On the troubles facing Russia's economy, Johnson said it was not Obama's sanctions for the Crimean incursion that caused the downturn, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is using that as an excuse anyway.

Johnson said slumping oil prices are to blame, and he said Putin may be even more dangerous amid a weakened Russian economy.

"One thing the sanctions do is they give Vladimir Putin an excuse, something to blame for his tanking economy," Johnson said. "His poll ratings are still high in Russia, I think largely because he can point to those sanctions and blame those rather than his own horrible policies and his own aggression against the West."

Rep. Mark Pocan also appeared on the program, bringing together two people who voted against the "Cromnibus" spending bill that Obama signed on Tuesday.

Pocan said he agreed with Johnson in that passing a 1,600-page bill in 48 hours gave "plenty of reason for the public to be cautious."

"My reasons, though, were some of the provisions that were added on because when you get a 1,600-page bill and very little time to look at it, it's like a Christmas tree with lots of ornaments," Pocan said. "One of those really ugly ornaments was a bill to bring us back to the bad old days of banking, where derivatives are somehow protected by our taxpayer money so that the biggest banks can do these risky financial moves that can potentially jeopardize our economy again. That was a terrible part of what was in there."

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