Drew Johnson
Born
Jason Andrew Johnson

(1979-08-05) August 5, 1979
Johnson City, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Political commentator and columnist
Known forFounded Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Political partyRepublican

Jason Andrew "Drew" Johnson (born August 5, 1979 in Johnson City, Tennessee)[1] is an American political columnist, policy analyst, and former think tank founder and executive.

Johnson is known as a government waste expert and government watchdog. He writes frequently about tax and budget issues, technology and telecommunications policy, and the environment, and is credited with popularizing the use of investigative journalism by think tanks.[2][3]

He was the founder and first president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, now known as the Beacon Center of Tennessee.[4] He later edited the editorial page of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He is a former columnist and editorial writer at The Washington Times.[5][6]

Johnson also worked at the National Taxpayers Union, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and the American Enterprise Institute.[7][8][9]

Johnson is running in the Republican primary for Nevada's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada. He was narrowly defeated in a 2022 bid for the Clark County Commission.[10]

Early life

Johnson grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee, and graduated from Science Hill High School in 1997.[11] He then earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Belmont University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Pepperdine University.[12] Johnson was a Koch Fellow at the Institute for Humane Studies and the American Enterprise Institute.[13]

Career

Tennessee Center for Policy Research

Johnson founded the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) in 2004. Under his leadership, the organization used the Tennessee Open Records Act of obtain Al Gore's home energy bills the day after the former Vice President won an Academy Award for the climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth.[14] The records showed that, in 2006, Gore's Belle Meade, Tennessee home consumed nearly 221,000 kWh of electricity—more than 20 times the national average.[15] In 2006, Gore spent an average of $1,359 per month to power the home.[15]

After releasing Al Gore's home energy consumption, Johnson and other TCPR employees received death threats, harassing emails and threatening phone calls from Gore supporters and environmental activists.[16][17][18]

Johnson left TCPR at the end of 2009.[19] In May 2011, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance announced that he would join that organization as a senior fellow.[20]

Chattanooga Times Free Press

On July 1, 2012, Johnson joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press as opinion editor for the Free Press editorial page, writing editorials and a weekly column.[12] Under Johnson, the Chattanooga Times Free Press became the largest newspaper in the United States to endorse Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson during the 2012 United States presidential election cycle.[21]

On August 1, 2013 the newspaper announced that Johnson was terminated for violating the newspaper's standards in altering an editorial headline to tell Barack Obama to "Take Your Jobs Plan and Shove It," a play on the classic country music song "Take This Job and Shove It."[22] The newspaper stated the alteration was "inappropriate" and that Johnson did not follow normal editing procedures.[23] Johnson later claimed that his firing was a result of the criticizing Chattanooga's electric company, EPB, one of the newspaper's largest advertisers.[24] "When I explained how EPB scammed taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars...EPB pulled its ads from the paper," Johnson said. "I know the paper was frustrated with losing money because I was willing to speak the truth about bad actors in the community."[24]

Media and think tanks

Johnson then joined The Washington Times as a columnist, editorial writer and author of the newspaper's weekly "Golden Hammer" column, which exposed an egregious example of wasteful spending of tax dollars.[25][26] Johnson also hosted a weekly "Golden Hammer" television segment based on the column that was available on some Sinclair Broadcast Group stations' local news broadcasts.[27]

In April 2016, Johnson was named National Director of Protect Internet Freedom, a group formed to push back on new net neutrality rules and federal preemption of state laws limiting municipal broadband buildouts.[28] He joined the National Center for Public Policy Research as a senior scholar in 2017.[14]

Johnson again investigated Al Gore's home energy use in a 2017 report written for the National Center for Public Policy Research.[14] According to information obtained through the Nashville Electric Service, energy consumption at Gore's Nashville-area house increased from 2006 to 2017, despite installing 33 solar panels on the home following the initial criticism.[14] In 2017, Gore's home used 21.3 times more energy per month than a typical American household.[14]

Political views

Johnson has espoused libertarian and free market positions in his columns, editorials and media interviews.

He has opposed the death penalty and the Patriot Act, spoken out against anti-Muslim bias and criticized Republicans for increasing government spending.[29][30][31] He has also written in support of free speech, gay marriage and drug legalization.[32][33]

Public service

Johnson served as commissioner on the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth from 1997 to 2006, and was named to the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 2008.[34]

He currently serves as the public member of the Nevada State Board of Optometry.[35]

Personal life

He is married to marketing consultant and travel blogger Sarah Reeves Johnson and they live in Las Vegas.

Johnson is credited with starting the Vegas Golden Knights' "Victory Flamingo" tradition, in which fans of the NHL team toss pink plastic flamingos on the ice in celebration of Vegas Golden Knights victories.[36][37][38]

References

  1. ↑ "Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'? -- A $30,000 Utility Bill". ABC News. February 26, 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Tennessee Center For Policy Research Of Al Gore's Electric Bills | Nashville Post". Archived from the original on 2020-04-10.
  3. ↑ "Nine questions with Drew Johnson". Noogatoday. 15 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Jeff Woods, The Great Gadfly: How a baby-faced kid became the governor's No. 1 nemesis Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Nashville Scene, September 11, 2008
  5. ↑ Boucher, Dave (May 24, 2015). "Beacon Center grows, helps defeat Insure TN". The Tennessean. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Former Washington Times reporter who investigated Higgins says 'It's about time'". 4 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Chenoweth, Paul (2004-01-22). "Belmont Grad Provides Expert National Political Research". Belmont University News & Media. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  8. ↑ "MEDIA ALERT: Government Waste Expert Drew Johnson Joins TPA as Senior Fellow". Taxpayers Protection Alliance. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  9. ↑ "Drew Johnson named as Free Press opinion page editor". timesfreepress.com. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  10. ↑ Hill, Jessica (4 May 2023). "GOP's Drew Johnson takes aim at Susie Lee for US House seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Beacon Center's light doesn't shine on everyone". 18 January 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Drew Johnson named opinion page editor for Free Press". Chattanooga Times Free Press. June 8, 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Harkinson, Josh (December 4, 2009). "The Dirty Dozen of Climate Change Denial, No. 10: Tennessee Center for Policy Research (A.K.A. Carnival of Climate Change)". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Al Gore's Inconvenient Reality: The Former Vice President's Home Energy Use Surges up to 34 Times the National Average Despite Costly Green Renovations, by Drew Johnson". August 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Al Gore's Personal Energy Use is His Own "Inconvenient Truth"".
  16. ↑ "The Left-Wing Echo Chamber".
  17. ↑ "Where's the Tolerance?". National Review. 9 April 2007.
  18. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Penn & Teller: BS! - Being Green. YouTube.
  19. ↑ Clint Brewer Now Top Dog At TCPR Archived 2011-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, Nashville Post, October 29, 2009
  20. ↑ Government Waste Expert Drew Johnson Joins TPA as Senior Fellow
  21. ↑ "Gary Johnson for president". 24 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "Read the headline that got Drew Johnson fired: 'Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough'".
  23. ↑ Mirkinson, Jack (August 1, 2013). "Drew Johnson, Chattanooga Editor, Fired Over Anti-Obama Headline". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  24. 1 2 "Whatever happened to Drew Johnson?". 24 March 2014.
  25. ↑ "DREW JOHNSON: Virginia private property rights saved Colonial America". The Washington Times.
  26. ↑ "Golden Hammer: Feds spend millions to study drunken monkeys, pilots and students". The Washington Times.
  27. ↑ "Questionable accounting hides $100 million in purchases at Illinois college". 3 October 2014.
  28. ↑ "Protect Internet Freedom Names Drew Johnson Executive Director". 22 April 2016.
  29. ↑ "Drew Johnson: Capital punishment inconsistent with conservative views". 2 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "TN Tea Party Goes Archie Bunker". 24 July 2012.
  31. ↑ "JOHNSON: Misspending GOP capital on Cochran in Mississippi". The Washington Times.
  32. ↑ "Drew Johnson's support of gay marriage".
  33. ↑ "Right Side Round Table: Should marijuana be legalized? Hamilton County Grand Jury thinks so". 2 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Drew Johnson". National Center for Public Policy Research. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  35. ↑ "Nevada State Board of Optometry". Nevada State Board of Optometry. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  36. ↑ "Stanley Cup Final: Meet the Vegas Golden Knights Flamingo Man". 29 May 2018.
  37. ↑ "Meet the Victory Flamingo: How Golden Knights fans got behind the tradition".
  38. ↑ "Do You Believe in the Power of the "Victory Flamingo"? | REAL 103.9".
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