Newsweek Opinion Piece Advocates Letting Trump Get Away With Whatever Crimes He's Committed

Newsweek: President Biden Should Immediately Offer Trump an Unconditional Pardon

No, I'm not a regular reader of Newsweek.  Oh, I used to pick up a copy in the barber shop, or while I was waiting to get my oil changed, if there was nothing else on the table.  Now I have my cell phone for entertainment.  I'm actually surprised that a weekly news magazine is still around, though they seem to have made the transition to electronic media.  

But this opinion piece, by Nicholas Creel, a business law professor at Georgia College and State University, is, frankly, a bad attempt to get attention.  My first reaction was, "he's joking."  But that would be more like something you'd read in The Onion, not Newsweek.  The author calls himself a "jack of all trades because of my eclectic academic background," a description which I found on his Linkedin account, and that tells me all I need to know.  Newsweek is desperate for opinion writers.  

Creel suggests that President Biden should immediately offer Trump an unconditional pardon.  But here's how he worded that statement in the piece: 

"To head off the disaster of being criminally prosecuted by his political opponent, President Joe Biden should offer Trump an unconditional pardon immediately--and announce that he will not seek re-election,"  

 Are professors of business law not required to pass English, or be able to write coherently?  Is he saying that Biden runs the risk of being criminally prosecuted by his political opponent, or is that a reference to Trump?  And if that's the case, President Biden isn't going to prosecute his political opponent, the justice department will be doing that and it's a judicial matter, not an executive branch prosecution.  Or, is he suggesting that Trump will win re-election, and then turn around and criminally prosecute Biden?  I'll just tell you, there's no chance of that happening under any circumstance. 

First of all, it would not be a "disaster" for Trump to be criminally prosecuted by the Justice Department.  It would be justice under the rule of law.  If he committed crimes, and I'm pretty certain that he did, then he should be criminally prosecuted, regardless of who is in the White House, because both the Justice Department and the President represent the people, and we are the ones against whom the crimes were committed.  Why would President Biden use the power of the pardon to bypass the rule of law?  And I'll answer that question, too.  He wouldn't.  Not ever. 

"Most democrats would probably reject that idea out of hand," he says, while explaning that the reason for doing this would be to stave off the potential violence of a Trump indictment without putting Trump above the law.  

"After all," he continues, "Presidents pardon people all the time.  It doesn't erase the fact of their guilt." 

At this point, I would like to express how happy I am that I don't have a child at Georgia College majoring in business law.  If I did, and I saw this opinion piece, we'd withdraw and I would want my money back.  

Given what we saw on January 6th, and the way Trump and Steve Bannon are currently ratcheting up the rhetoric and attempting to use mob violence to escape accountability, there will be attempts by hard core Trump supporters to commit violence.  That should not deter the pursuit of justice, and it should be met head on with the full force of the law.  Threats of violence are a clear demonstration that these people who support Trump are anti-constitution, anti-democratic, anti-patriot and anti-American.  Giving in to the threats will just perpetuate more violence when extremists don't get their way.  

It is never, never, never in the best interests of this country to give in to threats of violence.  

Even More Ridiculous Claims and Ideas Ahead

Creel claims that an announcement from President Biden that he would not be seeking another term would be an expectation of Trump as well, in spite of the pardon being unconditional.  Trump has proven that he is a pathological liar.  And if he thought this would be to his benefit, he'd take the pardon, lie, and run again without even acknowledging his utter dishonesty.  That's because he is utterly dishonest.  

It's even more ridiculous to assert that Biden stepping down after his first term is something that "the vast majority of the public wants."  There's no evidence to suggest that at all, especially not from Democrats, whose support for the President, while it may have wavered, is still high.  I couldn't care less what the MAGAts think.  "Vast majority" implies something that no polling data which currently exists can support reasonably.  

Biden has Already Sealed His Legacy

The less the Biden administration interacts with or acknowledges Trump, the better.  Let the justice department and the courts handle this, which is how it works.  Who really cares that there's a group of extremists who are more loyal to Trump than they are to either the country or to God who threaten violence to get their way?  That's not what true patriots and real Americans do, so they are exposing themselves for who they are.  

If Trump committed even half of the crimes that the evidence in these investigations point to, then it would be morally and ethically wrong to pardon him.  And that's just a flat fact.  

I promise I will never read Newsweek, quote from it, refer to it or acknowledge it as a publication again.  

And if you have doubts about what Democrats feel regarding this terrible idea, take a look at an unofficial poll, on Democratic Underground.  Believing this is a bad idea wins the poll by 100%.  

DU poll on Newsweek Opinion Piece

A Warning to Churches Infiltrated by Right Wing Politics

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.  If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  Revelation 2:4-5 NRSV

I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.  You do not recognize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked."  Revelation 3:15-17, NRSV 

To those Christian leaders, churches, denominations and leaders who have sold out to Trumpism, I'll put this warning in terms you can understand.  Your lampstand is obviously being removed, and unless there is genuine repentance, you will continue to fall from grace. You have permitted, as the Apostle Jude warned in his epistle, "intruders who have stolen in among you, ungodly people who have perverted the grace of God into licentiousness,"[1] and whose demands for loyalty have caused you to abandon the love and loyalty you once had for Jesus Christ.  You are depending on politics for your salvation and you are causing confusion by watering down the prophetic voice of scripture with political rhetoric in your sermons and teaching. 

The evidence that your lampstand may be falling, and in fact, may already be removed is clear.  Conservative, Evangelical churches, denominations, megachurches and recognized leaders are increasingly involved in scandals involving the vast amounts of money they are collecting from Christians, many of whom give sacrificially, or in some kind of sexual abuse, including adulterous affairs of pastors and church leaders and attempts to cover up this licentious, abusive, sinful behavior.  Multitudes of sincere Christians, seeking the abiding presence of God, in "perfect love which casts out fear" [2] are leaving your churches and abandoning your leadership.  More will follow.  

Claiming that "God Sometimes Uses Evil Men to Accomplish His Purposes" is Bad Theology and Doesn't Absolve the Guilt of Those Who Make This False Claim

The fact that your loyalty has shifted, from Christ to an ungodly man is reflected in these scandals, as well as in your lack of ability to handle them and resolve them.  They are a mirror image of the politician to whom you have given your loyalty and support, an adulterer who cheated on all three of his wives, two of whom were "the other woman," along with his own admission, or bragging, that there had literally been hundreds of others.  A pathological liar whose rhetoric has led to death and destruction, incitement of violence and insurrection against the governing authorities, which is contrary to the words of two apostles in scripture, Paul in Romans 13:1-7 and Peter in I Peter 2:13-17.  

There is no doubt that God is sovereign over the course of history.  And while that sometimes means that the acts of rulers and politicians who are evil follow the course of history wind up achieving ends which are aligned with God's divine will and purpose, it does not mean that God endorses their behavior nor does he ever encourage his people to pledge their loyalty and support to them.  When Paul and Peter wrote those passages pointing out that the governing authorities were under God's sovereign direction, they advocated obedience to them as a testimony to the faith of God's people, not loyalty to them, because they were pagan.  During the most severe times of persecution, Christians remained obedient, in many cases to the point of a cruel death, not rebelling against their authority, but also not giving their loyalty to anyone but Christ.  

Loyalty to Christ cannot be divided with someone else, especially a politician who has openly demonstrated and expressed his own unwillingness to submit to the will of God, give loyalty to Christ or to permit his supporters to share loyalty with Christ.  

Believing a Lie is Lying

Merely believing that an assertion is true doesn't make it true.  God has given his human creation gifts of wisdom, discernment and knowledge, enabling them to gain an understanding of the world around them.  There is absolutely no evidence at all to suggest that the election of 2020 was fraudulent, that there was massive voter fraud and that someone other than the declared and certified winner actually won.  It doesn't take divine discernment to come to that conclusion, common sense and acknowledgement of the facts should be plenty.  

Continuing to support anyone who continues to assert this lie is not a demonstration of repentance.  It is lying, whether it is to yourself, or implying to others that you believe it to be true.  How is there an expectation that members of a congregation can trust the word being preached to them by a pastor who is a liar, and who is not even willing to consider the truth?  There cannot be a spiritual presence of God abiding in the word of someone who cannot discern a lie from the truth and is willing to perpetuate a lie without discernment.  

Blinded to the Need for Repentance

The Apostle John relayed this message from the vision he received of Christ to the church at Laodicea,  "For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.  You do not recognize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." [3] Insulated by accumulated wealth, gathered from Christians, many of whom give sacrificially, it has become impossible for many leaders and many Christians to see their need for repentance.  They have bought into the lie that has infiltrated the American church for centuries that financial prosperity is the equivalent of God's blessings.  Nowhere do the scriptures teach that.  The fact that most of the world's richest people did not acquire their abundance by honest means, and that few of them give any credit to God at all for what they have acquired, including our most recent past-president, who is a billion dollars in debt and who acquired most of his possessions and wealth by fraud, defaulting on debt and cheating "suckers," as he calls them, out of their money.  

Seeing pseudo-Christian leaders live "lifestyles of the rich and famous," rather than the simple, austere, sacrificial life modeled by Christ and his ministry as recorded in scripture gives us insights into the choices that have been made.  Private jets, yachts, elaborate vacations to exotic destinations under the guise of "mission trips," all on the dime of contributors, claimed as tax-free blessings from God are hard to give up.  Most of those who realize their phony faith has been outed simply fade into the background, but so far, I haven't seen anyone part with all of this wealth, or leave the lifestyle, as an act of repentance.  They keep the spoils, even while shedding a few crocodile tears as a demonstration of their repentance.  

Let Me Be Clear...

I grew up in a Christian home, and became a Christian myself as a result of the influence of my parents.  They lived out the virtues of the gospel of Christ, not out of some kind of obligation or ritual, but in a genuine way that was part of their character and who they were.  Those who aren't Christian might not understand this, but that's what makes the difference for me.  That's how it's supposed to work.  

So this is an observation from a Christian, not some angry criticism from a detractor.  I can break down and explain the whole conversion experience for you, including my own,  I reading, studying and teaching the scripture, prayer, and personal and corporate worship are regular spiritual disciplines for me.  So what you are reading here comes from observation, spiritual discernment and years of experience as a member of several churches.  I have watched this infiltration of conservative Christianity for decades.  The preaching and worship in a church are there to bring Christians into a spiritual encounter with the presence of God.  Bringing in anything that distracts from that, changes it, causes confusion and isn't an act of worship is apostasy.  

And that's exactly what I'm pointing out here.    

 [1] the Epistle of Jude, Verse 4

[2] I John 4:13-18

[3] Revelation 3:16-17    

All references are New Revised Standard Version

 

Preoccupied With Politics, Many Conservative Evangelicals are Dealing With Major Scandals

God is love and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.  Love has been perfected among us in this that we may have boldness on the day of judgement because as he is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.  I John 4:16-18 NRSV

There's an almost desperate need for prophetic voices to rise within some branches of the Christian church in the United States these days, particularly among Conservative Evangelicals, where the preaching from the pulpit, watered-down for decades by the intrusion of secular, right wing politics is replacing the gospel message with something that isn't able to keep Christian faithful, and has led many of them, including high profile leaders, away from the virtues that are at the very core of Christ's gospel message. There's an ideology that has developed that is based on right wing, secular political perspectives, not on anything in the gospel or in the Bible, which conservative Christians claim is the only authority for Christian theology, doctrine and practice.  

One of the pastors invited to speak at Floyd's memorial service in Houston made reference to the passage I cited above in the Apostle John's first epistle to the church, noting that racism was rooted in "fear that casts out love."1  The Apostle says that "as he is, so are we in this world," and just prior to this passage, he says, "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit (I John 4:13).  This is not painting with a broad brush, by any means, but looking around, observing what is happening in our culture among some branches of the Christian church, there's a lot of chaos, confusion, and evidence of an intrusion of ungodliness, and not much perfect love. 

While George Floyd's death helped to focus some attention on systemic racism, the Trump administration was igniting a controversy aimed at fanning the flames with a predictable tweet from the former failed President, attacking Critical Race Theory and calling it a "sickness that cannot be allowed to continue.  Please report any sightings so we can quickly extinguish!"  That was a dog whistle to hard line religious conservatives who promptly jumped up to demonize it and, in the process, undo any possible racial reconciliation or justice that might emerge as a result of George Floyd's murder by a racist cop.  

Is the timing here a coincidence?  Racism is a reality, embedded in Christian doctrine for centuries, particularly in America, where the Bible was used to justify the enslavement of Africans.  Bring up racism in a white, conservative, Evangelical church, and suggest that it is a real problem and that racial reconciliation is  a high priority ministry of the church and the result will be mostly silence, some of it hostile silence, some indifference with  some hostility and anger.  But you'll find volunteers ready to make phone calls and pay personal visits to school administrators at the mere suggestion that Critical Race Theory is being taught in your local school. 

I'm not suggesting that the points of CRT be applied to the church.  The Bible offers plenty of principles, practices and virtues which, if a Christian or a church determined to follow, would lead to racial reconciliation, the eradication of racism, a diverse church rather than a segregated one and unity of mission and purpose.  And to their credit, there are Christians and churches who do make this choice and who do make a difference.  But they're not the ones who have aligned themselves with a political party that is openly opposed to racial unity, promotes white supremacy and sends a racist message while attacking the free speech rights of CRT proponents.  CRT exists as a theory with regard to racism in the vacuum created by the absence of conservative, white Christians ignoring their own scripture by allowing fear to prevent them from making a difference.  

This is not the only example of the damage done to the church and its ministry because of the preoccupation of many conservative, Evangelical leaders, churches and denominations in their attempted use of conservative, right wing politics, and their selling out of loyalty that belongs to Christ to secular politicians who demand it as a condition of their bestowing political favors.  The Trump administration created a humanitarian crisis at the border, intentionally using fear against refugees fleeing their homes in Central and South America because their families and lives were in danger.  The inhumanity, deliberate fear created when children were taken from their parents as a border enforcement "tactic," and the refusal to consider these people as fellow human beings was one of the most un-American, and anti-Christian incidents in our history.  But it has not deterred white, conservative, Evangelical Christian support for Trump.  

They have exchanged their dependence on God's perfect love casting out fear, for political power that uses fear as a weapon.  

Politics and Wealth, Replacing the Presence of God's Spirit in Churches, Results in Lack of Discernment and Failure of Mission and Purpose

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.  If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  Revelation 2:4-5 NRSV

 I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.  You do not recognize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked."  Revelation 3:15-17, NRSV 

I'm using scripture passages from the Bible in making these points, because conservative, Evangelical Christians claim the Bible is the "sole authority for faith and practice" in the church, and because they claim it is without error, and infallible in its content.   

These two passages from Revelation are from a narrative at the beginning of the book which records a vision of Christ experienced by the Apostle John during his imprisonment on the isle of Patmos.  They are prophetic warnings of the intrusion of pagan practices and beliefs into each congregation, in advance of the first major persecution of Christianity under Nero.  Seven churches are addressed with warnings about specific problems that the leaders needed to address. 

In the first passage, the church at Ephesus had abandoned the love it had at first.  The leaders of the church had aligned themselves with the local political influences for their own benefit and were compromising their doctrine, turning their loyalty away from the gospel of Christ and toward the politics of pagan civic leaders.  In the second passage, the church at Laodicea had grown dependent on the wealth it had acquired, believing that monetary prosperity was equal to blessings from God.  In both cases, the prophetic message noted these failures and warned the church's leaders to repent, or their church would cease to exist.  

Bob Smeitana: Everything is Changing at the Same Time

Baptist News Global: DOJ Investigating Southern Baptist Sex Abuse Scandal

Churches and church leaders have become disengaged from the Spirit of God, and the "perfect love which casts out fear," and as the numbers of new converts drop dramatically, and church membership and attendance declines, they become more dependent on using their influence with right wing politicians to achieve what they are unable to do on their own.  If they aren't connected to the "abiding presence of God's Holy Spirit," then they are also prone to fail when it comes to the virtues Christ preached as produced by the abiding presence of God, and they lose their testimony, or, as the vision of Christ informed John in Revelation, "their lampstand is removed." 

The Catholic Church was rocked by a sexual abuse scandal among its clergy, revelations of the depth and breadth of it only now being revealed.  The Southern Baptist Convention, whose leaders had been told for decades that sexual abuse among its pastors and church leadership was rampant, and which they appeared to ignore, deflecting reports with their polity of local church autonomy, back to local congregations, was finally forced by newspaper investigations by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express News, to acknowledge it and do something about it.  Pressure to conduct and investigation resulted in the discovery that denominational leaders had purposely attempted to cover up reports of abuse to avoid the bad publicity.  The scope of the scandal in the denomination is massive.  The cover-ups of what was reported to denominational leadership is now under criminal investigation by the DOJ.  

But the SBC is not the only place where sexual abuse scandals are coming to light, along with financial scandals by leaders of prominent, well-known megachurches.  It's happening all through the ranks of white, conservative, Evangelical Christian churches and denominations.  Some para-church institutions, including universities, seminaries and outreach ministries, have amassed billions of dollars in assets, controlled by boards with very few members, or in churches where the pastor has a hand-picked few members who hold the governing power.  The names are well known, and most of those caught up in scandals are also major players in right wing, Republican politics.  Few of the more well known megachurches, and multi-campus churches, whose pastors are authors and podcasters and televangelists, have escaped scandal.  

Adultery by pastors has been particularly pervasive.  Should that be a surprise, given the loyalty they've shown to a former President who brags about the number of women with whom he has committed adultery against his three wives, two of which were also "the other woman"?  

There are a few watchdogs, gathering facts, reporting them and trying to help those who have the desire to be sincere Christians hold leaders accountable. ( see Julie Roys: Reporting the Truth, Restoring the Church ) (Baptist News Global: Conversations that Matter). But in most cases, the tightly-wound control that these leaders have over the churches they pastor, and the ministries they lead means that the sincere Christians have no recourse but to leave.  Millions have done so and are continuing to do so.  Across the spectrum of churches, denominations and groups that can be identified as "Evangelical" by doctrine and practice, membership is down by almost 20% in a decade, as is attendance.  The Southern Baptist Convention alone has lost 2.9 million members since a peak in 2005, and lost more than 400,000 in just the past year.  That's not all due to COVID, though some have taken the opportunity of the pandemic to leave.  

Ichabod Written Over the Door

There's a reference in the Old Testament book of Samuel to the son of Phineas, and grandson of Eli, the priest of Shiloh and spiritual leader of Israel, whose name was "Ichabod", which means, "inglorious," or "there is no glory."  The child was named by his mother after hearing the news that his father and uncle, who were disobedient sons of the priest, Eli, had been killed in battle with the Philistines, who had captured the Ark of the Covenant.  Eli, upon hearing this news, collapsed backward and died, and Phineas' wife went into labor, giving birth to her son.  

According to the narrative in Samuel, God permitted this to occur because Eli's sons were disobedient, disrespectful to the priesthood, making themselves rich out of the offerings given by the people of Israel to support the priesthood, held by their father, and relying on belief in their own power as leaders in Israel, rather than following God's instructions for dealing with the surrounding pagan nations.  So God's spirit departed, leaving them to fend for themselves, and the Philistines took advantage and swept in.  

I believe there's a significant portion of the Christian church in America where God has spiritually written the word "Ichabod" over the door.  The dependence on right wing political support has led to preaching from pulpits that integrates political posturing with Christian doctrine, to the point where many Christians can't distinguish between the gospel of Christ, and Republican talking points.  They've bought into lies and deception, they overlook the immoral, unethical behavior of politicians, one in particular, who demands loyalty that they give to him, rather than to Christ.  As a result, they are plagued by scandals and are unable to purge self-serving leaders who are stuffing their own pockets with contributions made by those who believe implicitly in them and sacrifice their own resources to give.  

I believe that what we are seeing is the result of God having removed some lampstands.  Prophetic voices, calling for repentance, are ignored, or punished by losing their ministry career, or get tired of trying and quit.  Their house is desolate.  Repentance will require denouncing any loyalty to anyone but Christ, and depending on the abiding presence of God, not on politicians and a political party.  

1.  Dr. Steve Wells, Pastor, South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas at the George Floyd Funeral Service, Fountain of Praise Church, Houston Texas June 9, 2020

How Real is the Threat to American Democracy?

 "The Republican party is now clearly an authoritarian party.  It embraces, condones, accepts and promotes political violence, and does not accept electoral defeat.  Their glorification of January 6th proves that they're OK with a violent seizure of power.  If they can't win elections fairly, they'd rather end democracy."  Steven Levitzky, Professor of Political Science, Harvard University 

The election of 2000 was one of those moments that prompted thoughts about the stability and effectiveness of American democracy.  I was teaching high school civics, and in that setting, there are always "what if" questions and proposed extreme possibilities that come from the students curiosity.  When it comes to Presidential elections, the existence of the quirky aberration known as the Electoral College throws in some possibilities that the pure democratic will, expressed by the people at the ballot box, can be subverted.  

A typical high school question is, "How badly could a Presidential candidate lose the popular vote and still win enough states to be elected President?"  That's a good question, because it goes right to the heart of how undemocratic and, as has been proven over the years, how unnecessary the Electoral College is in preventing what the founders feared when they set it up.  

Congress should have learned its lesson after the 1824 election disaster.  There were four candidates, and the top vote getter, Andrew Jackson, was prevented from claiming the majority of electoral votes because the third and fourth place finishers, Henry Clay and William Crawford, who only got 24% of the popular vote between them, received a disproportionate number of electoral votes, 78 out of 261 by carrying five states between them.  The second place finisher, John Quincy Adams, only got 30% of the popular vote, but the 7 states he carried, most of them by very slim margins, had 84 electoral votes, leaving Jackson with 99 votes, though he carried 12 states. 

Clay detested Jackson, and had deep political differences with both he and Crawford.  He went against a Kentucky state legislative resolution supporting Jackson, influencing the state's congressional delegation to vote for Adams which they did, 8-4.  The contingent election is even less democratic than the Electoral College, each state has just 1 vote, regardless of how many members are in its delegation, which means that a candidate can win the election, but not get the majority of total votes among the members of Congress, which is exactly what happened with Adams.  With Clay out of the race at that point, Adams got 13 votes, while Jackson got 7 and Crawford 4, on the strength of the votes of 83 members of the House, a minority since 92 members did not vote for Adams, but split their vote between Crawford and Jackson

Just think about what would happen in this country today around a similar scenario of Electoral votes leading to a contingent House election like this one.  The divisiveness which existed, even in 1824, led up to a civil war that ignited just 32 years after Adams left office.  We've now experienced a President who refused to participate in a constitutional and peaceful transfer of power, incited a militant insurrection with the intention of overturning an election, the constitution and Congressional authority, and states making legislative attempts to control election results that thwart the will of the people.  

The threat is as real as it has ever been.  

The Electoral College plus Gerrymandering are Still the Biggest Threats to American Democracy

The 2020 Presidential Election would have been over as soon as the morning after election day, if there had not been an Electoral College.  The decision made by the will of the American people was clear even before midnight, and by morning, enough of the vote had been counted and recorded to make it very clear that Joe Biden had won.  All the court fights, attempts to strong-arm election officials and secretaries of state in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin would have made no difference at all.  

Though the system's safeguards held, the weaknesses were exposed.  The biggest weakness is in the jurisdiction and control that state legislatures have over the election process in their state.  It's easy to see how an influential politician, just like Henry Clay in 1824, could convince a legislative body, or a governor or secretary of state for that matter, to refuse to certify legitimate ballot counts and pick their own electors.  And how electors are chosen is a process controlled by legislation, which can be changed by a state legislature controlled by one party.  

Two states, Nebraska and Maine, already have rules which choose electors by congressional district, a process that is totally subject to a legislature that could easily gerrymander the districts to favor one party.  Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin all have state legislatures dominated by the GOP, though all three states have Democrats in every state executive office, courtesy of the Democratic majority that elected them.  But their state legislative districts, and congressional districts are courtesy of Republican control following the 2010 and now the 2020 census.  Aligning electors based on those district boundaries would allow gerrymandering to determine the outcome of the Presidential election, if enough states resorted to this tactic.  

This problem would be solved by simply abolishing the Electoral College.  In addition to that, a federal commission, intentionally and intensely bi-partisan, should be in charge of drawing congressional districts in the states.  This would eliminate any authority of state legislatures over a federal election process, which is a logical, reasonable assertion of federal authority and would eliminate the partisan political interference of states which should not have that kind of authority.  

Logistics are one Thing; Eliminating the Power of Ignorance is Another

Woeful performance in science and math by American students, compared to the rest of the world, led to an overhaul of the educational objectives with the goal of improving the test scores and making American students competitive with the rest of the industrial world in these areas.  Frankly, our educational system still seems to be hit and miss in their attempts to achieve this goal, with scores not really showing a lot of improvement.  

But our educational system is falling apart and failing completely when it comes to practical education in history, geography, economics, constitution and government, political science and in English language communication skills.  We're now into a third generation that lacks adequate critical thinking skills, the ability to write a clear sentence or paragraph, or to coherently organize their thoughts, ideas and learning experiences.  There's a lack of understanding of how government operates, of the basic principles of constitutional, representative democracy and how it works, and the history behind where those ideas came from.  And I've had a front seat from which to observe this failure, along with the battle scars from fighting for the kind of educational requirements and objectives that are necessary for the preservation of our democracy and our constitution.  

Education is the primary method by which ignorance--and that's not intended as a derogatory term, but as an accurate description of the biggest threat to constitutional democracy that exists--is eliminated.  But most American students are not getting anywhere near what they need to be capable of the kind of critical thinking and understanding of exactly what is at stake, and why we must continuously defend it against individuals promoting ideology that would change it, tear it apart or destroy it for their own selfish interests. 

I consider myself fortunate to have received the balance of my elementary and high school education prior to the shift in objectives toward more technical subjects.  I understand the reason for the increased emphasis in math and science, but not at the sacrifice of social studies and language arts.  One of the reasons the Europeans do so much better than we do is that they don't send their kids home from school in the middle of the afternoon, done for the day, and their expectations for graduation don't have allowances for failure like ours do.  Pick up an eighth grade constitution exam and see what students must know in order to pass.  You'll be shocked and appalled.  

No one who participated in the Trump Insurrection of January 6th knew much about what was on that eighth grade exam, or they wouldn't have been duped into being there.  Listening to and reading some of the comments from those who have been arrested, tried and convicted, or who pled guilty to lesser charges because of their involvement, that fact is made crystal clear.  

I consider a successful education in civics, history and social studies one which leads a student who graduates from high school to register to vote on their eighteenth birthday, and then commits to cast a ballot in every election in which they have the right to vote.  That's a minimum standard.  Volunteering in ways that support representative democracy is a demonstration of belief in the value of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.  Any expected outcome from education that does less than that is a failure. 

Our Democracy is Teetering in the Balance

It was following that 2000 election that I got a very strong sense of a shift in the political atmosphere and the direction of the country.  I know that what I sensed had been an undercurrent for a long time, but during the Bush administration, I really felt that the corporate, billionaire class was given more control over the government and the economy than had ever been the case before.  The restraints on using money to buy the votes of members of Congress, state legislatures, and clearly, during that administration, the Presidency itself were gone.  

Money flows into politics and it is used to perpetuate ignorance which in turn produces an ill-informed electorate who vote for candidates who are anti-democratic and who support the continued ability of the corporate billionaire class to expand their power and influence, leading to their eventual destruction of democracy.  They will use democratic methods and principles up to the point where they don't need them anymore.  Then those who have supported them will suffer the same as everyone else. 

We are at a point where it will take assertive action on the part of sharp, alert politicians fighting to preserve democratic principles in order to avoid disaster in the form of either a civil war, or government collapse.  The only way to achieve this is for the rest of us to step up and make sure the right people get elected, and that their actions are supported.  There are those who have predicted this outcome, and the end of American democracy, by their own observation.  We have to take steps to make sure their predictions don't come true. 

 

The Snowflake Party

All the caterwauling, whining, protesting, hollering and shrieking, lip flapping rhetoric coming from the GOP over the FBI's execution of a court-ordered search warrant at Mar-a-Lago has made for some great entertainment.  I had to pull over, on my way to work this morning, when I heard Marco Rubio's comments being played on Stephanie Miller's show, I was laughing so hard.  He always sounds like a whiny-baby when he talks, making it difficult to take him seriously, and he says some of the most outlandish, ridiculous things.  But this morning, well, it was just too much.  

The response has been predictable, right down to the references to third-world Latin American countries and the culture of retaliation that exists there when an unpopular government topples.  It's been a jumble of nonsense.  You can certainly detect the whine, and imagine the tears.  

They certainly think their audience consists of the stupidest, most ignorant people found anywhere on this planet.  The attitude of "I'm going to say this and that will make it so" which is a Trump standard, is all over the place.  

The images of 12 Republican members of Congress scrambling to get to Mar-a-Lago to console the orange headed buffoon was what brought the thought of snowflakes to mind.  I can just see someone like Kevin McCarthy, who apparently has never been taught to stand up for himself, or think for himself, hearing the news of the raid, jumping up to go grab some toilet paper and tissues, to wipe Trump's rear and blow his nose, and try to catch the first flight to Palm Beach before some other self-serving GOP congressman got the same idea. 

Yep.  They're a bunch of snowflakes. There's enough cold air there to break the August heat wave and enough tears to break the drought at Lake Mead. Trump is in a whiny-baby category all by himself.  

What else are you going to do to help Democrats win a larger majority in the House and Senate in November?  This whining will go a long way toward that.  

Signs of "Bad Religion" Among the Conservative Political Right

 "When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."  --Benjamin Franklin

 John Pavlovitz: Conservative Cringe-ianity

Pavlovitz makes a couple of statements based on his observation of the recent CPAC gathering that is an accurate description of what the intrusion, or invasion, of secular, right-wing politics has done to the churches and denominations in American Evangelicalism who have permitted it, embraced it, or out of fear of losing members and monetary contributions, have ignored its presence.  These quotes are my particular favorites. 

"While there [at CPAC], you'll also see an endless parade of self-flagellating white, Evangelical ministers advertising their defiance of non-existent oppression, a sea of Donald Trump-as-messiah airbrushed atrocities slapped on bellies and bumpers, and a small army of snarling and flexing "God and guns" supermarket soldiers who regularly pack heat at the Piggly-Wiggly, open carrying Bibles they've never read. 

"What you won't see there at CPAC are any actual followers of Jesus. At least, not one from the Bible.  

"You won't find his compassionate heart for the poor and vulnerable, his expansive embrace of disparate humanity, or his sacrificial love for those who are hurting at CPAC--nor will you find any of these things in this GOP, or at Trump rallies or in right-wing Evangelical churches.  The only thing decent people of faith will find in conservative religion is embarrassment."  

The Mission and Purpose of the Christian Gospel

I think it is important for those who are dismissive of all of Christianity out of frustration caused by this aberration of it, described in accurate terms by John Pavlovitz, to have a working understanding of the Christian gospel.  What you are dismissing, and what's been described here, is an intrusion that has stolen its way into the church and that has ideologically and philosophically corrupted it in order to use its influence to advance a cause that is contrary to its mission and purpose which rests on a foundation laid by Jesus Christ himself.  

In the closing words of Matthew's gospel, Jesus is quoted giving his followers, Christians, and the church that he had established, a commission to "Go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them all I have commanded you."  The primary objective is conversion, leading people to a spiritual transformation that includes the conviction of sin and repentance, leading to forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God.  Baptism is a symbol of this spiritual transformation, an allusion to the ceremonial use of water in the Jewish cleansing ceremony.  Those who were baptized were gathered into local congregations, the "ecclesia," or the church, for the purpose of being taught how to live out the gospel of Christ.  

That's it.  The church is based on the new covenant in Christ, which is the relationship between the individual believer and Jesus, brought about by what Christians believe is the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.  Though many of the Jewish people who lived in Palestine under Roman rule believed, or at least, hoped that the promised Messiah of their faith would throw off Roman rule in a miraculous sort of way, like some of the accounts of battles in the Old Testament when outnumbered Israelites defeated surrounding enemies, claim the throne of David as his heir and re-establish a theocratic empire, Jesus made it clear that the kingdom he established, the church, would be a spiritual domain transcending worldly limitations including race, ethnic origins, cultural, social and economic barriers.  

Politics Turns the Gospel Upside Down

The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in the 5th through 7th chapters of Matthew's gospel.  Many Bible scholars believe this is a compilation of Jesus' sermons, or teachings, to groups gathered to hear him at multiple locations and times during his ministry.  It lays out foundational, core principles of the Christian faith, directly from Jesus himself.  

The sermon begins with the Beatitudes, a list of virtues which depict the ideal spiritual condition of someone who has become a worshipper and follower of God by grace through their faith in Jesus as the Christ.  These inward qualities are the evidence of the spiritual transformation that occurs in the soul when all of the aspects of a conversion experience have happened.  Jesus was saying that those who possess these inward qualities as a result of the work of the Spirit in conversion are divinely happy and fortunate.  

Jesus uses the analogies of salt and light to illustrate how Christians, whose spiritual transformation blesses them with these virtues as gifts from God, are an influence in the world, in the same way that salt flavors food or light chases away the darkness.  They were to be a visible testimony to the transformation that occurs within the soul as human beings are restored to a relationship with their creator.  The illustrations are summed up in Matthew 5:26, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."  

It's hard to figure out where being attached to an angry mob intending to disrupt the United States Congress, carrying weapons with the intention of doing physical harm to some of those whom they might encounter, urinating and defecating on the floor of the Capitol Building, beating up and terrorizing police officers and perpetrating violence shines the light of any of those virtues mentioned by Jesus and recorded in scripture and shows any good works leading to glorifying God.  Many of those in that insurrectionist mob were carrying symbols or wearing clothing intended to identify them with Christianity.  

They were not Christian.  They've adopted the rhetoric, symbolism and some of the outer trappings of Christian faith, but their actions demonstrate a rejection of the values Jesus said were a visible sign of spiritual transformation.  The term "pseudo-Christian" has been used to describe their political philosophy, in that it appears to be Christian without any sincere practice of its core values. 

Two New Testament writers address this issue: 

"You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come.  For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power.  Avoid them! "  The Apostle Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy, 3:1-5 (emphasis mine)  

"For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designed for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Jude in his Epistle, Verse 4

So what are we talking about when we speak of this "intrusion" by secular, right wing politics into the conservative, Evangelical church?  

Insurrection, violence, calling for civil war and defending and giving loyalty to a politician whose personal values stand in complete opposition to everything Christ did or taught is not merely pseudo-Christian.  It is anti-Christian.  It is not possible to confess faith in Christ but fail to exhibit behavior that demonstrates any of his values or principles.  It is not possible to confess faith in Christ while giving allegiance or loyalty to those who are deliberately manipulating Christians and the church and attempting to conform it to their own selfish purposes. 

But Sometimes God Uses Evil Men to Accomplish His Purposes

That's a very simple statement for very complicated circumstances in the movement of human history.  Two of Christ's apostles in the early church, Peter and Paul, acknowledge that all governing authorities are allowed to be where they are because of the authority and power of God.  There are some events in which the actions of men who, by any measure, were evil.  While their actions may have brought about something that the writers of scripture acknowledge as God's purpose or intent, and in that context they may have been "used" by God, there is absolutely no endorsement of their evil character, nor of the means they may have used to achieve their purpose by God.  But under the New Covenant, in the Christian church and New Testament, there's no endorsement of or example of God using anyone evil to achieve his purpose. 

There's also absolutely no requirement at all that the people of God acknowledge, express their appreciation or give any kind of loyalty whatsoever to these evil men.  That argument in no way encourages or instructs Christians to give their personal loyalty to a narcissistic, adulterous, slanderous, lying, money-loving, arrogant, profligate lover of pleasure who is a politician seeking political office in the American representative democracy, including former Presidents. Anyone who senses those kinds of inclinations in their own thinking needs to go back and read II Timothy 3:1-5.  

"Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy."  Revelation 3:4, NRSV

Boosting Radical Trumpists in Republican Primaries May be Risky, but it May Also be Effective in Getting Democrats Elected

Paul Waldman, The Washington Post: Why the Condemnation of Democrats Boosting Radical Trumpists is Wrong 

The Republican primary campaign for governor of Illinois this past spring was brutal. I had a front seat, watching television ads, listening to radio ads and viewing social media interaction in what was an absolutely incredible display that goes way beyond the old-fashioned descriptive term of "mud-slinging" that was once used for particularly hostile campaign rhetoric.  

I've never seen anything like this.  Republicans are a clear political minority in Illinois, statewide, more than ten percentage points below the Democratic majority and shrinking.  But the gubernatorial primary did nothing to unify those Republicans who still might want to vote in the general election.  From the start, they ganged up on the front-runner, Richard Irvin, the mayor of the city of Aurora, an African-American perceived as a moderate and the only one in the field who appeared to offer any possibility at all of defeating J. B. Pritzker.  The attack ads against Irvin from the other campaigns were brutal.  

The Democratic Governor's Association ran an "attack" ad against Republican candidate Darren Bailey, pointing out his "extremist" record and rhetoric as a state legislator, specifically his attacks on Governor Pritzker's COVID policy.  But it's purpose was to unite far-right voters, split between Bailey and Jesse Sullivan, behind Bailey, to help him get ahead of Irvin and win the GOP nomination.  Bailey was perceived by Democrats as easier to beat than Irvin would have been, and more likely than Sullivan to win the GOP nomination.  

It worked.  Bailey edged out Irvin and Sullivan, and won the GOP nomination.  And being a far-right, extremist Republican in Illinois is a decided disadvantage, as polling data is showing.  Predictably, Bailey has an edge with downstate Republicans who were upset with the governor's COVID measures, even though Illinois fared far better than any of the large, Republican-controlled states during the pandemic.  But Bailey's lead there is not as large as it should be, mainly because there are Republicans who were turned off by the attacks on Irvin, and by Bailey's extremism.  

Since his nomination, Bailey has, as anticipated, made several major gaffes and mistakes that have confirmed the opposition's characterization of him as an "extremist."  He has a past history of remarks which appear to minimize the Holocaust in a comparison to abortion in America that came off as anti-semitic.  That, coupled with remarks he made after the Highland Park shooting, when he said that people should "move on" and "celebrate Independence Day", have put him on the defensive against a governor who is Jewish.  And apparently, his social media accounts, which he uses for campaign purposes, have provided Democrats with a treasure trove of racially insensitive remarks and comments that support the characterization of him as an extremist.  

On top of that, Bailey has a prissy voice with a slight southern accent and he has a tendency to play to his audience's reactions, and he has a tendency to go off-script and make racially or socially insensitive remarks.  It appears that the Pritzker campaign did an excellent job of research in determining which candidate among the GOP field, between Bailey and Irvin, would provide political fodder that made him easier to defeat.  

Governor Pritzker is comfortably ahead by double digits, running strong where he should be.  Downstate Illinois only becomes a factor in statewide elections when a centrist Republican can get enough support from the five-county suburban area around Chicago to counter the vote from the city.  But the kind of support Bailey will require isn't materializing, while the governor's numbers in the city and the suburbs are right about where they were the first time he was elected. 

In Pennsylvania, where the state legislature is still heavily gerrymandered in the favor of the GOP, Republicans haven't won a statewide election for quite some time.  When the courts forced the congressional districts to be re-drawn, the Democrats doubled their representation in one election cycle in 2018.  Both Senator Bob Casey and Governor Tom Wolf coasted to re-election victories over opponents from the far right fringe of the GOP.  If the Democrats did the same kind of calculations there as they did in Illinois, then it was an excellent strategy.  It actually appears that Pennsylvania voters, including a clear majority of independents and even some Republicans, are running away from the Republican nominees for senator and governor this year.  

Traditional Politics No More:  We are in a New Era

Political campaigns have become tactical battles.  The country has become so polarized, and the extremes so radicalized, especially those on the right who get their politics from talk radio alarmists who have them convinced that the world as they know it will end if a Democrat gets elected to office, that a straight up campaign to convince voters that they're the right choice is no longer enough.  Fewer voters are willing to invest the time and energy in getting the facts, and become victims of ideology or a media personality's ego.  Isolation inside a political bubble convinces people that there is evidence of voter fraud by the other side because "no one I know voted for that guy."  Or because it appeared the attendance at his political rallies was bigger than the other guy's.  

We live in the age of Citizens United.  The billionaire class set out to buy this country's government and had to get rid of rules that made doing so difficult.  Tactics work both ways so there's nothing unfair about it and states make the rules for their political primaries.  So if a candidate thinks that his or her campaign funding will be better spent and more effective helping a candidate from the other party win their primary because of the perception that they are the weaker, easier to beat candidate, then go for it.  If voters aren't happy with that, and don't like it, then elect someone who will change the rules.  Otherwise, don't get upset when Democrats use the same tactics as the GOP to get their people elected to office.  

The Bottom Line is to Elect Politicians Committed to Representative, Constitutional Democracy

If it is possible to use some resources to help a weak, extremist candidate to a narrow win in a primary, in order to make it easier for the Democratic candidate to win the election, then that's all part of the process.  Unless a GOP nominee actually wins an election, then it's not a victory.  Trumpers who won GOP nominations for the senate in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, are slowly losing support while their Democratic opponents are gaining.  The problem they are having, all of them, is that they have to make appearances and hold speaking engagements, and they expose their ineptitude or extremist views which are a turn off to a majority of voters.  

Another big clue that this is a tactic that has had a positive effect on the numbers for Democratic candidates is the whining and wailing Republicans are doing about it.  In Illinois, Bailey is very much on his heels, evidenced by the defensive posture of the ads he is able to run on a very tight budget and his campaign strategy.  I don't think the GOP in Pennsylvania has even been able to catch its breath as Doug Mastriano continues to put his foot in his mouth.  I have friends in Arizona who are jubilant over Kari Lake's nomination, not because they like her, but because her negative numbers among Arizona voters are so high.

Extremism's reliance on conspiracy theories, outright falsehoods and "alternative facts" is its demise.  It collapses in on itself, and it doesn't have the power to motivate the kind of voter base it needs to win consistently.  Apparently, some Democrats are able to see this and are taking advantage of what they see as a flaw in the GOP and an advantage for them.  If that means helping a weaker candidate get a nomination, then it's a good strategy when it works. 

There is a risk that an extremist who wins a Republican primary might get elected.  I've got news for you.  Some already have, mainly by hiding their extremism or by not having a well-funded Democratic opponent who could point out how extreme they really are.  There's also something to be said for raising money and making sure that there's a Democrat running for every seat, just to expose the extremism.  But in the long run, the Trump flag is rapidly waning, and the prospects for Democrats to pick up seats against Trumpie extremists are high, so this is proving to be a good strategy.