In the late 70's and early 80's, though some very useful television evangelists, like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and a little known Texan by the name of James Robison, they managed to take over the leadership of most of the conservative, Evangelical branch of the American church, using abortion on demand and gay rights as the "evils" against which they needed to fight. This constituency, made up of ultra-conservative fundamentalists and Pentecostals, had a tendency to avoid participating in what they called "secular" politics, but their leadership, over time, convinced them that they were called by God to save the country from evil by voting against liberals who just wanted to destroy things.
That added, to the treasury and the power base of the Heritage Foundation, a significant constituency and it provided a religious endorsement for their right wing extremism, though the message, morality and ethics of the Christian gospel did not phase the Heritage Foundation's agenda, which bears no resemblance at all to any known practice of the Christian gospel.
This enabled the foundation and its leadership to swallow up the Republican party, separating themselves from its more moderate wing, offering those who supported it nothing, in fact, turning them into political pariahs, like Mitt Romney, who was the last "mainstream" Republican nominee for the Presidency. Romney hasn't ever endorsed Trump, and in fact, hasn't ever backed down from the position he took back in 2016, when he made a nationally broadcast speech warning Republicans about the dangers of nominating him the first time.
Going back and listening to that speech, Romney was familiar with the Heritage Foundation and its agenda, and that placed him in a very awkward, and eventually crippling position as having to maintain his Mormon orthodoxy, which, like any true form of Christianity, is ideologically incompatible with Christian nationalism and with the aims and practices of the Heritage Foundation. But their money is found in almost every Republican politician's pot. And it buys their complicity, their silence, and rewards their lack of honesty and ethics.
Falwell, Robertson and Robison Weren't Heretics, They Were Just Willing to Sell the Truth in Exchange for Power
Well, maybe two out of three isn't a bad guess here. Robertson was a businessman evangelist from the outset of his ministry, building parachurch ministry businesses that operated off the contributions of people in churches and which were designed to make money for him. His ability to turn a ministry enterprise into a money-making machine was likely among the most prosperous and productive in the history of conservative Evangelical televangelism. CBN was one of the early media "silos" that cut people off from legitimate, truthful information and Robertson's own daily news show, "The 700 Club," was one of the most masterful propaganda outlets that existed among right wing media. And it still is.
Robertson used the fact that he was ordained as a minister by a Southern Baptist church in Norfolk, Virginia as a ticket to legitimacy with a broader, Evangelical audience than his Charismatic oriented CBN could deliver.
Robertson, as a Charismatic, was a proponent of "faith healing," and the belief that relevation from God was still being delivered through prophets, like himself, who could understand and interpret messages often delivered by what is known as "speaking in tongues." Robertson has frequently stepped out on a limb with prophetic utterances about events that don't happen, though on occasion he manages to guess well, and exploits that while ignoring dozens of other predictions that don't happen. But his television network has been a huge asset to the right wing politics of the Heritage Foundation. He's let them have everything they need.
Jerry Falwell is in a similar mode, operating a television ministry that mainly broadcasts his own sermons preached from the pulpit of his church, Thomas Road Baptist Church, in Lynchburg, Virginia. And like Robertson, being an independent, fundamental Baptist mistrustful of associations with other Christians, and of any educational institution over which he did not exercise control, he led the church to establish Lynchburg Baptist College on its campus, which has grown into Liberty University, on a new campus where the church relocated.
Falwell's television program began in 1956. Called "The Old Time Gospel Hour," it appealed to the fundamentalist element among Evangelicals, primarily independent Baptist churches that refused to join denominations where the doctrine and theology were based on historic Baptist principles, and on a contextual, historical interpretation of the Bible, rather than their preferred literal rendering in King James English. There are some glaring theological errors in fundamentalism, especially in their eschatology, or teaching about "end times."
Falwell got closer to the right wing extremism in politics as he saw that their way of handling the secular political world, basically by separating from it, was not producing the kind of political results they wanted when it came to issues like abortion and gay/lesbian rights. When he built an informal alliance with Robertson toward the end of the Carter years, frustrated because Carter, a fellow Baptist, would not bring his personal religious faith to bear on a political issue, he sided with Reagan in the 1980 election.
What's interesting about what Falwell's group brings to the table is that he continued to preach fundamentalist doctrine and theology as if he hadn't violated its separationist principles by getting directly involved in secular politics. He never really bothered to attempt to justify this duplicity, he just let them exist in different worlds, while he and many of his associates were deeply engaged with the Heritage Foundation, and committed to helping them raise money, he kept preaching his Baptist separationism.
Setting aside the core principles of the Christian gospel in order to benefit from the power of secular politics has become the M.O. of the Heritage Foundation and its Evangelical allies. They are getting the political power and money that they have always had at the center of their pseudo-Christian agenda.
This Well Organized Political Machine is the Trump Agenda
This is what we are fighting against. Can someone point me to an agenda driven, money raising, media powerful foundation of equal influence and effect on the Democratic party's side of American politics?
I'm going to say a few things before moving on, because I think they need to be said.
Democrats have seen, in the manner in which the growing influence of the Heritage Foundation has manifested itself in Congress, a complete change in the manner in which government business is being conducted. The Republicans increasingly resist compromise and negotiation, and in recent years, when they've been in power, they've shut Democrats completely out of the legislative process. But when Democrats get back in power, they shrug it off, and go back to their old protocols and government procedures as if nothing has changed, and as if they have learned nothing from the prior experience.
Democrats were told, following the 2020 election, that Trump would do everything he possibly could to avoid being separated from the Presidency. There was intelligence and information available that he would attempt an insurrection, or some kind of tactic to use force to stop the electoral votes from being certified. "Be prepared," came the warning. But the reaction of most Democrats appeared to be surprise.
Democrats were told that Trump would use every possible legal system maneuver and trick to delay prosecution and avoid being tried and convicted for his crimes. They knew what he had done, and had experienced it, yet the party leadership was unwilling to take risky, but bold steps to make sure Trump never got near the White House again. There were warnings, and there were suggestions from people who had the political experience and savvy to know, to use the power that Democrats had for two years to make sure Trump was tried and convicted for insurrection, and sent to prison. They were told that it would take breaking the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court. Wouldn't that have been worth whatever cost came with it to keep him out of the White House?
But it was branded as political, it was outside the traditional status quo, and party leadership didn't have the will to push it through.
Democrats had determined in 2020 that Joe Biden's presidency would be transitional, because of his age. This is something that should have been taken care of from the beginning, made clear that Biden would serve one term to clean up the mess Trump made of government, and then support and hand it off to younger, and more progressive leadership. That was one of the reasons Kamala Harris was selected as VP. The party was warned that it would not be a good idea for Biden to run again, especially when it became apparent they weren't going to do anything to stop Trump or bring him to justice. That led to a panic and a mess following a subpar debate performance on Biden's behalf, a mass of confusion in which the lack of clear leadership in the Democratic party was laid bare.
Democrats had been warned, for four years, that the Trump campaign's caterwauling and complaining, and massive lawsuits over the 2020 election would change the landscape. Veteran and experienced election workers, not wanting to be put through a mill grinder, quit, opening the door for thousands of Trump supporters to take those positions. Trump's whining and complaining about the election being stolen was the loudest and longest warning to Democrats that the Republicans were going to do everything they could to steal the 2024 election.
"Yeah, we've got it," was the response.
Greg Palast's observations, research and report following the election would suggest otherwise. Not only did the GOP find ways to throw out enough ballots to steal the election in every battleground state, but there was almost zero effort on the part of Democratic officials to do anything at all about it.
And So, Now We Are Here...
The Republicans, with their Heritage Foundation Project 2025 plan book being followed to the tee, have been running amok, doing exactly what we were warned they were going to do, and that was make Trump dictator and impose a Christian nationalist regime to control the United States.
We were warned. It's been written about, reported, good grief, copies of this draconian, anti-Democratic piece of trash have been circulating around for a while not. We knew it was coming. Nothing was done from November to January, to develop a plan for resisting it and opposing it and making it difficult for Republicans to implement. "Woe is us," is the cry, "They have a razor thin margin on both houses."
Nothing was done from January, through February, into march, except the activism of Senator Sanders and Representative Ocasio-Cortez. I can't donate much, but that's where all my donations are going right now. That seems to be the only place where there is some good being done. They sure helped draw attention to the crisis, and we are finally seeing people out in the streets. But that's not going to be nearly enough.
We need to start disconnecting Republican senators and congressmen and women from their party loyalty to Trump. That's not an easy prospect, it has been done before, but not with the kind of wealth and power like the Heritage Foundation has behind them. These are fallible human beings we are dealing with and unpopularity is not something they feel gives them an advantage. We will need a lot more commitment than we have seen so far. And there's not a lot of time.
We've been warned.
A DNC "War Room" and a "People's Cabinet" are great ideas, if the party can make them work. It's about two years too late, maybe more, but there's something out there.
How long will decent, freedom loving Americans put up with the gross immorality being exhibited through the policies and practices of the Heritage Foundation? These people know nothing of Christian faith, they are duplicitous hangers-on, exploiting the good name of churches with their extremist right wing politics. What's happening now is a test of true patriotism, and if your stomach isn't churning and your anger burning right about now, then you are not a patriotic American.
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