Civil Commotion

Politico visits something I speculated about here, and which the New York Times has begun to worry about: The near-certainty that the sick pastiche of nutjobs who are now the Republican base will not lose gracefully.

Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to lose on Nov. 8, refuse to concede the election, and teeter the country into an unprecedented crisis of faith in government. Republicans and Democrats, in Washington and beyond, fear that the aftermath of the 2016 election will create a festering infection in the already deep and lasting wound that the campaign is leaving on America.

I hope it doesn’t happen, but it is not foolish to worry about what comes next; the Trump campaign is that egomaniacal, is that anti-American, is that poisoned and poisonous, is that ignorant, is that malicious.

From a writer at Renew America who kinda, vaguely, remembers some stuff she studied in science class.

This past week has been unprecedented in the amount of stones being thrown from people living in proverbial glass houses – specifically from, but not limited to, people like the Clinton clan. We’ve all been deluged with repeated airings of an audio recording from 11 years ago of two men, Donald Trump and Billy Bush, privately discussing women. We are not going to repeat the words again.

Suffice it to say that many women find such words unacceptable. However, boys and men have been talking this way about women for ions.

Sure. I’ll do just about anything for an ion, myself.

The New York Times takes-up the danger of Trump’s maddened nutcases after they’re defeated in November, something I remarked upon here.

If the prospect of a Republican base energized by victory is frightening, then imagine — if you can — what they are going to be like when they are enraged and humiliated by a broad defeat.

The NYT:

A wounded bear is a dangerous thing.

[ … ]

Now, in the final days of a horrid campaign, an unshackled Trump is more national threat than punch line. He’s determined to cause lasting damage.

But those who take pleasure in watching Trump destroy the Republican Party are missing the bigger picture. He’s trying to destroy the country, as well. Civility, always a tenuous thing, cannot be quickly restored in a society that has learned to hate in public, at full throttle.

Those of you wondering how evangelical leaders can rally to the support of Donald Trump after his latest remarks about women … well, do you believe me now when I tell you that congregations almost invariably rally to support of the pastor who rapes their children? The Pious are sick, deformed people with a corrupt concept of the ‘good,’ and we need to drive them out of our public life.

James Dobson:

And James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and now host of the show Family Talk, stood by his Trump endorsement on Monday.

[ … ]

“The comments Mr. Trump made 11 years ago were deplorable and I condemn them entirely,” he said. “I also find Hillary Clinton’s support of partial birth abortion criminal and her opinion of evangelicals to be bigoted. There really is only one difference between the two. Mr. Trump promises to support religious liberty and the dignity of the unborn. Mrs. Clinton promises she will not.”

Jerry Falwell, Jr.:

“We’re never going to have a perfect candidate unless Jesus Christ is on the ballot,” he said. “I’ve got a wife and a daughter, and nobody wants to hear their women talked about in that manner.”

[ … ]

“With $20 trillion in debt, we’re right on the edge of the abyss and if we don’t make some big changes, we’re going right down the hole,” Falwell told Cosby. “I don’t think the American people want this country to go down the toilet because Donald Trump made some dumb comments on a videotape 11 years ago.”

Robert Jeffress:

Well, let me be very clear about this. These statements were lewd, offensive, and indefensible, but they’re not enough to make me vote for Hillary Clinton. Last week, I was in Trump Tower. I moderated a meeting between Mr. Trump and religious leaders, and I said, with Trump seated to my left, I said, “look, I might not choose this man to be a Sunday school teacher in my church, but that’s not what this election is about.” It’s about choosing the best leader to reverse the downward spiral of the nation.

Franklin Graham:

Evangelist Franklin Graham condemned Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for his 2005 remarks about women, but said the real estate magnate’s comments are as indefensible as “the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton” and that the Democratic candidate would prove to be more harmful for America’s future.

“The crude comments made by Donald J. Trump more than 11 years ago cannot be defended,” Graham wrote in a Facebook post. “But the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton likewise cannot be defended.”

Ralph Reed:

Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a member of Trump’s religious advisory board, has also said he’s still with the Republican candidate.

“As a Christian, I believe that the Bible teaches, to quote a verse from the New Testament, that we’re to treat older women as our mothers and younger women as sisters in all purity …,” Reed told NPR in an interview Saturday, adding that Trump has apologized. “I think given the stakes in this election and those and other critical issues, I just don’t think an audiotape of an 11-year-old private conversation with an entertainment talk show host on a tour bus, for which the candidate has apologized profusely, is likely to rank high on the hierarchy of concerns of those faith-based voters.”

Albert the Pious sets out here the principles of economics for those concerned to manage their money Biblically. Since his remarks rest chiefly on the Genesis creation account and Adam and Eve, which nobody of ordinary intelligence can possibly believe is true, the piece can safely be ignored.

Definitely, there are more clear-headed thinkers you can consult.

But, I do want to point out one particular principle — especially because Our Li’l Buddy warns readers that wicked worldly people like me are going to hoot.

11. A Christian economic understanding respects the priority of the church and its mission.

Christians must embrace economic priorities that the rest of the world simply will not understand. Christians must invest in churches, seminaries and international missions. These are distinctive Christian financial commitments. Our ultimate financial commitment is not to ourselves or to our own investments but to the Kingdom of Christ. Thus, Christians should always be ready to experience upheaval in economic priorities and arrangements because urgent kingdom issues can intervene at any moment.

Seriously, Baptists: Guard your wallets; this can only mean there is bad news coming.