Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, is a student of David Barton
As I write this, the House of Representatives just elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be Speaker of the House. There were many reasons not to support Johnson’s bid, but I learned one more today: he is a student of Christian nationalist activist David Barton.
Along with co-author Michael Coulter, I just completed a book titled Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson. In this book, we debunk faulty historical claims about Jefferson, many of which have been advanced by Barton. For the most part, the claims are designed to erode the separation of church and state and privilege Christianity. Rep. Johnson has been long-time fan of Barton. In 2021, Johnson praised Barton in a talk to a group of state legislators:
I just want to say at the outset I’m grateful to WallBuilders and David and Rick and everybody involved. And I was introduced to David and his ministry a quarter century ago, and it has had such a profound influence on me and my work and my life and everything I do. So I’m just so grateful you guys continue to sow into this work and help equip the soldiers on the frontlines. And so thanks to all of you for being willing to serve in this critical time for the country.
In 2012, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson pulled the first edition of David Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies from publication due to historical errors. It was an unprecedented move. We exposed many of those problems in the first edition of Getting Jefferson Right, published just a few months after The Jefferson Lies in 2012. This new second edition greatly expands on that work.
Having a book pulled from publication due to errors would end the career of most historians, but as is now obvious, it has not meaningfully hindered Barton’s influence. Nine years after Barton’s The Jefferson Lies was removed from publication, the future Speaker of the House said Barton’s work influences everything he does.
Many people ignore or minimize Barton. This is a mistake. He has radicalized many current Christian nationalist GOP politicians, including the new Speaker of the House. So, seriously, you should buy our book and see what the reality-based community is up against and how to respond.
You can pre-order the e-book on Amazon now. The print version comes out on November 1. Watch this space and gettingjeffersonright.com.
Here is a video of Rick Green at Wallbuilders saying Speaker Johnson is one of them.