Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI6) is outraged, OUTRAGED, that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has been silenced. No, really, the congressman uses the word “outrage” twice in his press release about Johnson being suspended by YouTube.
“If someone is, right now, conducting a web search on COVID-19 treatments and do not have access to the full array of information, including Senators Johnson’s comments, they are not receiving the full story,” Grothman said in the release. “For those reasons, I am very disappointed that Senator Johnson has been muzzled by YouTube.”
Let’s give the full story. Johnson spoke to the Milwaukee Press Club last week and answered their questions. The senator then posted his remarks touting the supposed benefits of hydroxychloroquine on YouTube and his account got suspended because of their policy against disinformation about medical treatment of Covid 19.
We should all be so “muzzled.” As a result of YouTube’s decision to suspend the senator for touting an unapproved treatment for Covid 19, Johnson was able to peddle the unapproved treatment hydroxychloroquine on any media outlet willing to listen, including Fox News.
The controversy has followed its usual pattern for Johnson: say something controversial, get the blowback, then run around like a martyr to paranoia complaining that “cancel culture” is out to get him. Each time Johnson’s presence in the media becomes so ubiquitous that it becomes impossible to track all of the crazy things our senator says despite being “muzzled.”
Of course, there is nothing preventing Johnson from posting the video on his own website, posting the video on YouTube’s competitors like Vimeo, or even emailing the video out to his extensive mailing list. Johnson’s senate campaign committee could buy ads in every media market in Wisconsin to tout hydroxychloroquine. Johnson could even post the video on PornHub (don’t go there).
Unfortunately, the Milwaukee Press Club’s video of the interview with Johnson was also pulled down by YouTube. This was a mistake by YouTube, given the newsworthiness of the interview. However, the Milwaukee Press Club has reposted the interview on Vimeo, and anyone interested in Johnson’s remarks are free to play them over and over again.
That includes the outraged, outraged congressman from Wisconsin’s sixth district. However, if he’s really interested in the “full story” about treating Covid 19, Grothman should stick to the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Otherwise, Grothman should slip into a nice warm bath with his favorite Enya CD playing in the background until the outrage, outrage passes. Nobody is muzzling his senator.
