Nihilism: “the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless.” Here is a taste of Peter Wehner’s recent piece at The New York Times titled “Republicans Have Chosen Nihilism”: Mr. [Allan] Bloom believed a truly...
MAGA
“I want to keep politics out of schools”
I’ve been doing some last minute homework before I enter the ballot box tomorrow. As I was researching my local school board candidates I was struck by how many of them use their platforms to say something like this: “Politics...
When was America great?
Donald Trump wants to “make America great again.” But when was America great? Was it 1776? The Gilded Age? The 1950s? The 1980s? “Greatness” is not a historical category of analysis. We can certainly report on people in the past...
“There’s a wall up and we can’t come in” and other things that happened at this weekend’s Charlie Kirk Trumpfest
It was called the “Turning Point USA Action Conference” and it was, in essence, a celebration of Donald Trump, Trumpism, and all things MAGA. I didn’t get a chance to watch much of it beyond Trump’s speech, but several people...
Trump is indicted. How are evangelicals responding?
Trump is the first United States president to face criminal charges–more than thirty of them. The formal indictment will take place on Tuesday at 2:15pm. Evangelical responses are below. Let’s remember that none of these evangelicals have seen the thirty...
David French on Trump’s Waco rally
We wrote about this rally over the weekend. Check out our posts here (Robert Jeffress) and here (J6 Choir). Here is French at The New York Times: The most telling exchange in Donald Trump’s Waco, Texas, rally on Saturday didn’t...
Is the MAGA movement really populism?
Grove City College historian Gillis Harp asks this question and provides some historical context today at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here is a taste: Is Donald Trump’s “MAGA” movement real populism? Is it a genuinely democratic movement that truly works to benefit common...
Mark Meadows and his MAGA cronies are buying-up property near the U.S. Capitol
I guess a lot of Trump followers like living in “The Swamp.” Here is Paul Schwartzman at The Washington Post: At first glance, the flurry of real estate sales two blocks east of the U.S. Capitol appeared unremarkable in a...
Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders the best the GOP could do last night?
Frank Bruni of The New York Times nails it. Here is a taste of his recent column: I keep hearing and reading that many Republican leaders want to move on from Donald Trump. I can’t imagine why. His role in...
Some evangelicals will be tempted to support Trump in 2024 if it means striking a blow to the LGBTQ community
When Donald Trump was president he said very little about gay marriage and other LGBTQ issues. But when he did speak about the LGBTQ community it was usually positive. In April 2016, The New York Times published a piece by...
What does Marjorie Taylor Greene want?
She wants more than committee assignments in the 118th Congress. She wants power. Here is Jonathan Swan and Catie Edmondson at The New York Times: Days after he won his gavel in a protracted fight with hard-right Republicans, Speaker Kevin...
Marjorie Taylor Greene: mainstream Republican
As the Republican members-elect of the 118th Congress tried to select a Speaker of the House last week, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, an election denier, former QAnon follower, and believer in Jewish space lasers, backed Kevin McCarthy on all...
Evangelical roundup: Damar Hamlin and Speaker of the House edition
Here is what evangelical Christians are saying about Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin and the drama that took place today in the House of Representatives: On Hamlin: This is becoming a popular position on the MAGA-loving Christian Right: Lance Wallnau:...
How will the GOP investigate Hunter’s laptop if they can’t even pick a Speaker of the House?
If you haven’t followed this today, get up to speed here. If the GOP members of the House can’t pick a Speaker, how will they advance their agenda? How will they investigate Hunter Biden’s laptop? How will they impeach Joe...
MAGA: 1980 version
The Gazette of Cedar Rapids (IA), January 18, 1980....