AMERICA CAUGHT BETWEEN THE PROVERBIAL FRYING PAN AND THE FIRE
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CHAOS AUTHORITARIAN |
IMPEACHMENT CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST VICE-PRESIDENT |
Fear and rage continue to reign in America over the presidency of Donald Trump. There is deep concern over the chaos being created, and the authoritarian style of governance manifested by his administration within the first month since his inauguration.
The following reports need no comment:
Prominent investigative journalist Carl Bernstein says President Donald Trump's administration is in chaos less than two weeks after Trump took office.
"It's apparent to all but his most serious defenders and those who are his greatest advocates," Bernstein said on CNN on Monday night.
"Republicans on Capitol Hill who I'm talking to who are doubting his abilities," Bernstein said, "doubting even his stability under pressure. This is an extraordinary series of events." . . .
People who voted for Donald Trump often said that they did so because he would “stir things up.” That he would create change and upend the entrenched system. They said he would end “political correctness” and speak his mind. They said that he would not play the same old games and would instead make deals around the world that would “make America great again.” Well, so far it has not exactly worked out that way.
Only a week into his presidency and Mr. Trump has created a world of chaos. Health care, the environment, police enforcement, the economy, international relations and more have been upside down at a time when the world desperately needs stability and peace. Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, Middle East, Mexico, the streets of the USA, all in chaos. . .
Trump picks up the phone, sets off diplomatic chaos
Diplomats say Trump’s combative calls with Mexico and Australia are reverberating around the world.
Donald Trump is sowing diplomatic chaos around the world just two weeks into his presidency, as he feuds with world leaders and defends an unpredictable style that has alarmed friends and foes alike.
Foreign diplomats and State Department officials expressed shock Thursday over reports that Trump lashed out in phone calls at the leaders of Mexico and Australia, whose prime minister, a close U.S. ally with whom presidents rarely argue, Trump reportedly hung up on after a surprise haranguing. . .
Trump tried to tamp down the uproar over his contentious phone calls with foreign leaders on Thursday, spinning them as the actions of a strong leader reasserting America abroad.
“When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it,” Trump said during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. “We have to be tough. ... We’re taken advantage of by every nation in the world, virtually. It’s not going to happen anymore.”
“The world is in trouble, but we’re going to straighten it out, OK? That’s what I do, I fix things,” Trump added.
Diplomats and experts say Trump’s recent behavior likely has some foreign governments recalculating their approach to phone calls and meetings with the U.S. president.
The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter
And it’s not gender, age, income, race or religion.
If I asked you what most defines Donald Trump supporters, what would you say? They’re white? They’re poor? They’re uneducated?
You’d be wrong.
In fact, I’ve found a single statistically significant variable predicts whether a voter supports Trump—and it’s not race, income or education levels: It’s authoritarianism.
That’s right, Trump’s electoral strength—and his staying power—have been buoyed, above all, by Americans with authoritarian inclinations. And because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans, it’s very possible that Trump’s fan base will continue to grow.
This is an ominous report, and frightening to those who are not prepared for the apocalyptic fulfillment of Rev. 13. The most obvious democratic means of getting rid of Trump is by voting him out of office; but his "fan base" may be growing. It seems increasingly likely that the final obliteration of religious liberty and individual freedom in America may be getting very close. Parallel events in Palestine must follow (Dan. 11:45.) Meanwhile, events in the United States are undoubtedly striking fear in the hearts of many. Nevertheless, faith in Jesus Christ sustains believers by His perfect love which casts out all fear (1 John 4:18.)
Donald Trump invites authoritarianism to America
America’s scary flirtation with authoritarianism threatens its democratic foundations—and it’ll take a concerted global effort to push back
If you’re not worried right now, you’re not paying attention. Or perhaps you’re a partisan whose capacity to warp reality to fit your world view is on par with the ability of large bodies to significantly alter space-time. Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States was abnormal, and the very early days of his administration have given us more reason to be concerned about the future of America and the global order than we had even in the tumultuous months following his victory.
Politicians, academics, commentators, and journalists have regularly compared Trump’s rise to that of fascist and authoritarian leaders. In the halcyon days of only a year ago, it was impolite at best—and absurd at worst—to mention either fascism or authoritarianism in a conversation about mainstream American politics. Indeed, back then, Godwin’s Law marked the outer limits of civil discussion: the claim that the longer a discussion (on the Internet) continues, the more likely it is that Hitler will be invoked as a comparison meant to criticize another’s extremism. Now, epithets such as “Hitler” or “Nazi” or “authoritarian” are just plausible enough that they betray a reasonable, growing anxiety.
Politicians, academics, commentators, and journalists have regularly compared Trump’s rise to that of fascist and authoritarian leaders. In the halcyon days of only a year ago, it was impolite at best—and absurd at worst—to mention either fascism or authoritarianism in a conversation about mainstream American politics. Indeed, back then, Godwin’s Law marked the outer limits of civil discussion: the claim that the longer a discussion (on the Internet) continues, the more likely it is that Hitler will be invoked as a comparison meant to criticize another’s extremism. Now, epithets such as “Hitler” or “Nazi” or “authoritarian” are just plausible enough that they betray a reasonable, growing anxiety.
At best, Trump exercises authoritarian tendencies. (At worst, he and his supporters’ words and actions come disconcertingly close to authoritarianism’s most virulent and nationalist variety, fascism.) Authoritarianism, to slightly adapt political scientist Juan Linz’s definition, is a way of governing marked by severe limits to freedom—the centralization of authority in the hands of a single leader or small group of leaders who may use power to benefit personally (for instance, by using the state to generate personal wealth), and impose limits on civil society. As a way of directing the affairs of state, authoritarianism is enabled and sustained by force—or the threat of force—and is further underwritten by supporters who demonstrate a deep, often emotional attachment to the leader and the regime. . .
Since then, Trump has declared his inauguration a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion,” ordered the construction of a border wall with Mexico, advocated torture, silenced government agencies, launched an investigation into (non-existent) voter fraud, and doubled-down on his promise to ramp up deportations while also limiting entrance to the United States by refugees and Muslims. At the same time, his advisers have been disputing reality, with one, Kellyanne Conway, claiming the existence of “alternative facts.”
In a November essay, political theorist Jacob Levy highlighted that the power to speak untruths and to make others repeat them is a time-worn tactic of oppression: “Saying something obviously untrue, and making your subordinates repeat it with a straight face in their own voice, is a particularly startling display of power over them…Arendt analyzed the huge lies and blatant reversals of language associated with the Holocaust. Havel documented the pervasive little lies, lies that everyone knew to be lies, of late Communism. And Orwell gave us the vivid ‘2+2=5.’ ” . . .
Donald Trump Is Becoming an Authoritarian Leader Before Our Very Eyes
The administration's many lies this weekend should frighten all Americans.
Some observers have warned journalists against an “alarmist” response to Trump’s early actions, lest the media too quickly exhaust our capacity for outrage and cause readers, especially those inclined to give the new president a chance, to tune out. “The danger for the established press,” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote in a column over the weekend, “is the same danger facing other institutions in our republic: That while believing themselves to be nobly resisting Trump, they end up imitating him. Such imitation will inspire reader loyalty and passion—up to a point. But beyond that point, it’s more likely to polarize than to persuade, which means it often does a demagogue’s work for him. Fellow journalists, don’t do it.”
That column appears to have been completed before the weekend’s events, though; it makes no mention of Trump’s speech or Spicer’s briefing, which ought to change the calculus on the merits of press alarmism. The new administration’s bewildering boasts and outright lies are what make it so frightening, as they’re early signs of what many of us in the media have warned about for months: authoritarianism. . .
While Trump’s antics might have impressed his fans watching from home, they seem to have done little to assuage worries in the agency. The New Yorker interviewed a variety of intelligence experts, including John MacGaffin, a high-ranking veteran of the agency. “What self-centered, irrational decision process got him to this travesty?” MacGaffin told the magazine. “Most importantly, how will that process serve us when the issues he must address are dangerous and incredibly complex? This is scary stuff!”
Trump’s self-centered decision process is authoritarianism, and it’s anything but irrational. He campaigned in an authoritarian style, with rallies where he riled up large crowds to jeer at the press and protesters. One of the defining tactics of his campaign was disinformation, coupled with accusations of the same against the media. That hasn’t changed now that Trump is president. The administration’s unified anti-press and anti-fact message over the weekend is part of a deliberate, ong-term strategy that was hatched many months ago, and is only likely to intensify. The president will wage a rhetorical war against the media, with the intent of delegitimizing one of the few institutions that can hold him accountable, and he will wage it with his most effective weapon: Lies, damned lies, and false statistics.
Trump is following the authoritarian playbook (Pre-inauguration article.)
In less than a week, America will embark on a new political experience: rule by an authoritarian President. Donald Trump won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. So, for every American who looks forward to the Trump era, there is likely another who fears he will lead us into ruin.
What can we expect from Donald Trump, based on his words and actions over the 19 months since he declared his candidacy?
Many Americans were initially confused by Trump and his unorthodox behavior, or dismissed him as a joke. I have spent decades studying authoritarian and fascist regimes and saw in Trump a deeply familiar figure: the strongman who cultivates a bond with followers based on loyalty to him as a person rather than to a party or set of principles.
Such individuals inevitably seek to adapt the political office they inhabit to serve their needs. They are clear from the start about this intention, refusing to submit to shared customs and norms -- such as releasing tax returns -- that would mean they were submitting to the will of the political class. Anyone who believes that Trump will morph into anything resembling a traditional politician will be sorely disappointed. Authoritarians never pivot. . .
Trump has followed the authoritarian playbook in targeting the media. And once in power he's very likely to step up his attempts at intimidation.
Strongmen show aggression to the press as part of a slow-drip strategy of discrediting all information that is not dispensed by their close allies. Many were surprised at Trump's rude treatment of CNN at his recent press conference. Calling the media outlet "fake news," he refused to allow reporter Jim Acosta to ask a question. This was classic authoritarian posturing. . .
Trump And Authoritarian Propaganda (Pre-election article.)
The President’s (Obama's) comforting belief that he could persuade most people to come round to his viewpoint if only he could have a chance to sit down and reason with them is challenged by Jason Stanley, a professor of philosophy at Yale and the author, most recently, of How Propaganda Works in a New York Times article entitled “Beyond Lying: Donald Trump’s Authoritarian Reality.” . . .
Trump, according to Stanley, is a practitioner of something else again: authoritarian propaganda. This is a form of communication in which a leader concocts a fiction that offers a narrative explaining why the problems that trouble whole groups of people have a simple origin and an even simpler solution. The explanation of the problems is inevitably that some other group or groups in conspiracy with a corrupt elite are responsible for them. The solution is even simpler—namely to elect the author of the fiction as the new leader who will eliminate the elites and the other groups, thus solving the problems. The constant repetition of the fiction is a key to getting it accepted.
Stanley quotes from The Origins of Totalitarianism, in which Hannah Arendt writes:
“Like the earlier mob leaders, the spokesmen for totalitarian movements possessed an unerring instinct for anything that ordinary party propaganda or public opinion did not care to touch. Everything hidden, everything passed over in silence, became of major significance, regardless of its own intrinsic importance. The mob really believed that truth was whatever respectable society had hypocritically passed over, or covered with corruption.” . . .
In the world of authoritarian propaganda, says Arendt, “the modern masses do not believe in anything visible, in the reality of their own experience.” Once people have embraced the fiction, the only thing that will be listened to is whatever is consistent with it. Conflicting facts are dismissed without thinking, as Trump himself demonstrated during the debates with his repeated cries of, “Wrong!” . . .
What gives authoritarian propaganda its mystifying plausibility is that it claims to expose to the public view what was previously secret. It attaches itself to those aspects aspect of social and political life that are hidden from the public view, such as the corridors of Washington, the machinations of Wall Street, the deliberations of the FBI. They are perfect subjects on which to concoct conspiratorial fictions. The resulting narratives, which claim to reveal hidden truths, “then acquire the reputation of superior ‘realism’ because they touch upon real conditions whose existence is being hidden.” In this way, the spinner of patently absurd fabrications becomes accepted by millions as a trusted truth-teller.
“Totalitarian movements,” writes Arendt, “conjure up a lying world of consistency which is more adequate to the needs of the human mind than reality itself; in which, through sheer imagination, uprooted masses can feel at home and are spared the never-ending shocks which real life and real experiences deal to human beings and their expectations. The force possessed by totalitarian propaganda… lies in its ability to shut the masses off from the real world.”. . .
In this susceptibility to the acceptance of falsehoods the working of Satan on human minds is revealed. (Cf. SPIRITUAL DIMENSION . . .)
To the rational mind it would seem to be unlikely from the way that the Trump presidency has started, and his low approval ratings, that he could possibly win re-election. Even if his re-election were doomed, to a majority of Americans the prospect of four years under his presidency is frightening.
Even before Trump won the presidential election, conservative publications openly recommended his impeachment after his usefulness to Republicans might be exhausted. Now it appears that they might not be able to wait:
Americans Now Evenly Divided on Impeaching Trump
PPP's new national poll finds that Donald Trump's popularity as President has declined precipitously just over the last two weeks. On our first poll of his Presidency voters were evenly divided on Trump, with 44% approving of him and 44% also disapproving. Now his approval rating is 43%, while his disapproval has gone all the way up to 53%. If voters could choose they'd rather have both Barack Obama (52/44) or Hillary Clinton (49/45) instead of Trump.
Just three weeks into his administration, voters are already evenly divided on the issue of impeaching Trump with 46% in favor and 46% opposed. Support for impeaching Trump has crept up from 35% 2 weeks ago, to 40% last week, to its 46% standing this week. While Clinton voters initially only supported Trump's impeachment 65/14, after seeing him in office over the last few weeks that's gone up already to 83/6.
Here are the reasons things are going bad for Trump:
-Voters think he's over reaching to make a country safe...that they already consider to be safe. . .
-Voters are concerned by the implications of Trump's fight with the Judiciary. . .
-Voters don't like the people Trump has surrounded himself with. . .
-Voters continue to have a lot of basic transparency concerns when it comes to Trump. . .
-Voters are concerned that in the realm of foreign policy, Trump likes who they don't like and doesn't like who they do like. . .
-Voters are concerned about Trump taking away Obamacare. . .
-Voters are increasingly taking the media's side in his fights with them. . .
This is how badly the Trump presidency is shaping up during its first month. One Congressman has already taken the first step in the process of impeachment:
The Long Road To Impeach Trump Just Got Shorter
The momentum to impeach President Trump is accelerating.
On Thursday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) filed a “resolution of inquiry” that amounts to the first legislative step toward impeachment.
A new poll shows that registered voters are evenly split, at 46-to-46 percent, on whether they “support” or “oppose” impeaching Trump. Just two weeks ago, the pro-impeachment figure was 35 percent.
Since inauguration, more than 800,000 people have signed a petition in the first stage of the Impeach Donald Trump Now campaign, which will soon involve grassroots organizing in congressional districts around the country.
Under the Trump presidency, defending a wide range of past gains is both necessary and insufficient. Fighting for impeachment is a way to go on the offensive, directly challenging the huge corruption that Trump has brought to the White House.
From the outset, President Trump has been violating two provisions of the U.S. Constitution — its foreign and domestic “emoluments” clauses. In a nutshell, both clauses forbid personally profiting from presidential service beyond receiving a government salary. . .
Legal Scholars: Why Congress Should Impeach Donald Trump
It has been widely acknowledged that upon swearing the Oath of Office President Donald Trump would be in direct violation of the foreign-emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Never heard of the foreign-emoluments clause? You’re not alone. It’s tucked away in Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution. It's clause number 8. It states, in pertinent part: "... no person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.”
This clause was included in the Articles of Confederation and, later, in the Constitution itself. It was borne out of the Framers’ obsession with preventing in the newly minted United States the sort of corruption that dominated 17th and 18th century foreign politics and governments — characterized by gift-giving, back-scratching, foreign interference in other countries and transactions that might not lead to corruption but, nonetheless, could give the appearance of impropriety.
Where Trump runs afoul of the foreign-emoluments clause is that, first and foremost, he is a businessman with significant financial interests and governmental entanglements all over the globe. Indeed, as Norman Eisen, Richard Painter and Laurence Tribe stated at the Brookings Institution, “Never in American history has a [President] presented more conflict of interest questions and foreign entanglements than Donald Trump.” Moreover, Trump’s businesses dealings are veiled in complicated corporate technicalities and lack transparency. . .
Prominent conservative columnist David Brooks has also questioned whether President Trump can survive a full term:
What a Failed Trump Administration Looks Like
I still have trouble seeing how the Trump administration survives a full term. Judging by his Thursday press conference, President Trump’s mental state is like a train that long ago left freewheeling and iconoclastic, has raced through indulgent, chaotic and unnerving, and is now careening past unhinged, unmoored and unglued.Trump’s White House staff is at war with itself. His poll ratings are falling at unprecedented speed. His policy agenda is stalled. F.B.I. investigations are just beginning. This does not feel like a sustainable operation.
On the other hand, I have trouble seeing exactly how this administration ends. Many of the institutions that would normally ease out or remove a failing president no longer exist.
There are no longer moral arbiters in Congress like Howard Baker and Sam Ervin to lead a resignation or impeachment process. There is no longer a single media establishment that shapes how the country sees the president. This is no longer a country in which everybody experiences the same reality.
Everything about Trump that appalls 65 percent of America strengthens him with the other 35 percent, and he can ride that group for a while. Even after these horrible four weeks, Republicans on Capitol Hill are not close to abandoning their man.
The likelihood is this: We’re going to have an administration that has morally and politically collapsed, without actually going away.
The likelihood of "an administration that has morally and politically collapsed, without actually going away" raises the question whether this would be an impediment to the advancement of the Dominionist Theocrats' domination of America. There is strong evidence to the contrary which was published before the presidential election:
How Dominionists Gained Control Of The Trump Campaign (Pre-election article.)
Whether Donald Trump knows it or not, Dominionists are now in control of his presidential campaign. In recent weeks, Trump has appointed Stephen Bannon to the position of campaign CEO and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager. Both of these individuals are members of the Council For National Policy, a secretive Dominionists organization. In fact, Kellyanne Conway sits on the executive committee.
Dominionists believe that America is a Christian nation and they oppose the separation of church and state. Ted Cruz’s father is a Dominionist preacher. They mix well with Christian Reconstructionists who want to impose strict biblical laws on America including execution for adultery, blasphemy, and homosexuality. These two fringe religious groups make up the majority of the Council’s 500 member base; along with a colorful array of extreme activists on the far right. The Council’s goal is to manipulate government agenda from within. . .
If you’re still not convinced the Dominionists have taken over the Trump campaign guess where Kellyanne Conway used to work before making her move over to Trump. She managed Ted Cruz’s biggest Super PAC called Keep The Promise 1, where she raised over $16 million dollars from just one source; New York City hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer.
Together these two ran millions of dollars in anti-Trump ads in defense of Ted Cruz. But once Trump won and Cruz dropped out Mercer switched horses, changed the name of the Super PAC and re-focused on anti-Hillary ads for Donald.
And all of this overseen by the Council For National Policy, which was founded in 1981 by fundamentalist Baptist pastor Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind book series and the head of the Moral Majority organization. . .
As the council grew, it entertained some far right wing extremists including Ku Klux Klan members Richard Shoff and Lawrence Pratt along with Michael Peroutka who served on the board of the League of the South, a neo-Confederate hate group that advocates for a newly seceded South ruled by white people. . .
The prospect of Trump being impeached might bring relief to the minds of secular Americans, but it can bring no comfort to Seventh-day Adventists who are following the unfolding of the prophecies of Rev. 13. One article which suggests a way to neutralize President Trump short of impeachment brings to view the intensified menace awaiting the nation when this is accomplished:
Don’t look now: It’s President Pence! Donald Trump can be deposed, even without impeachment
Given Trump's erratic behavior in his first few days, Washington is starting to murmur about the 25th Amendment
Donald Trump is in over his head. This comes as no surprise to the millions of people who could see that he was unprepared and unfit for the job of president of the United States and voted against him. He’s basically a celebrity heir to a fortune who was so entitled that he believed his privileged existence proved he was competent to run the most powerful nation on Earth. That’s the attitude of an aristocrat who ascended to the throne without having any idea what it actually takes to rule. History’s full of such men. It doesn’t often work out well.
Trump managed to convince enough voters in just the right places that his “business success,” born mostly of hype and relentless public relations over many years, qualified him for the Oval Office. Since the Protestant work ethic and the philosophy of virtuous capitalism still permeate American culture, it’s not uncommon for people to equate financial success with superior intelligence and character. Many individuals among the public undoubtedly assumed that Trump’s persona at the rallies was somewhat of a salesman’s act, that he was playing the role of demagogue to rile up the crowd. They assumed that behind closed doors he was a smart and able businessman, making tough decisions on the fly, handling many issues at once.
Those voters did not see what millions of others felt instinctively and that explains the shocked reaction and immediate resistance to his election: Trump’s incessant bragging, his lack of empathy or remorse, his pathological lying and even his bizarre appearance have been signs of an unstable personality. It was obvious to many of us that something was not right. . .
So what happens if President Trump cannot pull himself together and continues to psychologically unravel? There is a remedy other than impeachment. Even conservatives like David Frum have been talking about it for a while:
So what happens if President Trump cannot pull himself together and continues to psychologically unravel? There is a remedy other than impeachment. Even conservatives like David Frum have been talking about it for a while . . .
The 25th Amendment was added to the Constitution after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and provides for the replacement of the vice president if the office becomes vacant. (So it led indirectly to the presidency of Gerald Ford, the only American president who was never elected to any executive office.) But Section 4 is about something else entirely:
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. . .
It’s obvious that Trump has a narcissistic personality, which in itself is not disqualifying. He’s not the first president to have one; nor will he be the last. But his issues seem to run deeper than that. Some observers have suggested that he shows the characteristics of classic psychopathy. And there are plenty of people who see his behavior as blatantly self-destructive.
Of course it’s an extreme long shot that members of Trump’s Cabinet or the Republican leadership in Congress would ever take such a drastic step. (Although it’s not at all hard to imagine that in their hearts many of them would prefer President Mike Pence.) This would only happen if Trump really started to behave in a unhinged fashion. After all the bizarre behavior he has exhibited over the past 18 months, one cannot help but wonder: What could possibly count as going too far? It’s almost too terrifying to imagine.
The fact is that Pence is not just waiting in the wings. There is evidence that he is exercising influence over the President:
Mike Pence Pulls President Trump’s Strings
Do you think Donald Trump is just Mike Pence’s puppet?
Interesting idea, right? Particularly since the very idea would make our new president totally nuts. Hehehehe.
And it’s possible. Trump is not a man who concentrates on policy issues. So far, the parts of the job that have obsessed him most are crowd size and vote size. And yeah, the wall. But there has to be somebody behind the scenes deciding the non-ego questions. Pass the word that it’s Pence.
The best early evidence is reproductive rights. Not an issue Trump seemed all that interested in during the campaign — you generally had to sort of poke him to bring it up. Yet one of the first things he did as president was to sign an order that will eliminate American aid to international health programs that provide information on abortion.
Every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has issued the order, which is often referred to as the global gag rule. But Trump’s seems much worse. The Reagan-Bush-Bush version covered family planning programs. Trump’s targets global health in general.
So when it comes to combating the Zika virus in South America, we’ll only be helping organizations that are willing to order their staffs never to bring up the fact that abortion exists. We’re talking about a potential loss of billions of dollars in American aid.
I know some of you are having trouble giving the president credit for anything right now. But this doesn’t sound like him.
If a woman Trump knew was pregnant and learned she had a virus that could cause terrible brain damage to the fetus, his immediate reaction would not be barring everybody from mentioning the word abortion. The only politician who would behave like that would be someone who had spent his entire career trying to impose his deeply held conservative religious values on people who had different beliefs.
That would be Mike Pence. This is the guy who, as a member of Congress, co-sponsored a bill that would allow hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women who would die without the procedure. Whose war against Planned Parenthood when he was governor of Indiana led to the closing of five clinics. (None of them did abortions. They did, however, provide testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and one of the counties where a clinic was closed suffered a big H.I.V. outbreak.) . . .
CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST VICE-PRESIDENT
Mike Pence Will Be the Most Powerful Christian Supremacist in US History
The election of Donald Trump has sent shockwaves through the souls of compassionate, humane people across the country and the world. Horror that a candidate who ran on a platform of open bigotry, threats against immigrants and Muslims, and blatant misogyny will soon be president is now sinking in. Trump appointed a white nationalist, Steve Bannon, as chief White House strategist — which was promptly celebrated by the American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan. Bannon and other possible extremist Trump appointees, such as John Bolton, a neocon who believes the U.S. should “bomb Iran,” and the authoritarian Rudy Giuliani, are now receiving much deserved public scrutiny.
The incoming vice president, Mike Pence, has not elicited the same reaction, instead often painted as the reasonable adult on the ticket, a “counterbalance” to Trump and a “bridge to the establishment.” However, there is every reason to regard him as, if anything, even more terrifying than the president-elect.
Pence’s ascent to the second most powerful position in the U.S. government is a tremendous coup for the radical religious right. Pence — and his fellow Christian supremacist militants — would not have been able to win the White House on their own. For them, Donald Trump was a godsend. “This may not be our preferred candidate, but that doesn’t mean it may not be God’s candidate to do something that we don’t see,” said David Barton, a prominent Christian-right activist and president of Wall Builders, an organization dedicated to making the U.S. government enforce “biblical values.” In June, Barton prophesied: “We may look back in a few years and say, ‘Wow, [Trump] really did some things that none of us expected.’”
Trump is a Trojan horse for a cabal of vicious zealots who have long craved an extremist Christian theocracy, and Pence is one of its most prized warriors. With Republican control of the House and Senate and the prospect of dramatically and decisively tilting the balance of the Supreme Court to the far right, the incoming administration will have a real shot at bringing the fire and brimstone of the second coming to Washington.
“The enemy, to them, is secularism. They want a God-led government. That’s the only legitimate government,” contends Jeff Sharlet, author of two books on the radical religious right, including “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.” “So when they speak of business, they’re speaking not of something separate from God, but they’re speaking of what, in Mike Pence’s circles, would be called biblical capitalism, the idea that this economic system is God-ordained.”
One of Trump’s sons, Don Jr., reportedly said that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy, while Trump would focus on the vague mission of “Making America Great Again.” Trump’s campaign subsequently claimed the story was “made up,” though Trump has consistently denied saying things he is on record as saying, so who knows? In any case, the implications of a Pence vice presidency are vast. Pence combines the most horrid aspects of Dick Cheney’s worldview with a belief that Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” novels are not fiction, but an omniscient crystal ball.
How the GOP foisted Pence on Trump is undoubtedly a fascinating story that hopefully will some day be revealed. Obviously, Pence gave Trump badly needed credibility with evangelical voters and the GOP establishment, but Pence’s selection portends a governing apocalypse.
A "governing apocalypse" is indeed what America is facing, whether under the Trump presidency or a successor Pence presidency. There are dark days ahead, embracing terminal prophecies yet to be fulfilled; but beyond is the "glorious appearing" (Titus 2:13) of "the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" Matt. 24:30 (last part.)