This Californian has some words for Mike Johnson

[senseandsensibility]

According to little Mikie, "California is playing around" with the vote, and "some of the efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream that they are impossible to prove".

Hey Mikey we KNOW you don't have any evidence so you didn't really need to throw that diabolical stuff in there. It just makes you seem desperate and needy for trump's "good boy" and pat on the head. Hope you get it cuz you groveled enough for it. But no one believes you.

Especially no one is California. You see, your party has spend decades trashing our state because you're jealous. We've got great weather, an enlightened diverse BLUE population, the fourth largest economy in the world and FAIR elections that we take time to conduct fairly.

Keep on doing you my friend. But people see right through your smarmy little act.

[SuzyandPuffpuff]

1. Nice

Eloquent

[pwb]

2. Was he standing next to the short lady

to make him feel tall as always?

[FHRRK1]

3. As a Californian I agree

Now we do need to figure out a way to count a bit faster, but the ignorant comparisons to FL piss me off.

CA sends out a mail in ballot to every voter. A voter can use that ballot OR vote in person. So mail in ballots need to be compared to in person voting to make sure duplicate votes are caught.

Takes time, but allows access to voting AND stops fraudulent votes.

[bsiebs]

14. ... and they have to validate the signature on each ballot envelope mailed in... that takes time to ensure it matches...

[Americanme]

4. How do these religious politicians, who claim their faith influences every aspect of their life,

go on camera and lie. I thought that was one of their big 10 no-no's. I have no respect for religious people who don't even respect their own religion.

[senseandsensibility]

7. He seems to be shameless

I find it hard to listen to him or look at him.

[BeneteauBum]

9. My thoughts exactly

Peace ☮️

[AZ8theist]

12. He's NOT religious.....

He's just a hypocritical stooge, put in place to suck on his cult leaders mushroom.

[paulkienitz]

5. Counting the results quickly is not even a legitimate goal.

[senseandsensibility]

6. Accuracy is the goal

I saw that one of the main holdups is making sure that there are no double votes since mail in voting is so common.

[BidenRocks]

8. Take the time to watch the live stream!

The Counting Center has a live stream AND is open for tours.
They must be hiding something!

[Wiz Imp]

10. As Marc Elias pointed out, the whole idea is nonsensical.

If you're rigging an election, you'd want to get it over with as quickly as possible. Dragging it out is the absolute last thing you'd want to do.

[F-18_AMO]

11. The Fascists Want

California. I have been telling friends and family this for a few years.

[AZ8theist]

13. Yeah, what a plan!

Take over California and turn it into Mississippi or Alabama.

[Envirogal]

15. They hate us cuz they ain't us.

[senseandsensibility]

16. Catchy and true

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. MaddowBlog-Speaker Mike Johnson says his election conspiracy theories feel 'instinctively' true

What we’re dealing with is a political leader who believes gut feelings are a legitimate substitute for knowledge. They are not.

On issue after issue:
- national security
- 2020 election
- undocumented immigrants casting votes
- California primaries
Mike Johnson has said “instincts” and “intuition” are a legitimate substitute for knowledge.

They are not.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-09T13:16:45.705Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/speaker-mike-johnson-says-election-conspiracy-theories-feel-instinctively-true

Donald Trump has earned a reputation as the nation’s most prominent and powerful election conspiracy theorist, but to the extent that there’s a competition for the silver medal in this ignominious category, House Speaker Mike Johnson is a clear contender.....

With this in mind, it wasn’t too surprising to see Congress’ top GOP lawmaker echo his party’s baseless conspiracy theories regarding California’s latest elections, though one word in his pitch was of particular interest.

RAJU: But what evidence is there to prove the California election is rigged?

MIKE JOHNSON: Look, some of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream it's impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows instinctively that something is wrong here.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-08T19:56:22.798Z

.....It was an implicit acknowledgment of an inconvenient truth: Johnson and his cohorts simply don’t have any evidence. The speaker and other Republican leaders don’t know if their baseless ideas are true, but they apparently want the public to know that their conspiracy theories feel true.

It’s the basis for a debate, not about election administration processes, but about vibes.

But Johnson’s use of the word “instinctively” stood out, in part because it was so foolish, in part because of its familiarity.....

Similarly, after Trump’s 2020 defeat, Johnson also insisted that “a lot of us know intuitively” that there were problems with the vote tallies. After the Senate rejected the House’s impeachment effort against then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Johnson said “we know already intuitively” that Mayorkas deserved to be punished. When the House speaker unveiled legislation to ban noncitizens from voting — which is already illegal, and which effectively never happens — Johnson declared at a press conference, “We all know intuitively that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections.”

Among the obvious problems is the simple fact that instincts and intuition are utterly irrelevant when dealing with factual questions like these. Elections are either proper or they’re not. Voters are either casting legal ballots or they’re not. Evidence either exists or it doesn’t.

His track record suggests this basic dynamic is lost on the House speaker in fundamental ways.

What we’re dealing with, in other words, is a political leader who believes gut feelings are a legitimate substitute for knowledge. They are not.