'Blessed are the shameless':Ex-Bush speechwriter rakes evangelicals over the coals for Trump support

[workinclasszero]

'Blessed are the shameless': Ex-Bush speechwriter rakes evangelicals over the coals for Trump support
Brad Reed 12 MAR 2018 AT 07:43 ET

Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, has written a lengthy piece in The Atlantic raking evangelical Christians who back President Donald Trump over the coals.

In particular, Gerson notes that the values that Trump espouses on a regular basis are values that have in the past been antithetical to Christian morals.

“Trump’s unapologetic materialism — his equation of financial and social success with human achievement and worth — is a negation of Christian teaching,” he writes. “His tribalism and hatred for ‘the other’ stand in direct opposition to Jesus’s radical ethic of neighbor love. Trump’s strength-worship and contempt for ‘losers’ smack more of Nietzsche than of Christ. Blessed are the proud. Blessed are the ruthless. Blessed are the shameless. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after fame.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/blessed-shameless-ex-bush-speechwriter-rakes-evangelicals-coals-trump-support/

[kentuck]

1. Amen to that.

Blessed are the uneducated.

[NewJeffCT]

2. "A lengthy piece in the Atlantic"

I guess his target readers are not these Trump supporting evangelicals.

[matt819]

25. Good point

Some questions.

How would you get this in front of trump voters?

And would it make any difference among those voters?

They will somehow change a Bush speechwriter into a raging leftie.

Notwithstanding a few (so far) flipped R-->D seats, these people do not do well with cognitive dissonance.

[Eliot Rosewater]

31. THey dont care, chief traitor hates black people, they hate black people. Chief traitor hates

women and wants the ones who have sex without permission to die in back alleys, and so do they.

[NewJeffCT]

32. Any sort of lengthy article

is going to cause a lot of their eyes to glaze over.

You'd probably need to summarize it in 30 to 60 second commercials and run them on Fox News and on shows that are popular with RWers like Duck Dynasty

[Hermit-The-Prog]

35. tweetem

Break the article into a bunch of tweets... no, wait, still too long. Make an executive summary and break that down into a bunch of tweets... hmm. Ok, have some Foxbarbie read the executive executive summary to them while Hannity and Jones foam and spit in the background.

[world wide wally]

3. That's an easy target.

I always thought the part about not lying was somewhat important but it is rarely mentioned when they are justiifying him.

[Beartracks]

5. Many are okay with Trump's cheating to get in office.

Oh, I'm sorry, I meant IF he cheated, they'd be okay with that. Can't remember who put together a man-on-the-street video of his supporters saying this, but I think someone posted a link to it at DU.

========

[dalton99a]

4. "Evangelicals have 'found their dream president'"

They all can go to hell where they belong

[Beartracks]

9. He's not even particularly reliable on pro-life.

Their adoration of Trump is sorely misplaced.

========

[workinclasszero]

19. That tells you all you need to know about evangelicals right there

It makes me sick.

[Achilleaze]

6. republicans have disgraced Christ & Christianity

by pretending that they give a shit about Christian teachings, and then behaving like Dirty Donnies* deplorable dummies. They have fouled the brand for all eternity.

[keithbvadu2]

10. Religion and politics use each other to gain power and wealth.

[workinclasszero]

21. The republican party has destroyed the Christian church in America nearly 100%

Evangelicals denied the teachings of Jesus Christ and got in bed with Satan for political power.

They are all exposed by their worship of Trump as liars and the biggest hypocrites on earth!

[smirkymonkey]

7. K&R

The hypocrisy is astounding.

[mgardener]

8. Special place in hell

For hypocrites.

[keithbvadu2]

11. Political Christians rather than Christians of faith.

Political Christians rather than Christians of faith.

They support Trump who says he is so perfect that he does not need Christ or his forgiveness.

Like today's evangelical/religious right supporters, Trump is a Political Christian, not a Christian of faith.

Evangelicals/religious right are easily able to spin their beliefs for political expediency.

The Donald who does not have to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

Trump: Drink my little wine, have my little cracker

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/08/13/donald-trump-religion-serfaty-dnt-erin.cnn

[workinclasszero]

24. "They support Trump who says he is so perfect that he does not need Christ or his forgiveness."

Imagine the wailing and lamentation from the religious right if Hillary or BHO or any democrat had said the exact same thing!!!

They would be burning down the white house if a dem president said that, but its the evangelicals god emperor so he gets a pass!

Even when he boldly denies Christ, he gets a pass!!! Trump is their 'god' now!

[UpInArms]

12. The entire piece is worth the read ...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-last-temptation/554066/

It is remarkable to hear religious leaders defend profanity, ridicule, and cruelty as hallmarks of authenticity and dismiss decency as a dead language. Whatever Trump’s policy legacy ends up being, his presidency has been a disaster in the realm of norms. It has coarsened our culture, given permission for bullying, complicated the moral formation of children, undermined standards of public integrity, and encouraged cynicism about the political enterprise.

[keithbvadu2]

13. Would believe Trump over Jesus for credibility

Would believe Trump over Jesus for credibility

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/11/21/trump_voter_if_jesus_christ_came_down_from_the_cross_and_told_me_trump_was_with_russia_i_wouldnt_believe_him.html

About 2:55 on the timeline.

"Let me tell you," he continued. "If Jesus Christ gets down off the cross and told me Trump is with Russia, I would tell him, hold on a second, I need to check with the president if it is true. That is how confident I feel in the president."

[bronxiteforever]

15. Great read. When Cheeto mocked the disabled

Reporter, it gave any compassionate person a birds eye view of his true spirit. He was just a bully and a rich snot nosed jerk.
Evangelical Christianity is just a political movement disguised as a religion and there are plenty of bullies in that movement.

[dalton99a]

20. +1

[happy feet]

28. Bingo

[Motley13]

16. the bible has plenty to say on hypocrisy

https://www.openbible.info/topics/hypocrisy

didn't notice anything from the maggot's 2 Corinthians

[Moostache]

17. The true aim of the GOP has always been the same...

Workers just smart enough to work the buttons on the cash register and just dumb enough to not care how badly they are being fucked by those in charge. (Thanks to the immortal George Carlin on the analogy...)

Christians, especially the wacky Young Earth Creationist flavor, fill that bill PERFECTLY. They have been getting fucked by their pastors and priests and "holymen" for eons...and yet they still come back for more. They are the original BOHICA gang. The fact that they continue to support Trump is no different than the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, the "Reformation" or the Catholic priest scandals...leadership of the religious cults is NEVER held accountable, EVER.

Trump is just the latest in a very long line of hypocrites to use and abuse the morons of the evangelical bent...

[DownriverDem]

27. Why they come back for more

Ending abortion

[Upthevibe]

18. Tony Perkins was on CSPAN

A couple of weeks ago. What a p.o.s....

[dalton99a]

23. And then Robert Jeffress on Fox News - declaring eternal fealty to the great president

no matter what

These people are downright evil.

[Kablooie]

22. Evangelicals have always secretly hated the restrictions Christianity puts on people.

Trump is demonstrating that it's OK to be selfish and hateful,which is a great relief to them.
It frees them to be who they really are and not feel guilty about it.
Trump is truly the new Christ for them.

[DownriverDem]

26. And we know what it's about

It's all about ending Roe v Wade for these repub evangelicals. I don't see much about it either.

[UCmeNdc]

29. Evangelicals "pimp out" Jesus for their own agendas

Most of their leaders do not believe in what they preach.

[workinclasszero]

30. Examine the evangelical leaders lifestyles

Their massive bank accounts, mansions, luxury vehicles, fine clothes, private jets etc.

You will know what their true religion is then, it's so damn obvious.

[JHB]

33. True, but don't ignore the misdirection...

Evangelicals may have given Trump his margin of victory, but who did these same people back in every election for nearly 40 years? Who did they provide the margin of victory for? Republicans. Conservative Republicans.

Conservatives courted and groomed evangelicals to single-issue vote for Republicans based on hot-button grandstanding issues. Once in office, they passed their tax cuts, deregulation, and other pet projects.

Gerson was fine with Newt Gingrich exhorting Republicans to speak about Democrats not as a loyal opposition, but as "the enemy of normal Americans." That was a quarter century ago. He was fine with the conservatives burning down every norm of behavior in their Quest for the Holy Grail of AnythingThatWillBringDownBillClinton. He was fine with Bush squeaking into office under questionable circumstances, in the closest election in American history and with a popular vote loss but pushing full-bore for a hard conservative agenda anyway. He was fine with drill-bit-grade spinning to sell a war. He was fine with the Republicans' Second Quest to BlockAndDelegitimizeObama24/7. And the reprise of the first Quest (fortified with 15 years of fermenting bile).

Scold your party, Mike, but don't leave out that they are your party. You Built That.
Conservatives took over the Party of Lincoln and turned it into the Party of Ahab.

If this development was at all shocking, maybe you need to stop writing columns, stop appearing on the TeeVee, and go fishing for 5-10 years, however long it takes you to decompress, unswell your head and extract it from your ass.

[bottomofthehill]

34. the Beatitudes are getting a lot of run here.

I posted this (Below in bold)in the why I am a Democrat post last week. Michael Gerson is an interesting person. Did not often agree with him i the Bush administration, still probably dont agree with him much today, but on thes he is right

I am a pro education, pro environment, pro science, pro choice, pro union, pro equality, pro diversity, pro progressive tax code, anti poverty, anti hunger, anti hate, anti war unreconstructed Liberal Democrat. I worked on the Ted Kennedy Presidential Campaign in 1980 before I was old enough to vote and cast my first vote for Fritz Mondale once I was old enough to vote. I am not a bible thumper, or pious faker, I think of myself as more spiritual than religious, but I believe that the greatest political speech ever given was by Jesus Christ, the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

I always believe that we are ALWAYS BETTER with a Democratic Majority.

[Permanut]

36. Bob Dutko on his radio show..

last week out of WMUZ in Detroit, summed up perfectly the mental gymnastics required for thumpers, Trumpers and gun humpers to support Mango Mussolini; he said that "we Christians believe in second chances".

I have no idea how to even begin to describe how twisted these people are.