voting -- and simultaneous extensive efforts to weaken the controls governing it. They heard that Facebook's CEO spent almost half a billion dollars to increase Democrat turnout in Democrat-controlled jurisdictions, and they wonder, "Is that even legal?" Then on election day, they saw poll watchers being thrown out or obstructed from observing. They heard credible allegations of voting fraud that they know are too rarely investigated or prosecuted, of large Democrat-controlled counties dumping their vote totals in the wee hours of the morning only after Republican counties have reported, election officials and others refusing to turn over evidence to those investigating irregularities, and courts refusing to hear what evidence was obtained and instead dismissing election challenges on procedural grounds. The Journal Sentinel is wrong to imply these citizens would shut up and forget their concerns if only elected Republicans tell them to. This is not a problem that can be swept aside with the hope it will somehow solve itself. I recognized this early and held a hearing in December (full video here), but was only able to scratch the surface of the issues involved. Witnesses testified under oath, subject to the penalties of perjury, but the Journal Sentinel calls it "bogus." My opening statement in no way can be viewed as an incitement. Unless election irregularities are fully investigated and explanations provided, I fear this problem will fester and could lead to even greater rancor and division. I hoped this debate would serve as a wake-up call to state legislatures to recognize the legitimacy of these concerns, fully investigate the irregularities in their states, reassert their authority over federal elections, and establish controls to restore confidence in our election system. The solution lies in the states, not with the federal government. For the future unity of our nation, it is crucial that states properly shoulder their responsibility, take the action required, and alleviate any doubt that future elections will be fair and legitimate. There is no justification for the violence that occurred at the Capitol. I condemned it then and I condemn it now. I also offer my sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who died. But unlike many in the media and on the left, I am consistent in my condemnation of "peaceful protests" that become violent. Where is the media condemnation of Democrats who have actually promoted violence over the last four years and, prior to the election, told President-elect Biden never to concede? Prior to publishing its partisan screed, the Journal Sentinel could have reviewed the public record and investigated the validity of its baseless and incendiary allegations against me. Casually and wrongly using terms like "insurrection," "incitement," "sedition" and "domestic terrorism" might feel good when putting pen to paper, but when the state's largest "news" publication does it, it simply confirms what a large percentage of Americans already believe: The mainstream media have dropped all pretense of objectivity and can no longer be trusted. It's well past time for the media to look in the mirror and acknowledge the role their bias has played in widening our national divide and exacerbating the problem.