What Would Jesus Say About This Kind of Dishonesty and Duplicity?

Evangelist Franklin Graham on Bill Clinton:  

"Mr. Clinton's extramarital sexual behavior now concerns him and the rest of the world.  If he will lie to, or mislead his wife and daughter, what will prevent him from doing the same to the American public?"  

Evangelist Franklin Graham on Donald Trump: 

"I think some of these things--that's for him and his wife to deal with...and I think the same with Stormy Daniels and so forth is nobody's business."  

I must admit, I've never really cared very much for Franklin Graham.  As a Christian, I try to avoid being judgmental and I've never been openly critical of him, though I do not make any contributions to his ministry, as I once did to his father's.  This is not the only overtly political activity in which he has engaged, and it's not the only time his public statements stand in conflict with biblical principle.  While I would not question the sincerity of his Christian faith, that's a matter between him and God, I do question much of what he says, especially when he steps into the political realm, and I am able to see the inconsistency between what he claims to believe, as a "leader" of conservative, Evangelical Christians, and what the Christian gospel, found in the New Testament, actually does say.   

He got it right the first time.  The problem with his refusal to make the same claim for Trump as he did for Clinton is that Trump has already been known as a pathological liar, and Graham is willing to pick up and carry that baggage, along with the adulterous affairs, the now proven-by-evidence rape, the divorces and remarriages, which are also considered adultery by Biblical definition, the insurrection, the lies about the 2020 election and Trump's open denial of the experience of Christian conversion. His claim that he has not done anything to require God's forgiveness is a flat out denial of biblical truth.  The fact that he made this statement to Graham further adds to Graham's lack of credibility.  

This kind of duplicity is an admission of reliance on political power over the power of the Holy Spirit, which is a core doctrine of the Christian faith.  It undermines everything Graham has ever said from a pulpit.  I cannot fathom how someone can claim to have strong Christian convictions, enough to openly call out a sitting President of the United States over allegations of sexual misconduct, and fail to call out much worse behavior in another sitting President who is of a different political party.  That's sheer hypocrisy, the price for which is the complete undermining of Franklin Graham's reputation and his ministry. 

It's a pretty clear statement from Graham that he doesn't believe the doctrine and theology of the Christian gospel.  At least, he doesn't allow it to convict himself of this sin, which it certainly is, demonstrate repentance and in contrition and remorse, make it right by pointing out that Trump's immorality is equally sinful to Clinton's, and that if he is willing to lie to, and mislead his wife and family, as much as he has, then he must also be willing to mislead and lie to the American people, as he has since the first time he got behind a camera with a microphone in his mouth.  A true believer would call Trump out just like Graham called out Clinton.  You decide what his failure to call out Trump makes him, I'm already there.

And it causes another question to come out of this obvious duplicity and deception on Graham's part.  

What's in it for him?  

What outcome is worth the loss of credibility that comes with this kind of dishonest duplicity?  

Franklin Graham is not alone in picking up all of this immoral baggage and owning it by their support.  It seems like there are many so-called, self-appointed "leaders" among Evangelical Christianity who place a higher value on loyalty to Trump than they do to Christ, and on political power over spiritual power.  That's the only plausible explanation for behavior like this.  

It's getting more and more difficult to find Evangelical Christian leaders who are committed to the truth of scripture instead of a corrupt, adulterous politician.  

Trump, GOP Plan to Weaponize the Government Against Their Political Enemies Must be Defeated at the Ballot Box

Rachel Maddow: Trump Demands Prosecutions for Cheney, Jan. 6 Committee Members

Rachel Maddow: Missing Cues, Trump Claims Right to Prosecute Political Enemies

Ali Velshi: "An Absolute Betrayal," Representative Raskin slams Republicans for aiding Trump's Plans for Retribution

The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost

Few people remember the first time Donald Trump's name came up as a candidate for President.  That's because it wasn't a memorable candidacy.  It happened in 2000, at the end of the Clinton Presidency, as Republicans were sorting out who they could nominate to defeat Al Gore, still the party of Reagan, looking for a "Reaganesque" candidate who could win what would be more a battle of rhetoric than a battle of change, since the country had been lifted out of the economic doldrums, including high unemployment and stagnant economic growth under George H. W. Bush.  

Few people took Trump seriously, whom they considered some kind of comic figure that had built a reputation and personal fame on immoral worldliness, getting himself in the gossip columns of the major dailies and on the daytime television gossip shows because of his bragging about his sexual exploits and affairs on his "trophy wives," including highly publicized divorces, rumors of big settlements he had to pay to get out of marriages, and his penchant for getting away with corrupt business dealings.  His line about being able to get away with shooting someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and getting away with it didn't just materialize in 2016.  He had a long history of using money, or the image of having money, to cheat at business, and bragging about it was his brand.  

He didn't always get away with it.  He paid out millions of dollars in settlements to make crimes go away.  When one is rich, that's a luxury open to them that ordinary Americans don't have.  But in that Republican party, at that time, it didn't catch on.  Republicans were still hiding themselves behind the banner of being the "party of family values" and Trump's shenanigans, which included a plethora of anti-Constitution and anti-Democratic rhetoric, led to his relatively early exit from the campaign, due to it being squashed by party leadership.  

Nothing has changed since then, except that Trump had sixteen years between his first and second attempts at the Presidency, which included muttering about possible runs in 2004, and 2008, and the early 21st century electorate has proven to be much less conservative and Republican, and much more progressive and Democrat.  Characters like Rush Limbaugh built a career on anti-democracy rhetoric, advocating that the minority party use loopholes to abandon the two-party give and take compromise that makes democracy work.  The best politics for Republicans, according to Limbaugh, was to throw up roadblocks and halt any forward movement for which the other party could take credit. 

Trump, who used the loopholes for his own benefit for virtually his entire career, fit well into that way of doing politics.  And so, a party that was getting desperate to figure out how to claw and scratch its way to power with a minority of voters in the electorate, settled on Trump's rhetoric of racism and white supremacy, including hatred of blacks, Latinos and Asians, his anti-establishment image, and his television celebrity status.  Republicans abandoned their Reagan "family values" principles, and chose a serial adulterer, "never-ask-for-forgiveness", lying, cheating, racist, misogynist sexual deviant, rapist as their party nominee for President.  

Then, when the chickens started coming home to roost, as the Mueller investigation uncovered the cheating and illegal activity turned into campaign strategy involving foreign contributions and influence, and extensive violations of the law by his collaborators and associates, the Republicans want to claim that it is the Democrats who are weaponizing the justice department against their criminal nominee.  

He brought all of this on himself.  

What Did We Expect?  

Did the Republicans who decided to back Trump because they desperately needed a win and had to depend on celebrity rather than on the standard characteristics that Americans recognize for leadership, actually think that when he got into the White House, he would play by the rules, follow the law and suddenly become a patriotic American with a knowledge of history, government, economics and the international situation necessary to be the President?  Or did they think he would be some kind of figurehead, rubber stamping what they wanted to do as long as they let him play with the toys, get his fat face in front of the microphone and pretend to be important and famous?  

And what did those among the electorate who decided to vote for him actually think?  There's an old saying in politics, "When the pot boils, the scum comes to the surface."  That has certainly materialized, as what now constitutes the MAGA base that supports Trump includes a long list of society's undesirable elements, criminals, racists, subversives and counter-cultural antagonists.  Virtually everyone whose intelligence and critical thinking skills have failed to prevent them from being sucked in by conspiracy theories which don't even remotely try to support their claims with evidence have been sucked in by Trump's politics.    

There's probably not anyone who epitomizes his brand of bureaucrat more than Steve Bannon, now headed to prison in spite of having received a Presidential pardon for his worst crimes, which would have landed him there for decades. Hillary Clinton called them "deplorables," a name they used with pride, not contradicting the nature of their breed. Bannon, especially in the days since he has realized he is going to spend time in prison, has opened his mouth to spew his hatred for America and for all that it stands for.  Look at the rest, all convicted felons, not resulting from some Democratic party "witch hunt," but all by their own actions long before Trump brought them into the light of day.  Once in Washington, they didn't know any other way to behave, except to break laws to get what they wanted, use bribes, threats and loopholes in the law to win at all costs.  

It was the GOP that weaponized the Justice System when Trump forced Jeff Sessions out of the Attorney General's office for being too committed to the Constitution and the law, and brought in Bill Barr, a former attorney general under Bush who knew how to turn the office into a personal Presidential attorney.  Barr was exactly what the GOP needed to make the mountain of criminal evidence against Trump and his entire campaign, uncovered and published in the Mueller Investigation, simply go away.  And he was willing, right up until the very end, to be a loyal hack and keep the mountain of illegal activity going on in the White House from ever seeing the light of day as long as he was in office.  

His legacy, in spite of his brief attempt to look honest and distance himself from Trump when the criminal activity surrounding January 6th, and the theft of classified documents scorched his reputation, is that he turned the Attorney General of the United States into a personal attorney service for the President.  

And the GOP wants to talk about Democrats weaponizing the justice department.  Wake up, America.  You are being deceived by a devil who is trying to look like a savior. 

Evidence is Usually the Key to a Successful Prosecution

It's still pretty much a requirement, under the law, that to prosecute someone for a crime, there has to be evidence that a crime was committed.  As Republicans in Congress have tried, for four years now, and especially in the past two years when they've had a slim congressional majority, to find a reason to impeach President Biden, it's been somewhat comical, if not also infuriating, to see that they have not yet been able to find something he's done that qualifies under the "high crimes and misdemeanors" definition of evidence of misconduct in office.  But they keep trying, and that, in and of itself, is a prime example of "weaponization" of government.  

On the other hand, in the case of both impeachments of Trump, the weight of the evidence was so overwhelming that it would have been dereliction of duty for an impeachment not to have been launched, though the standard employed by Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the house was quite high, seeing as Trump had done so many things that met the definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and the evidence was overwhelming.  

When he sued across the country, accusing various states of "massive election fraud," he lost every single case because there was one thing he lacked.  Evidence.  He, and a couple of his attorneys found out rather quickly that accusations must be backed up by proof, or there's a high cost to pay for frivolous lawsuits.  He has two former attorneys who have lost their law licenses as a result.  Staged hearings and ballot drops with actors paid to make claims that there's evidence of voting fraud does not constitute voting fraud.  Nor can a President accuse someone of a crime, and order the Justice Department to prosecute if there's no evidence.  

All of the wailing and whining about the indictments brought against Trump by the GOP is nothing more than extremist politics.  There was evidence, plenty of it, mountains of it, in fact, including admissions to having done some of what he was accused of doing from Trump himself.  What he couldn't remember, members of his staff filled in for him.  And the irony of virtually every investigation that has led to the criminal charges, indictments, and now to 34 felony convictions in one trial, is that the evidence has virtually all come from Republicans, most of them individuals who were part of the Trump administration, or the staff at Mar-a-Lago, or worked for Trump's companies.  All of the testimony that has led to indictments in the January 6th and Documents cases has come from Republicans, many of them Trump associates.  

If the GOP is going to get behind their criminal nominee, and support his campaign of vengeance, they're going to have to come up with evidence to bring charges.  But in all of the attacks being made from the right, especially from Trump, what's missing is the evidence. If you know what your political opponents have done that's illegal, and can be subject to a future prosecution, you call it out, right?  Unless, of course, there's nothing to call out and this is just another Republican rant about their intent to weaponize the justice department. 

The People Must Speak at the Ballot Box in November

I consider myself somewhat of a historian when it comes to American history and politics.  This is a critical moment in our history.  I do not believe that the nation can survive without a functioning, non-political, constitutionally-committed justice department and judicial system.  Rhetoric from media pundits like Rush Limbaugh has advocated turning the judicial system and the justice department into an agency pushing right wing, conservative politics, since there is not enough of a Republican majority to sustain the kinds of oppression they want to instigate through legislative means.  So they appoint conservative justices who will then issue findings and rulings that support their own conservative agenda, and undermine the legislative ability of Congress.  

The Trump Presidency already made inroads into dismantling the judiciary, by appointing radical, right-wing extremists, most of them completely unqualified by experience, to the federal bench. Some of them are so incompetent, they can't run a courtroom during a trial. We're seeing this already taking place in Trump's documents trial, with a judge who is ignoring the constitution, and the oath she took to uphold and defend it, in order to support his wishes to make the case just go away.  That's a huge danger to the existence of this nation.  

If our courts and our judiciary loses its constitutional commitment, and its objectivity, and turns partisan like the legislative and executive branches have done, then there will not be an America as we know it for much longer.  We will descend into a violent chaos, perhaps a civil war, and will either become a military dictatorship when they step in to restore order, or the Russians or Chinese will move in to dominate, using the political puppets they've already put in place in the media, and the government, to gain control and suck our resources dry.  

And I tend to think it's a foreign presence in Republican politics that has brought all of this about.  There's a ton of evidence to support this.  Reading through the Mueller Report, which, unfortunately, few Americans have bothered to do, even though it's still available,  Rachel Maddow gives historical insights into much of what she observes and reports, which support this same line of thinking.  

We are a constitutional democracy which derives its power from the people.  There are politicians attempting to subvert the power of the people, expressed through the ballot box, and through court cases that prosecute felons no matter what office they once held in government.  No one is above the law, and the best way we have of assuring this is to vote against everyone who is enabling it.  There can't be any dickering over the President's age, or over inflation or gas prices that he can't control, or over this or that with regard to the Hamas war, or any other part of the administration that, if Trump had been in office, would be far worse than it is now in every way.  

Every American who believes in freedom, in this constitutional democracy, in a government which derives its power from the people, must step up, and re-elect the President in November.  And the results of that election will tell us how much Americans really care about their constitution and their democratic government, and most of all, their guaranteed individual freedom.  

We May Already be Past the Ability to Hold a Free and Fair Election

Who's been listening to the Republican election rhetoric?  

If you've been paying attention, you know that the Republican party is going to use every possible resource that it has to make sure the results of the 2024 election are not certified, and that somehow, they can cheat the constitution of its power to guarantee the American people the right to elect their own leaders.  I'm not exaggerating.  Go take a look at the collective record they're making as we head to the 2024 election.  

The conservative, Republican legislature in the state of Ohio has already tried to use legislation passed earlier, regarding when names can be accepted for its Presidential ballot, to keep President Biden's name off the ballot by refusing to waive the deadline for getting it there than the Democratic party will meet with the nomination at their Chicago convention this summer.  They have waived it in the past, when the Republican convention wouldn't meet the same deadline.  That has forced the Democrats, and the Biden campaign, to change their rules on how a nominee is named by the party, to make sure the official announcement meets Ohio's deadline.  As far as I can tell, while that did ring some alarm bells and get some action, it was an "on our heels" kind of reaction.  

These people are going to do everything they can, including cheat in every possible way, to avoid another Trump defeat at the ballot box.  They think they can do it, and get away with it, because what they've seen so far, a conclusion with which I would concur, is that no one will hold them accountable.  

The Colorado Case Might Have Been a Good Thing

Colorado's attempt to keep Trump off their ballot, because of his incitement of the insurrection on January 6th, 2021, may have helped prevent some of the worst of what Republicans are planning to do in the coming election.  The Supreme Court has ruled that a state cannot do such a thing, and that precedent will keep Republican dominated states from taking action to remove Joe Biden's name from the ballot.  But there will be a lot of other attempts, including legislative action surronding the certification of ballots, that raises a lot of legitimate questions.  

What if, for example, a state like Florida, takes a left turn, something quite likely given the oppresssive atmosphere in the state that appears to be motivating Democrats to vote and independents to go their way, and Biden carries the state by 20,000 votes?  What if the governor refuses to certify the ballot totals, or the state legislature refuses to certify the election?  What safeguards are in place to prevent a conservative legislature and a stacked state judicial system from determining that the Republican electors cast ballots in spite of how the popular vote goes?  

Can someone answer that question, because I don't really know, and it appears, from much of the rhetoric that is circulating, that this is something which could happen.  

A scenario like that is also quite likely in a state like Wisconsin, where, in spite of a string of recent Democratic victories in statewide offices, the incredible gerrymandering that has been allowed has led to a legislature that has isolated the Democrats in a few districts, giving the GOP a majority they have not earned at the ballot box.  I live just 30 minutes south of the Wisconsin state line and their political pundits and experts are almost unanimous in stating that Biden will carry the state by a wider margin than he did in 2020, based on the Democratic trends in every election there since.  They have a Democrat in the governor's mansion, but what if the legislature decides to nullify the vote?  

What if Biden carries Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia, but the state legislatures hold up certification of the vote past the January deadline, which would then cause the election to be held in Congress, where each state delegation gets one vote?  

Voter Suppression

Plans for voter suppression can be read just about anywhere in social media on the internet.  Republicans are attempting to make inroads into traditional Democratic party constituencies with, of course, outright lies, but they are also working, as they have done in Georgia on more than one occasion, to remove minority voters from the electorate by invalidating their registration.  That's happening in a lot of states right now and I'm wondering what Democrats are doing to make sure their voters are registered and ready to go on election day.  

Georgia and Arizona are notorious for making it as difficult to vote as possible, especially in Phoenix and Atlanta, where they allocate fewer voting machines for the more densely populated precincts.  Both states have vote by mail which has helped, but both states have legislatures which can play havoc with accepting and counting mail-in ballots.  

During the 2022 mid-terms, after Biden carried Arizona, angering Republicans who thought that couldn't happen in their state, vigilantes with guns showed up at drop box sites in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, in heavily Democratic precincts.  It's hard to tell how many voters were intimidated by that, though the mail-in vote was about what was expected.  It's illegal to intimidate voters in Arizona, or in any state, but who enforces that law?  

Raising a Lot of Questions That Need Answers if an American Election is to be Fair 

There is not an election that I can ever remember when one party, in this case the GOP, made so much of an effort, and put the word out so openly and brazenly, about their intentions to keep this from being  a free and fair election.  There is only one reason they are doing this, and that is they believe Joe Biden is going to beat Trump and it's not going to be all that close.  Otherwise, why go to the trouble, and why risk getting reported and caught if that happens, to try and stuff a ballot box?  They know Trump is headed for defeat.  

They're desperate. 

Democrats and independents, and even third partiers, need to be on the alert for the tricks and treachery.  The fact that this is happening is all due to "the big lie."  Trump has played on the ignorance, fears and in some cases, the inexcusable stupidity, of his base, convincing them, without a shred of real evidence, that the 2020 election he lost was stolen from him.  There's not any possible way that the few quirks and mistakes that are made in counting ballots in every election can be used as evidence for "massive voter fraud," and, in fact, when it did go to court and there was evidence required, not only did Trump not have any, but what he pushed his lawyers to get into the courtroom was falsified, with phony witnesses testifying to seeing things they weren't present to see.  Those shenanigans actually got Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell disbarred.  

For example, stories circulated around social media that truckloads of "New York ballots," where Biden won by 30 points, were taken across the state line and counted in Pennsylvania machines, to boost Biden's total there.  What idiot would even think that was plausible?  But I observed some who did because they wanted to believe it.  

New York ballots could not be counted in Pennsylvania machines, which were programmed differently and, aside from the Presidential count, did not have any other Pennsylvania names in the other races.  The machines would have rejected the ballots, and Pennsylvania's overall signature count would not have matched as closely as it did, accurate down to the decimal point. 

Here's a statement you can take to the bank.  In order for there to be "massive voter fraud" in America, it would require a conspiracy that included literally thousands of people of all political persuasions, in on the plan to subvert ballots.  This election is safe.  

Now, what are we going to do to make sure this election is as true as all other American elections have been?

 

Throwing Jesus Under the Bus to Support Trump, Evangelical Leaders Have Abandoned the Christian Gospel

Baptist News Global: How Low Will They Go?

The author of this piece in BNG, Dr. Susan Shaw, recalls a statement made in 2016 by Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship theological school of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Dr. Mohler is a biblical pontificator and dispenser of theological and doctrinal opinion attempting to shape the opinions and perspectives of Southern Baptists.  Back in 2016, Dr. Mohler angered a lot of conservatives in his denomination when he stated that Donald Trump was "morally unfit for the Presidency, and if he were to vote for Trump, he'd have to go back and apologize to Bill Clinton." 

Dr. Mohler is one of those "finger in every pie" kind of Baptists, an influence peddler, conciliator and duplicitous, deceitful self-promoter who used connections to influential Baptists, along with a lot of flattery and brown-nosing to move himself from being editor of a weekly news journal circulated among Southern Baptists in Georgia, to the presidency of the denomination's largest and most influential seminary. At the time he made that statement about Trump, he was expecting to be elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, based on his connections and maneuvering himself in media speculation to the "next in line." 

But he discovered that sharing anti-Trump sentiment with Dr. Russell Moore, then executive director of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, was not popular with Southern Baptists who, as it turns out, value extremist right wing politics over Biblical truth any day of the week.  And when it cost him the election as SBC president, of course, rather than stand up for his convictions, he decided to grovel after the power and influence, and he changed his opinion.  The "serial adulterer, never-ask-for-forgiveness, lying, cheat insurrectionist," as Dr. Shaw calls him, was apparently not immoral enough to incur Mohler's judgment any more, especially since it apparently cost him some power and influence.  

So Mohler abandoned biblical truth, morals and integrity for the sake of his own denominational political career.  It hasn't helped him.  He no longer has a chance to win any denominational office and his duplicitous flip-flop on Trump has made it impossible for anyone to trust him. He continues pontificating to a small group of wannabes who listen to his podcasts and read his columns, but his audience is no longer what it once was.  And he, perhaps more than just about any other well known Evangelical figure, epitomizes the hypocrisy that is the direct result of the mix of conservative Evangelicalism and extremist right wing politics. 

If It Looks Like a Duck, and it Quacks Like a Duck...

Dr. Susan Shaw, the author of this piece, is a professor of women's studies at Oregon State University, and is also an ordained Baptist minister who holds both a master's and doctor's degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Mohler is President.  She has called it as she sees it from the position of a theological and doctrinal expert in Evangelical Christian beliefs. 

"How can anyone suggest, with a straight face, that the serial adulterer, never ask for forgiveness, lying, cheat, insurrectionist is anything like Jesus?"  

I've been asking the same question, of Evangelical Christians I know who support Trump, the same thing.  I never get a straight answer, I always get the cliches, the unbiblical justifications and the attempts to twist catch phrases and half-sentences from the Bible into support for Trump.  I must conclude, these people are either pitifully ignorant of a faith they proclaim to believe, have heard preached to them for most of their life, and with which they have self-identified, or they have determined to pursue the kind of worldly power it offers because they have concluded that God hasn't answered their prayers when it comes to their singular, selfish mind set so they are abandoning him to seek after political resolution. 

"The attempt to turn Trump into some kind of messiah figure smacks of desperation and idolatry," said Dr. Shaw.  "It suggests that its purveyor knows so little about the Jesus of the New Testament that he can't recognize his antithesis in Trump.  Or perhaps, to be more cynical, he's so hungry for power he's willing to see Trump as his savior in a quest to hold onto the dominance of white, cisgender, heterosexual masculinity," she said.  

And there is the explanation that answers the questions I've had about why it is that conservative, Evangelicals have allowed themselves to be beguiled by a person who comes very close to fitting the Apostle John's definition of "anti-Christ" which he uses in two of his epistles.  

"Test the spirits," says the Apostle John in his first epistle, chapter 4, verse 1, "to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world."  

"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world." I John 4:-13, NRSV

So it would appear that there are prominent leaders among those identified as conservative, Evangelical Christians who are not confessing Jesus, but who are turning to a different savior of the political variety to accomplish their own agenda.  

The Heritage Foundation:  Turning American Evangelicalism into a Full Blown Cult

Among Evangelicals who have led the church straight down the path to apostasy with the heresy of Christian nationalism and the insertion of right wing politics into the pulpit, no organization can take more credit for his horrendous subversion of the Christian gospel than the Heritage Foundation.  Calling these people a "think tank" is an oxymoron.  They don't think, they abhor and condemn intelligent thought, corrupting everything they touch and promoting a worldview that is as close to barbaric as we've seen since the middle ages.  

This whole kind of pseudo-religious structure is set up for the purpose of sucking resources out of the Christian churches and is put to use defending the hateful, racist, mysogynist, anti-Christian rhetoric and perspective of Trump.  While this group has not done a single thing in its entire existence to advance the Christian gospel, or to promote Christian evangelism, it has committed itself to leading the Christian church into apostasy by promoting the use of its influence for political purposes.  

The Apostle Paul left behind words in his second epistle to Timothy, that are an accurate description of what the Heritage Foundation defends: 

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.  2 Timothy 3:1-5.  

Though this was meant by the Apostle to describe what was happening during the period between Jesus' crucifixion and the desstruction of the Temple in 70 AD, he found some words that apply literally to the kind of corruption that is occurring in the Christian church today, in those who have embraced Donald Trump's politics and candidacy, and who, like the Heritage Foundation, set aside the principles and beliefs of Jesus Christ to support him and give him loyalty.  

"So these people of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith also oppose the truth,"  the Apostle Paul continues, "but they will not make much progress because their folly will become plain to everyone." (2 Timothy 3:8-9)

The folly of the Heritage Foundation is the introduction of heresy into the church and the corruption of the values of the Christian gospel by the promotion of the lies and corrupt character of a Christ-denier. They have thrown Jesus under the bus.  

I've Questioned the Sincerity of Much of Evangelical Christianity in America for a Long Time

The Christian faith in which I grew up was very heavy on the things of the afterlife and other-worldliness.  Most of the motivation they taught came out of a fear of going to hell upon death, rather than any focus on the virtues and values which I believe make the practice of Christianity real and sincere.  According to the biblical record, Jesus placed the highest priority of faith on a simple statement that established the monotheistic religion of Judaism, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."  

And Jesus added this, as a second priority of the Christian faith he was establishing, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  

And it's pretty clear, from the virtues and values of the gospel, that Jesus intended for Christianity to be a living faith, something that led to a higher level of human existence in this life, making the most of the time that human beings have while they are alive, with a set of life-enhancing values, including the equality of all humanity as having been created in the image of God.  As he was beginning his public ministry, he taught that his followers were to be the "salt of the earth," not divisive or violent or destructive, but that the purpose of their faith, lived out, would be life enhancing.  He said to be "the light of the world," and the image of bringing light to darkness, lifting people up out of oppression and need.  

Christianity, as taught by Jesus, is a spiritual transformation of the mind which produces virtues such as humility, comfort, meekness, a hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, pureness of heart, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  

I heard a lot of this preached from the pulpit in the years that I was growing up, but did not see it in practice among those in the church.  My Dad was the only person I knew who showed me how to love my neighbor, to be blind to bigotry, to be an honest person of truth and integrity and to value the lives of the people with whom we lived in community.  And he learned that from serving seven year in the Navy during the Second World War, not in the church where he grew up, nor the one he joined after he came home.  

Where I first saw this in practice, in a sincere and honest way that I'd never really seen before, was among the educated liberals when I went to college.  Yes, as a matter of fact, the very environment that caused me to embrace the Democratic party was also the only place in my life where I'd actually seen Christianity lived and practiced as a real faith for this life, rather than pie in the sky by and by.  

As Dr. Susan Shaw has concluded here, what kind of faith is it that leads to support for a "serial adulterer, never ask for forgiveness, lying, cheat, insurrectionist" candidate for President?  

It's not Christian faith, that's for sure.  Trump, according to Dr. Susan Shaw, and according to the biblical record, is the antithesis of Jesus Christ.

 

An Open Letter to Evangelicals Who Support Trump

While I doubt that you are open minded or tolerant enough to read through this whole letter, being open minded and tolerant is still an expectation, especially of those who also claim to be Christian, as you read the thoughts I'm offering here as a fellow Evangelical Christian.  

Yes, by definition, I'm an Evangelical Christian.  That's because I am a member of a church whose theology, doctrine and practice of the Christian faith is held in common with the vast majority of others who hold similar beliefs and are engaged in similar practice of the faith.  I have a strong background in theology and doctrine, having attended a university that was affiliated with the denomination in which I grew up, the Southern Baptist Convention, and I also have a graduate degree from one of its seminaries, and I've never been a member of any other kind of church.  

Why I'm Not Voting for Trump 

I've heard all of the standard arguments conservative Christians use to bypass biblical principle and justify supporting Trump, mainly because he is a Republican, and because as a politician, he figured out how to get the Evangelical constituency of the GOP to give up their convictions, values and the basic principles of their faith in exchange for his appointing justices to the Supreme Court who would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.  Now that he's done this, his Evangelical supporters are stuck with all of the baggage of the worldly image he deliberately projects, they are being characterized as hypocrites and their testimony to the message of the Christian gospel has very likely been permanently destroyed by what appears to just about every other political faction as an endorsement of his lack of character.  

The cliches and catch phrases used to excuse support for Trump are theologically and doctrinally bankrupt.  "I'm not voting for a pastor-in-chief, I'm voting for a commander-in-chief" is a weak cop-out that is rendered false by Romans 13:1-7 and I Peter 2:13-17.  In a nation where Christians have the power of their vote to contribute to the choosing of their own leaders, failing to vote for those candidates whose character matters, especially if they follow the Christian gospel and give evidence of dependence on God for guidance, is careless and wrong.  The "lesser of two evils" argument is contrary to biblical instruction.  Nowhere does any biblical author provide a rational for degrees of evil.  

God has, in the past, used evil men to achieve his purposes.  So you're halfway there, in using this excuse, by at least admitting that Trump is evil.  But in so doing, God has never, ever asked his people to give their loyalty to such evil.  Israel being invaded by Assyria or Babylon was prophetically reasoned as a consequence for their national sin, something that no longer exists collectively under the Christian gospel, so using that as an analogy is a false comparison.  And if you want to assert that God used Trump while he was President, go ahead by all means.  Those scriptures I cited earlier support that thought.  But that doesn't mean God intends to bring him back, or that you have to support his return, either.  Joe Biden is now the President, and his presence there is also consistent with the truths both of those Apostles state in those passages.  

Trump, and his surrogates, vehemently deny core principles of the Christian gospel.  Trump himself has refused, in front of some high profile, well-known, self-proclaimed Evangelical "leaders", to acknowledge his own sinfulness and claims he has done nothing which requires God's forgiveness.  That's not only a flat denial of the core principle of Christian conversion, indicating that he has no understanding of the meaning of conversion, but also comes very close to what Jesus called the only unforgivable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  In Matthew's gospel, chapter 12:31-32, Jesus says blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven and defines it as "speaking against" the Spirit.  Denying any kind of conviction of sin, or of one's sinful nature, would fit that definition and to claim that one has done nothing requiring God's forgiveness crosses that line.  

Trump's surrogates, including his own oldest son, have openly denied, or been critical of some of the specific points of Jesus' teaching.  They've claimed that the concept of loving your enemies is "weak," and their vengeful, hateful rhetoric, and Trump's open plans to use the power of the Presidency and the justice department to go after everyone he thinks has opposed him or crossed him up, and he hasn't ruled out assassination or execution, constitute full rejection of the Christian gospel.  Any Christian who expresses a desire to see liberals and progressives who don't share their own narrow ideology suffer under a Trump administration is in sin and is also denying the gospel of Christ.  

Don Jr. told a Turning Point Rally in Phoenix that turning the other cheek "has gotten you nowhere in this world."  He's saying that, in order to be worldly, and achieve any progress by the use of purely worldly power requires denying this gospel principle in favor of the use of worldly power to achieve one's ends.  First of all, the purpose of living a Christian life is not the acquisition of worldly power or recognition.  Second, to deny this principle, as he did openly and directly, is to deny the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, who was putting this principle into practice when he was being nailed to the cross.  

Jesus could have called together enough spiritual power to knock the soldiers crucifying him to the ground.  For that matter, Satan tempted Jesus with the worldly way of getting ahead in the world when he took him up on the mountain and offered him the power of all the kingdoms of the world.  Jesus refused because he knew worldly power would fall short of God's will.  And what Don Jr. was offering was exactly the same pathway to worldly power and influence with which Jesus was tempted.  They are anti-Christian in every aspect of their approach to politics. 

Remember all of the criticism Evangelical Christians heaped upon Bill Clinton, claiming he was not fit for the Presidency because of his alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky?  Some of the very same Christian leaders who condemned him and made that judgment are not only giving Trump a pass on his immorality, which is far more extensive, but they are embracing him.  Are we to conclude, from this support, that American Evangelicals no longer see sexual assault, rape, and adultery as sinful?  This unqualified support for Trump seems to indicate an endorsement of the ability of a man, if he's rich and famous enough, to grab a woman by her genitals because she's there and he wants to.  It seems to be an endorsement of illicit sex, in seeking out a star of pornographic movies  to sleep with while the wife is at home caring for an infant.  

Is this an endorsement of divorce on demand?  Trump's been through two highly publicized divorces after which he married the "other woman" with whom he was having an affair that caused the divorce in the first place. He doesn't see this as sinful at all, in fact, he has openly humiliated his ex-wives on purpose, blaming them for his affairs, something that's clearly on the record, and for which he has never shown the slightest bit of remorse.  

He is now a felon, convicted of sexual assault and now, of illegally using the powers of the Presidency to cover up an affair with a porn star.  He was convicted by a jury of his peers, in a fair trial in which most of those who testified against him were former associates and people who worked for him.  He had the chance to testify on his own behalf, but his own lawyers, who know his tendency to ramble, to lie through his teeth and his inability to control his ego and be silent when it's necessary, were afraid that allowing that would only lead to his incriminating himself.  To consider making such a person a national leader again is irresponsible at best, and for a Christian, a sinful perversion of principle.  

Conversely, someone who claims to be Christian lives a life where there is visible evidence of Christian practice.  I challenge any Evangelical supporter of Trump to find, in his rhetoric, behavior, demeanor, speeches at rallies or in the general layout of his campaign, anything that resembles the list of virtues found in Matthew 5:1-11, or the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.  What you'll find, even with just a surface observation, is fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissentions, carousing, and things like these.  I've just described and provided open evidence of all of that, which the Apostle Paul calls the works of the flesh.  In supporting Trump, Evangelicals own all of this, too. 

A Presidency That Was a Political Disaster

Even if Trump's presidency had been politically successful, it would still be an endorsement of the man's moral bankruptcy for me to vote for him.  I could not, under any circumstances, support someone like that as a political leader of my country.  But Trump's presidency was a political disaster.  He was one of the most corrupt, inept, and ineffective Presidents in American history.  He had no plan, no sense of direction and his focus was completely self-serving.  The top priority was to cut taxes for the wealthy and prosperous, and he did so while deceptively increasing taxes on those who work for a living.  The tax rate did go down, just a very small percent, but the personal exemption was removed as a deduction, meaning that Americans who make less than $100,000 per year wound up paying taxes on 7% more of their income than they had before.  For me, that resulted in a 1% increase of my taxes. 

He spent more tax dollars, and ran up a bigger deficit than literally every other president before him.  His immigration policy was racist, demonstrating his personal contempt for Latinos and Arabs, not effective in keeping out "criminal elements," which he claimed to be the reason for doing what he did.  His "wall," was breached before construction even started on most of it, and he never succeeded in getting Mexico to pay one penny for its construction.  

His foreign policy was an unmitigated disaster, from his bribery attempt in Ukraine, which earned him one of his two impeachments, to his close "friendships with dictators like Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, Viktor Orban of Hungary and of course, Vladimir Putin.  Nothing that would have been in the best interests of the United States ever came out of his meeting with Un, except further coolness and lack of trust from our NATO allies, whom he spurned and disrespected.  

His handling of the COVID crisis was one of the most irresponsible, incompetent, inept, and ineffective acts in the history of government around the world.  His primary concern was never the well being of the American people, not at any point.  It was all about creating an image of being in charge, and then, when the evidence showed he was absent from the job without leave, of damage control to avoid it costing him re-election.  It cost a million Americans their lives, and every single one of them deserved better from their President.  For that alone, Christians should be condemning Trump, not supporting his re-election.  

The man's character and values were on display in his disgraceful, and treasonous, incitement of the insurrection and attack on the Capitol, and on the United States Congress in session.  He cares absolutely zero about anyone else but himself.  There was not a single patriot in the mob that carried out that insurrection, because no patriotic American who understands this country's foundation and history would have ever acted in such a way.  There was not a single sincere Christian in that mob, because a true believer would know the scriptures, and would know that God views an attack on a government to which he has given authority as a direct attack on himself.  

Those whose spiritual convictions have not led them to experience absolute horror at that event, and to condemn it in the strongest terms, praying for justice to be done, need to question the sincerity of their own Christian faith, because I'm certainly questioning it, based on Biblical principle.  

Is is Too Late for Redemption? 

It is never too late for redemption.  Repentance always follows conviction of sin.  If these things did not bring conviction to my conscience and spirit, I'd be worried that I had lost my connection to God somewhere along the way, and sincerely concerned about whether I could get it back.  There is nothing godly or righteous, or patriotic, in anything Trump is offering as a candidate.  It's just more of the same that has already condemned so many conservative, Evangelicals in the eyes of people whose opinion and perspective should concern them, if for no other reason that preserving their own reputation and integrity, in order to be a testimony to the Christian gospel.  

Stop supporting this madness.  Do not cast a ballot for anyone who endorses or supports anything related to Trump's agenda.  I'm not suggesting who you should vote for, only you can decide that.  But casting a ballot for Trump, or for any politician who supports or enables him, constitutes full acceptance and ownership of everything that goes along with that, including putting yourself in the position of voting for a man who is a convicted felon, standing against the laws of the very country you claim to be defending.  And while I'd suggest that your inability to cast a vote for Biden is based on much of the ignorance and false information that's been spread through this whole scenario, staying home on election day would be a move toward redemption.  

American Evangelical Christianity has suffered tremendous damage from having been associated with Trump as his most loyal constituency.  He claims that he's the only one who can do things for you.  Is that what you want?  Membership and attendance in conservative, Evangelical churches has dropped by more than 20% since Trump was first elected in 2016, and that's not a random occurrence.  It's directly related.  Trump hasn't submitted to God, he's claiming God's principles lead to weakness, and that he can do better.  

If you've read to this point, you have a choice to make.  I hope it's the right one.

The Great American Evangelical Apostasy is Here

For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.  Jude v. 4, NRSV

Licentiousness is defined as the wanton disregard or transgression of laws, rules, or moral norms.  Though the author of this epistle, the Apostle Jude, who more than likely was one of Joseph's sons, and therefore a half-brother of Jesus, doesn't specifically identify what kind of licentiousness he was calling out, he makes it clear that philosophy and teaching which promoted it was creeping into the church through ungodly people who had "stolen in" to the church membership and were acting as if they were Christians, too, while perverting the message of the Christian gospel.  

He uses several Old Testament examples, which the Christians to whom he was writing would have understood, to illustrate the kind of perversion of theology and doctrine about which he was talking.  He mentions that these false teachers "go the way of Cain," who was Adam and Eve's oldest son who, because of jealousy, turned on his younger brother Abel, and murdered him.  He says that they "abandon themselves to Balaam's error," which is basically to abandon one's principles and morals for money.  And he says "they have perished in Korah's rebellion," a reference to the Israelite who incited a rebellion against Moses, basically over internal politics related to individuals Moses had appointed to royal leadership.  

Prophetic Similarities in American Christianity

While I don't believe these references are specific events intended to predict some future "end times" event, I do believe they are sufficient prophetic warning for churches in America today that are allowing far right wing secular politics to intrude into their congregations, their worship, their discipleship ministries, their relationships with each other and with the communities in which they exist.  There are plenty of examples of churches in which the Christian gospel, along with the mission and purpose has been hijacked and replaced with politics, which are not a gospel at all, along with demands for loyalty for a political candidate, Trump, whose character is as far from the expectations of a Christian who follows the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is possible to get. 

There's a whole segment of conservative, Evangelical Christianity that has sold out its theology, doctrine and Christian practice in exchange for the power that comes from politics, and in many cases, for what they see as potential financial benefit.  From Trump's open denial of his need for repentance and forgiveness, and his view of "God" which contradicts the Biblical description of his nature and his character, to his surrogates claiming that the core principles taught by Jesus are "weak" and "don't get us anywhere in this world," I see nothing in the way this man conducts himself, in his speech, in his behavior, or in his open pledges to use his presidency as a means of getting even with his enemies, that shows any agreement with or respect for the Christian gospel.  Christians supporting Trump have bought into a personality cult and, as the Apostle Jude describes, are blind to the truth.  

These are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage.  Jude v. 16, NRSV 

That Evangelicals are willing to be first class hypocrites and set aside their own convictions and morals to sell themselves out to Trump is evidenced in their having to live with his choice of a spiritual advisor.  Conservative Evangelicals are "complimentarian" in their theology, which means they hold to a literal interpretation of an obscure passage in I Timothy, and have developed a core doctrine which forbids women from holding any kind of church leadership position, especially in the clergy, in the role of a pastor or elder.  Unfortunately for them, Trump has chosen Paula White as his spiritual "advisor," a female who claims the titles of "Apostle" and "Prophet," and one who believes that speaking in tongues is a sign of the advent of the Holy Spirit, a doctrine some conservative Evangelicals tolerate but don't accept, and which renders those who believe it as heretics to other Evangelicals.  

It's not surprising that Trump is attracted to White.  He worships money, she's a prosperity gospel preacher who believes God wants his people to be rich and he'll make them so if they just pray hard enough and, oh, by the way, tip the offering plate a bunch, thank you.  That, along with taking a long list of licentious behavior off the "sin" list, including pathological, deliberate, intentional lying for one's own benefit and to be deliberately deceitful, all forms of physical immorality, including adultery and rape, and demanding personal loyalty be directed away from Christ and toward Trump, is the essence of how spiritual, conservative, Biblical Evangelicalism has been infiltrated by heresy and made apostate.  

Most Evangelical Churches Engaged Actively in Right Wing Politics are Apostate

But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; for they said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own worldly lusts.'  It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions."  Jude v. 17-19 

I am amazed that the ink is still dry on the page where these words are written, they are so relevant and so prophetic, and so descriptive of what has happened to so many Evangelical churches across this country in the past eight years.  Trump revels in worldliness in which he engages freely because he has no spiritual conviction of sin, no knowledge of the Christian gospel or of the conversion experience, and he has not come close to accepting the Christian gospel as the means by which he lives his life.  Those who follow him, are loyalty to him and believe in him implicitly within the church are those worldly people causing divisions in the church.  

Aside from staggering membership losses over the past decade, Evangelical churches in many cases are no longer recognizeable as bodies of Christ.  The preaching has become infused with political statements and political positions baptized in a Christian way and brought to the pulpit by infiltrators.  

I recently read a church growth analysts study of the growth of megachurches, and that they are most likely found in the largest, and fastest growing counties in the United States.  The primary factor in the growth of these churches is no longer evangelism, or winning large numbers of converts to Christ, but on people moving into these fast growing communities from other churches.  And while a handful, fewer than a hundred, churches are showing major growth because the county they are in is growing, 85% of all churches identified as Evangelical have experienced a 20% decline in membership over the past decade, as the total number of people who identify as Evangelical Christian in the United States has declined 15% during that period of time.  

Apparently, there are quite a few other Christians like me who get up and walk out the door the moment a political statement is made, worked into the sermon or discussed in a small group.  

When the Church Endorses a Political Candidate, They Endorse His Morality and Ethics

Trump is a pathological liar.  He's been convicted of a rape, and he's on record claiming that because he's famous, he can grab women by their genitals and they don't mind him doing so.  He's had three well known affairs and each time, divorced his wife to marry the "other woman."  He brags about the level and scope of his immorality, and follows that up by telling prominent Christian leaders who want so bad to be the one who can claim they "led him to Christ," that he has done nothing for which he needs to ask God's forgiveness.  That denies the scripture that Evangelicals teach is inerrant and infallible.  

Trump's rhetoric is vengeful and full of hate.  It contradicts the entire Christian gospel.  I don't care if he is running for the Presidency of a country that separates church and state, supporting someone who is so anti-Christian in their rhetoric and behavior is sinful, and is a sign of the apostasy that has crept into the American Evangelical church, duped and deceived its members and is rendering them ineffective in their ability to carry out their ministry.  

Jude's advice for fixing this problem in the church is simple.  "Pray in the Holy Spirit," he says.  "Keep yourselves in the love of God."  And he finishes off with "Look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ."   

According to the scripture, which Evangelicals claim is inerrant and infallible, Trump doesn't exhibit any characteristics that would make him "God's man" to lead the United States.  So Christians who want to remain true to their faith should not be casting their precious ballot for a man whose lifestyle epitomizes what John calls "anti-christ."  

The Felony Convictions of Trump Will Have a "Staggering" Effect on GOP Election Chances

The implications of the reactions of many Republicans and conservatives, including some who claim to be Evangelical Christians, who believe themselves to be the holiest of the holy, to the verdicts in the Trump hush money trial are going to have a far reaching impact which I belive will lead to a staggering repudiation of the whole party in the November election.  I may be wrong, and it may very well be that America's integrity, commitment to its core values, its constitution, and to the things which have always made it great, have eroded to the point where there is a majority out there who are drawn to the kind of dictatorial demagogue that is Trump's kind of undefined, nebulous, fascist populism.  Maybe there is a majority of Americans who are willing to set their own rights and freedom aside to see those Trump has identified as enemies, which includes ALL Americans with dark skin--including the Hispanic-Latino communities, along with all blacks, Asians, Arabs and any Jews who don't go along with his ideology. 

Maybe there is a majority of women who like to be treated like property, and then dumped out to fend for themselves when their dominant male gets tired of them, or they start to get older.  Maybe there are now a majority of Americans who have lost touch with this nation's history and heritage and along with it, everything that has contributed to their own identity.  

Maybe there is a majority of conservative, Evangelical Christians who are now willing to set aside their doctrine and theology, which they think is superior to that of any other brand of Christianity, especially Catholic and Orthodox traditon, to support a man who openly denies the core doctrines of their faith and lives a life that blasphemes God and trashes the gospel preached by Jesus Christ, recorded in the scriptures Evangelicals claim are without error and infallible.  

But I don't think so, not by a long shot.  

No Need for MAGA, America is Still Great

Republicans have claimed a lot of labels for themselves, including "the party of 'family values,'" and "the party of law and order."  They have blamed Democrats and their policies, legislation and political positions for high crime rates, for what they consider to be a drift toward immorality because of their support for those whose sexual orientation or gender identity is not traditional, they claim crime is the result of the manner in which Democrats administer public school systems and police departments in the big "blue" cities, even though the crime rates are just as high, if not higher, in many small towns and rural communities, especially in the South.  

They capitalized on the theme of "defund the police" which came out of the Black Lives Matter protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd and they've gone so far as to defend the vigilantism of murderer Kyle Rittenhouse, claiming that's the outcome of the lack of enforcing the law  

But now, with all of this caterwauling, hand wringing, wailing, moaning and screaming over Trump's 34 felony convictions, they are showing that they value power and money over all American virtues and values that make one a patriotic American.  They are trashing the Constitution, along with the established system of justice, which includes law enforcement protection, by their defense of a felon who is also advocating for establishing a fascist dictatorship in America.  

What if A Democratic Former President had Been Convicted of 34 Felonies? 

It's not been that long ago that William Jefferson Clinton was President of the United States.  Remember how Republicans, many of whom are still in Congress and in politics today, acted when his misbehavior was revealed?  They impeached him.  They became the "law and order" police, shrieking and flapping their lips, claiming that character mattered more than political platform or government policy and they roundly criticized the Democrats in the Senate who did not support convicting him, claiming that this was solid proof that Democrats were anti-Americans, and did not believe in a "nation of laws."  

Now, just a couple of decades later, they've done an about-face.  Character no longer matters in a candidate to most Republicans, especially not to those who have become his MAGA base.  They are now in favor of flaunting the law, trashing it, literally covering it with human waste as they demonstrated in their attack on the US Capitol in January of 2021, as long as it is necessary to achieve their own purposes, over the rights of other Americans.  Crime, violence and destruction are not only permissible, they are necessary to defeat equality and freedom for all, in order to defend and impose their own ideology.  

Had this been a former Democratic President who was convicted on 34 felony counts, there would be cries for execution from the far right.  They would line up to defend the judge and jury, to reward them, and to proclaim that the justice system in America still works.  

But there wouldn't be any defense of the criminal activity from the left.  Democrats wouldn't be going off the deep to circle the wagons, bash the justice system and defend one of their own who was caught up in corruption.  There is a Democratic senator going through a similar issue right now, and no one is claiming the courts are being weaponized, and that justice isn't being served.  There will be no protests, no criticisms or accusations made of the judge, and no attacks on the jury if he is found guilty, at least, not from any of the Democratic leadership.  And that tells me, and every other American who wants to listen, all we need to know about Democrats and Republicans.  

And the manner in which the President, his family, and his party, are handling the issues surrounding his son, Hunter, offer a remarkable and extremely stark contrast to Trump's whining, shrieking lip flapping.  It would require living on another planet not to be able to see the difference in the way the President is handling this with his son, and the integrity, patience and respect for the law that requires, and the absolutely unacceptable, ridiculous tantrum that Trump, the orange turd, is throwing. 

A Staggering Repudiation of the Republican Party

There are a couple of early signs, even in just the few days since the verdicts came in, that indicate what's very likely to come in November as a result of this conviction.  The mainstream media and the right wing media, for the most part, were caught off guard by the convictions.  Other than a couple of steady, experienced, knowledgeable commentators who can read the signs and make solid predictions, the fact that Trump was found guilty on every single count has left most political commentators in the media in a tail-spin.  

The general consensus of most of the media's political "experts" was that if there were convictions, it would be a mixed bag of guilt and innocence.  Some expressed doubt that there would be a conviction, claiming that there must be at least one "rogue" juror in the mix.  There were a few commentators, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, Nicole Wallace, to name a few, who seemed more certain that a conviction on all counts was coming.  

So, in spite of all the speculation, and the fact that this is a unique situation in history, no one has really thought much beyond the moment.  Denial from Trump is such a foregone conclusion, given his inability to accept results of things he doesn't like, his reaction and that of most of his MAGA base, is predictable.  It's everyone else's shock and surprise that leads to the conclusion that the reaction to this isn't going to be favorable for Trump.  Americans who still believe that we are a country of laws, and that law and order must prevail will come to the conclusion, over the next few days and weeks, will solidify their support behind President Biden, and whether or not the polls will reflect it, this spells doom for the GOP.  

We'll soon see if all of the chatter about the Republican party figuring out a way to nominate someone else to run against the President comes to fuition.  But if that doesn't happen and Trump is at the top of the GOP ticket in November, I predict disaster will come upon the GOP.  There's a lot of political ammunition in these convictions, including the fact that the coverup actually did interfere with an election, and very likely would have changed the outcome had it been known the GOP nominee had an affair with a porn star while his wife was caring for an infant child at home.  

The cost is going to be particularly high for those who continue to criticize the court system, follow yet another Trump lie that this was rigged and he did nothing wrong.  People are getting tired of the excuse that Trump claims everything which doesn't go his way is rigged against him, in spite of the fact that he's pretty much able to buy his way through just about everything else and rig things for himself.  His rhetoric never changes. People who are either too biased, or too ignorant, to think this through will buy his whining.  But they're a minority and there aren't enough of them to elect him.  

This is Not Really Going Out on a Limb

I'd love to take the credit for being the first to float the idea that this particular conviction is going to cost the GOP dearly, especially if its leaders keep trying to help Trump find ways to get around justice.  But there are already others, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartman, David Pakman, who have been saying for a while that guilty verdicts in this trial, even if it wasn't a complete slam dunk, would be a political disaster for the GOP, particularly if they weren't willing to separate themselves from Trump when he was found guilty.  

The appearance of support on his behalf during the trial, including the presence of Speaker Mike Johnson, will also be a factor in bringing down Republicans.  While many GOP representatives are protected by heavily gerrymandered districts in deep red states, there are plenty of districts across the country where it's close enough that a big deal like this will affect the vote and push the support of independents and third party liberals toward the Democratic candidate.  The House will shift in 2024, enough, I believe, to make it secure for Democratic candidates for the Presidency to win an electoral college tie there if it comes to that.  The Senate, which some have thought might be a tough prospect to keep, looks like it will stay in Democratic party hands into the next Congress. 

Trump's whining, which, as usual, gets a huge amount of media attention, is the rhetoric of a pathetic loser.  The 2020 election didn't go his way, so it was rigged.  Now he's been justly and deservedly convicted of 34 felonies by a jury of his peers in a justice system that his own party has stood behind implicitly, until he became a defendant.  That shows their blatant and pitiful hypocrisy, and their complete lack of conviction and character, and his whining shows that he is the pathetic emotional cripple that those who know him well say is his primary characteristic.  

He passed his peak during his Presidency.  The electoral win he managed to squeak out in 2016, a quirk of an outdated system, and as we now know from this plethora of felony convictions, a manipulated campaign, was the best he is capable of doing.  He isn't gaining support.  His MAGA base reached its max, and is leaking disillusioned members, and there's not anywhere else to gain support, and no evidence anywhere that he's picking up anywhere near enough to make up for his losses, something that even Fox News has had to acknowledge.  

Even without the effect of 34 felony convictions and a jail sentence looming over his head, it is my personal belief and conviction that Trump is not going to win the 2024 election.  I think this trial, which was the only one he couldn't manipulate by depending on corrupt judges or Republican politicians, is going to make that assurance doubly sure.