It’s long been said in American politics that the third, fatal rail of politics is Social Security, because stirring up the old folks over their income will end your political career, and very quickly. Fear the people with walkers, eh? Something I read by Professor Richardson reminded me of that, and of what I think may be the future extension of this old aphorism:
While Biden is consolidating and pushing the Democrats’ worldview, the Republicans are in disarray. The revelation that former president Trump moved classified intelligence to the Trump Organization’s property at Mar-a-Lago has kept some of them sidelined, as they didn’t want to talk about the issue, and has forced others to try to justify an unprecedented breach of national security. Republican candidates for elected office who are not in deep red districts have been taking references to Trump (and to abortion restrictions) off their websites.
My amused bold. And, yes, you guessed it: the former President becomes the new third rail of politics. His divisive message and disregard for the law, much less norms of government, are just the beginning. His grasping, boastful, mean-spirited, self-centered ways, and his disregard for the value of simple truth will be perceived as deeply un-American, even by those Americans who have these character failings in abundance. These latter will scent the wind and adjust their sails accordingly.
And if Trump is accused by law enforcement of selling those government documents found at Mar-a-Lago to national adversaries? The amount of juice in our proverbial rail will go up by a magnitude. The only mention of Trump by American politicians will be as a synonym for failure and adherence to his Me! Me! Me! ideology, and that doesn’t work well with government, which is about helping out the people.
But let’s take this a step further: What happens if Chad Bauman did get this right and it’s all about Trump’s upbringing in a prosperity church? That the apparent madness of his repeated calls that he be restored to the Presidency, despite his manifest electoral loss as well as his profound failure as a President, are the Name it and Claim it magical invocation of some Divine entity? Yes, that is his wand sputtering.
Consequently, and fortunately for us, we may see some holes in our cultural landscape where prosperity churches used to exist. Some may disappear, while others drastically shrink. Some prosperity church leaders – I hesitate to call them pastors or bishops or whatever title they’ve awarded themselves – will desperately try to keep the grift going, while others will head out to foreign lands to enjoy their gains. A few may meet untimely ends at the hands of angry followers.
And a lot of folks who lack Trump’s mental instability but are still burdened with the prosperity church teachings will need help.
And, meanwhile, this graph will continue its trend:
Source: Gallup
Evangelicals had celebrated Trump as Cyrus of the Bible, striding from its pages into their lives. It’s not looking that way now, and if I were them I’d have a chat about getting rid of the Biblical respect for Cyrus, who, as I understand it, is the guy who did bad things that benefited Christians, and so hey he’s blessed.
Remember Amanda “I’m Trump in heels!” Chase (R-VA)? She may be changing to flats.
