That’s because he’s never actually participated in one This piece by David Pepper is illuminating: A few years ago, now-Speaker Mike Johnson said we do not live in a democracy. "You know, we don't live in a democracy" but a "biblical" republic. That's what Mike Johnson said in a 2016 interview as he explained his views on the U.S. government. That's what the new Republican House speaker, who tried to overturn the will of the voters in 2020, believes. pic.twitter.com/AEwQXwutpl — Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) October 26, 2023 As I wrote several months ago, it’s a common right-wing refrain. Share Johnson turns out to offer the perfect example of how in today’s gerrymandered world, people can ride to the highest levels of power without facing a real election their entire careers. Which means they can be complete extremists and never face accountability for it. It also means that not only do they not know democracy, they actually come to fear it. Not just because they have never experienced it, but because it poses the biggest risk to their grasp on power. Let’s take a look at Johnson’s career to see how it works: Before entering office, he spent his years fighting for right-wing causes as a lawyer—like fighting same-sex marriage and to keep in place laws criminalizing sodomy. That’s his right to do, of course, and I’m glad he was largely unsuccessful. But then his political career began: In early 2015, when the state representative where he lived in Louisiana ran for another office, Johnson ran for the…