The checklist of Speaker Mike Johnson’s betrayals has grown fairly lengthy in just a short time.  Jeff Crouere gives a good summary:

At one time, Johnson was regarded as a staunch supporter of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. In fact, his nickname was “MAGA Mike.” His lifetime Heritage Action voting record was 90%, but, in this session of Congress, it has plummeted to 53%.

As House Speaker, Johnson supported the horrific omnibus spending bill, which fully funded the Department of Justice and the FBI, which has been weaponized against President Donald Trump and MAGA supporters. He was the deciding vote in extending FISA powers, allowing our intelligence services to spy on Americans without a warrant.

Previously, Johnson had railed against omnibus spending bills and extending FISA surveillance powers, but, in a stunning twist, his positions changed as House Speaker.

In his latest betrayal, Johnson supported a $95 billion aid package for Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine. The bulk of the package, $61 billion, was targeted to assist Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, which began in February of 2022.

Previously, the United States has authorized $113 billion for Ukraine, more than the rest of the world combined. Once again, Johnson had previously opposed such funding. He also vowed to make sure that our border was secure before sending billions of dollars to secure the border of another country.

Sadly, on Saturday, with the help of Democrats and a minority of his Republican colleagues, Johnson rammed through the foreign aid package, which supported other countries, while providing zero assistance to our Border Patrol.

The spectacle disgusted Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council. He told Bill Melugin of Fox News, “We are beyond disappointed that the House would give aid to secure the borders of foreign countries but gave nothing to allow the Border Patrol to secure the safety of the United States. There’s nothing more backwards.”

In the raucous aftermath of the vote, Democrats celebrated the passage of the foreign aid package and the exclusion of border funding by waving Ukrainian flags on the House floor. This disgusting display just reinforced the feeling of many Americans that Congress is more concerned about foreign nations than American citizens.

At least some Republicans in Congress denounced this outrageous exhibition. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “Ukrainian flags fly in the chamber of the UNITED STATES House of Representatives as they vote to send more of your hard-earned money to a corrupt foreign regime. And just like that they shout “UKRAINE! UKRAINE!” while happily working to secure Ukraine’s borders, not ours.”

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) also condemned the Ukrainian flag celebration, referring to it as “the U.S. House of Representatives under the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson. Democrats are celebrating his total capitulation with no victory for securing our border.”

There have been numerous stories now about his being captured by the Deep State.  That is horrid enough.  Yet there is something worse about all of this.  Speaker Johnson has trumpeted his Christianity quite loudly over the years:

Johnson — a supporter of former President Donald Trump and a 2020 election denier — told a Baptist newspaper when he was running for Congress in 2016, “I’m a committed Christian and my faith informs everything I do.” In an interview that aired Thursday night on Fox News, Johnson told host Sean Hannity that “Someone asked me today in the media, ‘People are curious, what does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.”

His capitulation on the issues touched on above give the Christian Faith he proclaims a bad reputation:  Here is yet another very public figure who says he is a committed Christian but who then betrays that Faith by his duplicitous actions.

This is not the boldness for Christ that we see in the heroes of the Faith throughout Church history:  from the Holy Apostles themselves to the New Martyrs under the Soviet communists in the 20^th century.

Recall how bold and defiant the Apostles were toward the Jewish authorities when the latter ordered them to stop preaching about the Resurrected Christ:  ‘We must obey God rather than men’ –

And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gama’li-el, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. . . .” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ (Acts of the Apostles 5:27-35, 40-42).

Consider also the life of the Great-Martyr St. George (+303), who is celebrated every year in the Orthodox Church on April 23^rd.  He was one who held high position in the Roman Empire, but he did not let that hinder his faithfulness to God; he was willing to sacrifice everything for the Lord:

When he became a man, Saint George entered into the service of the Roman army. He was handsome, brave and valiant in battle, and he came to the notice of the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and joined the imperial guard with the rank of comites, or military commander.

The pagan emperor, who did much for the restoration of Roman might, was clearly concerned with the danger presented to pagan civilization by the triumph of the Crucified Savior, and intensified his persecution against the Christians in the final years of his reign. Following the advice of the Senate at Nicomedia, Diocletian gave all his governors full freedom in their court proceedings against Christians, and he promised them his full support.

Saint George, when he heard the decision of the emperor, distributed all his wealth to the poor, freed his servants, and then appeared in the Senate. The brave soldier of Christ spoke out openly against the emperor’s designs. He confessed himself a Christian, and appealed to all to acknowledge Christ: “I am a servant of Christ, my God, and trusting in Him, I have come among you voluntarily, to bear witness concerning the Truth.”

“What is Truth?” one of the dignitaries asked, echoing the question of Pontius Pilate. The saint replied, “Christ Himself, Whom you persecuted, is Truth.”

Stunned by the bold speech of the valiant warrior, the emperor, who had loved and promoted George, attempted to persuade him not to throw away his youth and glory and honors, but rather to offer sacrifice to the gods as was the Roman custom. The confessor replied, “Nothing in this inconstant life can weaken my resolve to serve God.”

The early Church writer Tertullian once wrote, ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.’  St. George proved this during the multitude of his torments.  People like Speaker Johnson need to keep this in mind:  Though they may suffer for exposing those who are pressuring them, or blackmailing them, or whatever is going on, their suffering will lead to greater numbers of Christians and the demise of the God-hating Deep State cabal, as happened in the ancient world with the Roman emperors who opposed Christ and His Church:

The next day at the interrogation, powerless but firm of spirit, Saint George again answered the emperor, “You will grow tired of tormenting me sooner than I will tire of being tormented by you.” Then Diocletian gave orders to subject Saint George to some very intense tortures. They tied the Great Martyr to a wheel, beneath which were boards pierced with sharp pieces of iron. As the wheel turned, the sharp edges slashed the saint’s naked body.

At first the sufferer loudly cried out to the Lord, but soon he quieted down, and did not utter even a single groan. Diocletian decided that the tortured one was already dead, and he gave orders to remove the battered body from the wheel, and then went to a pagan temple to offer thanks.

At this very moment it got dark, thunder boomed, and a voice was heard: “Fear not, George, for I am with you.” Then a wondrous light shone, and at the wheel an angel of the Lord appeared in the form of a radiant youth. He placed his hand upon the martyr, saying to him, “Rejoice!” Saint George stood up healed.

When the soldiers led him to the pagan temple where the emperor was, the emperor could not believe his own eyes and he thought that he saw before him some other man or even a ghost. In confusion and in terror the pagans looked Saint George over carefully, and they became convinced that a miracle had occurred. Many then came to believe in the Life-Creating God of the Christians.

The sacrifices, perhaps even the deaths, that Christians in politics (and elsewhere in society) may have to make, though they may seem to be in vain, are most assuredly not.  They will bear fruit in due season, just as with St. George:

Saint George gave thanks to God and prayed that he would also end his life in a worthy manner. At the place of execution the saint prayed that the Lord would forgive the torturers who acted in ignorance, and that He would lead them to the knowledge of Truth. Calmly and bravely, the holy Great Martyr George bent his neck beneath the sword, receiving the crown of martyrdom on April 23, 303. The pagan era was coming to an end, and Christianity was about to triumph. Within ten years, Saint Constantine (May 21) would issue the Edict of Milan, granting religious freedom to Christians.

And if any family members or friends associated with the Speaker and other conservative politicians are threatened, they likewise should consider it a great honor to suffer for God and for their neighbor and not hesitate to do so, imitating St. George’s mother St. Polychronia, which will strip the Deep State all the more of its powers of manipulation and control:

When he [St. George—W.G.] faced martyrdom for the love of Christ, she was constantly close to him, both in the prison and in the place of martyrdom, always taking care to strengthen him with the Spotless Mysteries. When Emperor Diocletian saw her speaking to Saint George, he called her to him and asked her who she was. She replied with spiritual courage: “My name is Polychronia and I am a Christian, like my son George, whom you think you are punishing, while he is being crowned by Christ the King.” Enraged, Diocletian ordered her to be tortured at once. Then they suspended her on a tree and subjected her to even greater torments. They tore the flesh from her body with iron handcuffs so much that her innards were visible. Then they took lit candles and began to burn her wounds. Yet she remained steadfast in her faith and courageous in her thought. Still the executioners continued, placing red-hot iron shoes on her feet with tongs. Saint Polychronia, with the consolation of the Paraclete, conquered her pains and delivered her holy soul peacefully into God’s hands.

No one has said publicly what has caused Speaker Johnson to transform into a boot-licking servant of the Establishment.  There are theories that make a lot of sense, but nothing definite for now.  But however that may be, Mike Johnson and all conservative/revivalist politicians and their supporters at whatever level they serve or want to serve – from local school boards to county sheriffs to State judges and on up – if they want to deal a devastating blow to the Deep State and strengthen the Church across all fifty States, they must be willing to follow the example of St. George, whose open, outspoken fearlessness and martyrdom for Christ helped bring an end to the Roman persecution and to begin a new era under St. Constantine the Great, an era of widespread conversion of the Roman world to Christianity.