Sensible people who follow politics have abandoned what was–in more civil times–reasonable advice. We used to be urged to vote for individual candidates rather than voting a straight ticket based on party. When there was considerable overlap between Republicans and Democrats, and voters could anticipate bipartisan support for policies, voting for the person made some sense.
It no longer does.
Republican candidates today come in two flavors, and only two flavors: rabid MAGA White Supremacists and spineless suck-ups. Even if GOP candidate A seems less than enthusiastic about Christian Nationalism, there is zero likelihood that Candidate A will depart from the party line. Any vote for any Republican is a vote for MAGA, full stop.
Permit me to share two relevant examples.
At the very top of the GOP ticket we have Trump and his Vice-Presidential candidate, JD Vance. That Vice-Presidential choice is consequential, because Trump is old, and–in addition to his more and more obvious senility–clearly unhealthy. If he is elected, Vance, who has only a few months of experience in government, would likely become President.
And what do we know about him, other than his opposition to abortion for any reason and his disdain for childless cat ladies? Well, Talking Points Memo recently shared his cozy connection to Neo-Nazis.
Vance has had a six-figure stake in Rumble, an online video platform. The company has played host to Russian propaganda and to far-right personalities like Stew Peters and Tim Pool. It has also featured even more extreme content, including explicitly neo-Nazi images and themes like this song touting the “Reich” and calling for Jews to be placed in ovens from a “dissident rapper” with a dedicated page on the site. The site features a plethora of channels and videos dedicated to the concept of “white genocide,” which is a core belief for white supremacists. It also hosts channels for explicitly white supremacist organizations including VDare and Patriot Front, which has led masked demonstrations around the country.
Nice guy. Not. (And that lack of niceness–that weirdness— becomes especially obvious when contrasted with uber-nice coach Tim Walz.)
Here in Indiana, we have Micah Beckwith, self-identified Christian Nationalist, on a ticket with MAGA Mike Braun, fellow theocrat Jim Banks and far-right sleaze Todd Rokita. The entire ticket is terrifying, but–credit where “credit” is due–Beckwith is willing to put his bigotries front and center. On his website, he has posted a diatribe attacking both the LGBTQ+ community and those faux Christians who counsel acceptance of their gay neighbors.
The entire essay, titled HOMOSEXUALITY, MARRIAGE, AND SEXUAL IDENTITY, is breathtaking in its arrogance.
A reaffirmation of biblical teachings has become all the more urgent because writers sympathetic to the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) communities have advanced revisionist interpretations of relevant biblical texts that are based upon biased exegesis and mistranslation. In effect, they seek to set aside almost two thousand years of Christian biblical interpretation and ethical teachings. We believe these efforts are reflective of the conditions described in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
In other words, if mainstream theologians disagree with those who wrote this, well, they’re clearly wrong! Only fundamentalists like Beckwith understand what God demands…The essay asserts that “there is abundant evidence that homosexual behavior, along with illicit heterosexual behavior, is immoral and comes under the judgment of God,” and it continues with several lengthy sections explaining why all gay people are disgusting sinners.
Beckwith has made clear his firm conviction that not only are his religious beliefs the only correct ones, they are beliefs that government must impose on the rest of us. During his brief “service” on a Hamilton County library board, he demanded that books portraying gay people be excluded from the collection, and that other materials in conflict with his rather peculiar notions of godliness be censored. Beckwith rejects the First Amendment’s Separation of Church and State.
Vance and Beckwith are entirely representative of today’s GOP.
The disclosure of Project 2025–produced by multiple Trump allies and lauded by Vance–opened a window into the GOP’s obsessions and hatreds. Forget e pluribus unum. Forget the Bill of Rights. These are people who firmly believe that American law should privilege their retrograde beliefs–and that anyone who isn’t a straight White “Christian” male should be excluded from the equal protection of the laws.
In November, voters will choose between the America envisioned by the Founders (Blue) and the theocratic fantasies of MAGA as exemplified by JD Vance and Micah Beckwith (Red).
Vote Blue.
I watched the movie “Soylent Green” again a few days ago, supposed to be life in the U.S. in 2022 with a Dictatorship future such as Trump has planned for us. No regulations to protect the environment resulting in the death of all nature and resulting in relentless heat, no birth control protection resulting in severe overpopulation, no food, no electrical power, no control over the masses and no help for a nation which lost all humanity causing death in the streets. We have made it past 2022 only by the struggling Blue progressives on the left; determined to save the nation from resulting in “Soylent Green” conditions which are still science fiction. Today it is being called “Project 2025”. H.G. Welles’ fictional “Around The World In 80 Days” and “20,000 Leagues Beneath The Sea” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1986) took years to become our realities today but here we are. Yesterday’s fiction becomes today’s fact; good or bad, it is up to us to decide now, today, fight or flight?
Have we found salvation of President Joe Biden’s “save the soul of America” in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz from Donald Trump and his bright red “Soylent Green”/”Project 2025″ future from becoming reality rather than holding it in its science fiction position and ending it”
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO
The only thing I can say about good old JD, is that, if he sees that people aren’t buying what he is selling, don’t watch too closely. You’ll get whiplash! There might not be a more disingenuous (seems too polite, but lets just go there) self serving man on the planet. I enjoyed reading, “Hillbilly Elegy” because I liked grandma. I came away from that book, though, convinced that he lacked depth, compassion, or humanity.
Sadly this information will not be widely presented on national or local TV. People will continue to vote R because Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad always did. Sad
Trump has lived a life of crime and lawyers all of his life trying to please his long, diseased father.
We don’t know how far JDV’s apple fell from his dysfunctional tree.
Beckwith does know that the version of the Bible that he probably grew up with and falls back on was translated by a guy who was likely either gay or bisexuality, yes?
These are sad and sick people who have a sad and sick vision for the country. An additional sadness is that they are being used by the oligarch class for nothing but greedy reasons, and they either do not care, or they are totally unaware of it; or, they, stupidly, think that once they have a GODLY country, that their god-thing will, somehow, clean out, or redeem, the oligarchs.
JD Vance is a fraud. He’s a made-up character with no core beliefs – inauthentic. From what I’ve read about his book, he used it to launch a career in public service. My favorite term for his book is “Poverty Porn.” It must have turned on Peter Thiel, the billionaire gay co-founder of Palantir. He is Vance’s mentor and a major Republican donor, which is beyond weird.
Vance trashed Walz’s 24-year military career because he wasn’t a front-line military man carrying a rifle against the enemy. Vance served 4-years in the Marines as a correspondent (a journalist of sorts). Who joins the Marines to serve as a journalist?
Vance says whatever he needs to fit in with the crowd that will further his career. Period. He’s almost exactly like Trump – the epitome of a conman. The problem is you spend all your time today covering up the lies you told yesterday. It’s not a good place to be if you’re in the public eye all the time. For instance:
“On the heels of the book’s popularity, Vance started a charity called “Our Ohio Renewal” that he said he would use as a vehicle for helping solve the scourge of opioid addiction that he had lamented in the book. He shuttered the nonprofit shortly after clinching the Senate nomination in 2022.”
https://apnews.com/article/vance-rnc-appalachia-republican-vp-b666f86429ace1d29a13691f6254ff79
Yes. In sum, Republicans have been raised by generations of biblical misinterpretations – especially rural Republicans. They will NEVER vote for a Democrat because they’ve been conditioned not to. Full stop. They’re too busy growing crops, worrying about prices and what to wear to church. No wonder young people leave rural America in droves. Remember, the small family farm is virtually gone – replaced by MEGAfarm, LLC.
The terrible irony here is that those family farms were bought by the same big money people who fund Republicans. I don’t see how the rift between blue and red will ever be closed – even a little – as long as this money-fueled political environment exists.
Scalia and company who ruled for Citizens United v. FEC saying money – speech lack(ed) the intellect to understand the consequences of their decisions … or maybe they did – and here we are.
People are people are individuals. I, for one, am not comfortable painting the Lynn Chaneys, the Adam Kinzingers, etc. as “the despicables”.
Always references to those of us raised by Republicans will always be Republicans; I must be a changeling. I never fit in with my family, didn’t understand their hatred of strangers or considering those of another race as below them; didn’t understand as a child why the Catholic neighbors wouldn’t even speak to others in the neighborhood, not allowed to play with the many kids who sought their friendship. Till a lapsed Catholic friend on this blog explained to me that their parents didn’t want our “evil” to rub off on their children. The same as white racism believing other races below them; now the basic foundation of Trump and his MAGAs, White Nationalists and Freedom Caucus members have created “Project 2025” as a solution to their problem with the rest of us. Red is the color of anger, elephants “never forget”; their chosen color and their mascot show them for what they are. Blue the color of peace and the donkey/mule/jackass the beast of burden I am proud to claim membership in.
JoAnn: well if were talking reality checks. theres a movie THX1138 based upon Orwells 1984. by Fancis Ford Coppala,directed by Geo Lucas. I was never much for fiction,but I had just read Orwells 1984.and THX 1138 just came out. I compared it with the history of WW2 i was reading,and had fortunate cinversations with neighbors who served. Im seeing this today. the absolute mindlessness of these trumpers who obviously hve never studied or im begining to believe,never heard of the nazi party or japans authotitarian goverment. somehow feeling they developed these ideals from birth. and nothing else. fueled obviously by the internet today,do these humans only see hate now and some fantasy land of their march over others lives.though i can meet with said people here and get a assured conversation that home life was apple pie and christams mass..lalala. something has stimulated them to ignore the suffering of others and ignore other people,even white, as lower forms of life. social media has become the cigarettes of rapid influence and charactor forming. add some human influence thru family and we have a mindless state. ive found thise whi follow this trumpism,usually spend the day stroking their phone for you tube laughs thru others missery. they dont seem aware that the real need is to reason why you respect others. the constitution has been bastardized for their needs only. recent conversation with a close longtime friend,whos god guts and guns, it finally sunk in on him what hate is,and whos fueling it. his own stroking all day on that infinate glass window maybe changing. but the fact is,these people are spoiled on their own freedoms and have neglected who the hell privileged them to have freedom in this world of hate. they have lost all thought of who gave what,and they dont see the concrete wall of reality rushing at them
one item, there was a mass tragedy in the UK a few days ago. three little girls were killed at a dance class by a deranged kid with a knife 9 others were in the hospital. next day the riots over immigrants etc by far right thugs hit the streets and started what is now close to a nationwide issue. follow the time line, my own observation. seems this was fuled by social media as per BBC Gardian etc. did some BOTS touch this off? from other places. putins pissed Ukraine just got their F16s from 4 other euro countries days before this tragedy of the dance class. did he use scial media bots,when the country was hot over the killings so severe? now stoke trumps lose in novemeber, we may be in for some real foreign influence again,except it will be bad,real bad..
Todd:
thats writer to promote justfication, like propaganda for the war.Bush im sure enjoyed his duty to serve..trump likes that,propaganda..at least Walz made sure his men were ready,and on time,and safe..
Since Sheila’s Red vs Blue theme bleeds into theocratic issues for the most part, let me recommend a movie, Boy Erased, with Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman as very believable parents (father is a minister) of a boy struggling with his sexuality, and sent into a conversion therapy setting. I was a little surprised to find pictures of the real family at the end, lending more credibility to the script. While the family’s story shows some growth and progress along those lines, it is such a representative snapshot of the intolerant part of the hard line stances, lacking compassion, taken by so many on what we used to refer to as the “far” right, a stubborn refusal to grow with the truth of the matter that was always part of our lives but ignored, pushed under (and into the closet), demonized, etc. Think 1950s, the white patriarchal Christian National majority rule. That was fun, eh? I am becoming more and more a fan of Tim Walz’s “mind your own damn business.”
Cannot wait for November 5! Can’t shake the vision it is an early Christmas with a laughing Black Woman driving the sleigh and America’s Dad riding shot gun (no pun intended) on top of abundant gifts hanging on back seat enjoying popcorn applauding the show! Duck, Donald! Was that a reindeer?!!
I cannot apologize for strong language in the next few sentences, because the times and circumstances make such language. 1) Beckwith is a cowardly piece of shit. In 2020, he trolled me on (then-)Twitter. He said the Democrats “want their taking points back. You’re in the wrong primary!” He said I was “faking it in the GOP primary” & he’d have “fun dismantling” my stupid progressive ideology. I replied that I construed his statements as a challenge to debate & accepted. The closest he got to debating me was in April, 2021, on John Schmitz’s podcast “Mouthwash.” When he started to interrupt me, I said, “You shut up. I did not interrupt you. You do not interrupt me.” 2) He lies about our history, specifically about the founding of the country and The Constitution. 3) He does not do well with voters. He finished 3rd in the 2020 primary. (I am proud to say I finished 10th out of 14.) That’s why he went for appointment to the HEPL board (w/o prior notice & over other qualified candidates.) 4) My suggestion that Braun, if he winds, should be allowed money in his office budget for a food tester, was only partly in jest. 5) His “chats” with his supreme deity obviously are made up on the fly, but also fall within the realm of blasphemy. In his January 7, 2021, selfie video, he claimed “the Lord” told him “I sent those riots” to DC. A couple of months ago, in his campaign to get people to sign up to be delegates to the GOP State conventions, he said he wouldn’t go that far – i.e., “the Lord” was a little carried away in describing Jan 6 events. 6) He’s promised that, if he is Lt Gov, he will go into classrooms to make sure they’re teaching the right history. 7) Everyone should realize we need Brains, not Braun, in the Governor’s office.
“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”
― Barry Goldwater
I wish the web had a date of this quote because Goldwater died in 1998.
Stirring up culture wars over primal urges of human beings to mask all the greed and lust for power is so disrespectful of all Americans. Walz gets it with his response of “mind your own damn business”!
A big difference between Red and Blue is Maga isn’t so concerned about the ground game of getting votes. The Maga position is that people don’t know what’s good for themselves, so we’ll control the electors in each state to stop up the process. Looks like the Maga plan is to mess up the election so much that the result will be sent to the House of Representatives and/or Supreme Court to decide.
Glad that Potus has power to watch over and uphold his oath of office to protect US constitution and Democracy. Voting overwhelming blue will also send a clear message that the American people are tired of having their freedoms and voices messed with!
If I lived closer to Noblesville/Indy I would make a point of attending Beckwith’s church and loudly call him out when he lies during his sermons. I would include sources for his ‘faithful’ to research the truth on their own instead of listening to his BS.
Would any readers who live in that area be interested going to his church? It could be very satisfying.
“Civilization will not attain to its perfection till the last stone from the last church falls on the last priest.” Emile Zola
AgingLGirl; thank you for your astute comments. We aren’t asking for perfection and religion would be the last place to find it; plagiarized and paraphrased words of countless writers to quote the words of others, organized into book form to prove one’s claim of truth. Bibles in all its forms are reported to be the most purchased and read book and it requires both books to support the truth of each. Who researched and edited any of the authors? Contradictions abound; but the Republican and Biblical view of women throughout shows Archie Bunker’s explanation of the creation of woman is undoubtedly a Republican tenet today; “God took one of Adam’s ribs, a cheaper cut, to create woman.”