Opinion: Mike Johnson proves no man’s life, liberty or property

So the left's latest theory is that Speaker Mike Johnson is somehow *protecting* the administration by keeping the House in recess. The columnist's argument seems to be that if we just stayed in session long enough, we could impeach Pete Hegseth for the crime of... existing loudly? It's a strange complaint, especially when you consider that the last few years of Democratic rule were defined by exactly this kind of legislative avoidance. The machinery of governance doesn't stop just because the cameras aren't rolling.

What this really sounds like is frustration that the scheduled votes aren't there to be weaponized. The proposed Hegseth impeachment is a drive-by political stunt, designed for headlines rather than any legitimate constitutional purpose. By keeping the chamber dark, Johnson is denying the performative left a stage. It's not a dereliction of duty; it's a strategic choice to avoid the circus. Most Americans are more concerned with the price of groceries and the security of our borders than they are with another baseless impeachment theater that would die in the Senate anyway.

The more interesting question is why the media is so desperate to force these votes. If the case against Hegseth is so compelling, it will survive a week of recess. If it can't survive the members going home to their districts for a bit of fresh air, then it was never about justice or accountability—it was about political damage. A strategic pause is just good governing, and it beats the alternative of feeding the Washington monster a constant diet of partisan conflict.

Speaker Johnson is betting that the American people prefer a Congress that works on the actual business of the nation to one that exists solely to manufacture crises. He's right. The Constitution gives the House its schedule for a reason, and using that schedule to derail a baseless political hit job isn't a violation of liberty or property—it's the preservation of both. Sometimes the most patriotic thing you can do is refuse to play the game.