Oh yes, you are Congressman GOPer, whether you like it or not
We’ve been warning about this Christian Nationalist theocratic faction in the GOP for a couple of decades now and nobody ever took it seriously. The chickens are coming home to roost. They got Roe banned, now they’re effectively banning IVF in the states, birth control, LGBTQ rights and even “recreational sex” is now openly on the agenda. And these people have power.
Even some Republicans are chaffing at the overt proselytizing:
Speaker Mike Johnson delivered a presentation at a weekend GOP retreat that — although it was billed as a map to keeping the House majority — took on a surprisingly religious tone, according to two people in the room.
Johnson’s private remarks to a small group of Republican lawmakers at Miami’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel over the weekend alarmed both people, who addressed the speech on condition of anonymity. Rather than outlining a specific plan to hold and grow the majority, these people said, Johnson effectively delivered a sermon.
The Louisiana Republican showed slides to the members of his Elected Leadership Committee (ELC) team in a bid to tout the party’s prospects of hanging onto its two-seat majority in November. Johnson, a devout Christian, attempted to rally the group by discussing moral decline in America — focusing on declining church membership and the nation’s shrinking religious identity, according to both people in the room.
The speaker contended that when one doesn’t have God in their life, the government or “state” will become their guide, referring back to Bible verses, both people said. They added that the approach fell flat among some in the room.
“I’m not at church,” one of the people said, describing Johnson’s presentation as “horrible.”
“I think what he was trying to do, but failed on the execution of it, was try to bring us together,” that person said. “The sermon was so long he couldn’t bring it back to make the point.”
A third person in the room who is close to Johnson said that the speaker dipped into historical and religious points for perhaps a third of his presentation, arguing that the party needed to save the country. That person, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the private gathering, said Johnson also talked about polling on the border, how President Joe Biden compares to Donald Trump on various issues and the House GOP’s core message.
The weekend retreat also featured notable tension between GOP conference leaders and Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.), who argued in Miami that Johnson needs to lead Republicans in the direction that is favored by conservatives.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) pushed back, questioning if Good — who had voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy — would let Johnson lead or if he would block him whenever he disagreed with the GOP leader’s approach, according to all three people who addressed the speaker’s presentation. Conservatives have blocked legislation from being considered on the floor several times this term.
Those dissenters had better get used to it. These people now own the party. And they obtained ownership with the help of a cult leader who is depraved, immoral and beyond ignorant. His narcissism has allowed them to take the reins of power because he doesn’t know or care what they are doing as long as he is adored by his followers.
I don’t know how much longer any of them will hold out. The party is shedding non-MAGA elected officials two at a time these days and those who are staying are all spineless or just as immoral and their Dear Leader, taking advantage of the opportunities authoritarianism provides. And when Trump has shuffled off his mortal coil and the excitement cools, guess who’s going to be in charge? The theocrats.