All posts by Dr. ESP

The Good, the Bad, and the Holy

Politics, Religion

On June 29, 2024, the last weekend of Gay Pride Month, the First Baptist Church of Fernandina Beach, Florida and Citizens Defending Freedom sponsored a parade and festival to “celebrate the Christian Heritage of America.”  In order to participate in the parade, float sponsors were required to sign a “Statement of Convictions.”  Tara Dunlop, a local business owner, raised in the Southern Baptist Church, objected to the reading of a City Council proclamation which described the event as “important and meaningful to peoples of all faiths.”  (Source: Fernandina Observer)

I felt saddened and concerned when I read the required Statement of Faith. The very narrow definition of Christianity excluded me and my business from sponsorship.  I, as a divorced person (according to the statement), am not the correct type of Christian to participate in this event.

Public pushback began when the local chapter of the American Legion Auxiliary, which had considered being a parade sponsor, withdrew its support. (Source: Fernandina Observer)

At the time it was being called the American Heritage parade that sounded like a faith and freedom theme, which would be a wonderful event for us to be involved with.  But then it morphed into what it is now and became the Christian Heritage parade. It was not an all-inclusive parade and did not include people from all walks of life.

Members of the community viewed the event as one more example of the Christian nationalist movement promoted by a growing number of elected officials and their constituents.  This concern led to a group of local citizens, led by former pastor Linda Hart Green, organizing a community discussion of “Church and State.”  I was honored to be a panelist and shared the three precepts on which I believe theocracy is inconsistent with the American experience.

  • From a historical perspective on the establishment clause of the First Amendment, the story of the 17th century migration by Europeans to the “New World” is about escaping religious persecution.  These “religious refugees” included Mennonites, Jesuits, Catholics, Protestants and Jews.
  • A recap of theocratic societies throughout history demonstrates, by their very nature, they always become repressive and exclusive.
  • What if the shoe was on the other foot?  What if a Muslin candidate for president echoed the words of House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying, “If you want to know my world view, read the Quran.”

The forementioned Tara Dunlop was also on the panel.  And while I thought my somewhat academic presentation added context to the discussion, I found Tara’s comments to be more powerful, especially when she told the audience.  “I see the Bible and the Constitution as two beautiful documents.  And those who try to mix them together, corrupt both.”  It piqued my curiosity.  Were there other evangelical voices sharing this message?

It did not take long to find the answer.  On Tuesday, a group called “Evangelicals for Harris” released an ad which began with an excerpt of a Billy Graham television speech in which he says, “Have you gone to the cross?  Lord, I have sinned and I’m sorry for my sin.”  It then switches to Donald Trump being asked, “Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?”  His reply, “I’m not sure I have.”  Even I, an agnostic of Jewish heritage, know evangelicals view God’s grace, forgiving the sinner, as one of his greatest gifts.  The ad ends with a screen which reads, “Is there any greater denial of Christ…than to say ‘I do not need his forgiveness?'”

Nothing about his crimes, adultery, policies or, as reported this morning, making $300,000 from hawking Bibles.  Those are the things that make a non-evangelical wonder, “Why do so many Christians still support Trump when everything he does violates the Jesus’ teachings?”  This was different.  Not only does he defy Jesus’ words, he denies his divinity.  I wanted to hear more, and registered for Wednesday night’s “Evangelicals for Harris” Zoom call.

Which brings me to the title of today’s post.  Of the 20 speakers, three caught my attention.  First, the bad.  Pastor Dwight McKissic justified his decision to vote for Kamala Harris as follows.

I’m no longer naive enough to believe voting GOP will protect traditional marriage or life in the womb. For 40 years I’ve given my vote to Republicans behind this ruse.  Won’t be fooled this time.  I have concluded that the better person and best-qualified person in this election between the two major party nominees is by far Madame Vice President Kamala Harris.

He made this decision because the RNC had removed the planks calling for a national abortion ban and overturning Obergefell v. Hodges from the party’s 2024 platform.  In other words, he seemed to be saying, if the GOP/MAGA  written policy would deny women the right to control their reproductive health and oppose marriage equality, “I would vote for the lying, cheating, immoral guy who wants to be a dictator of Day One.”  Now, I’ve always preached we should never malign someone for doing the right thing for the wrong reason, so I welcome McKissic’s vote for Harris.  But he does not strike me as someone who, if he got everything HE wanted, would care about MY individual freedom.

The “good news” (pun intended) was anchored by Christian author Latasha Morrison.

I am a person who is pro-life. I am a person that believes in life from the cradle to the grave. But I’ve seen this weaponized. I’ve seen this criminalized. I’ve seen women who have died, and because of that, I can no longer be a one-issue voter.

She added that, if Harris wins the election, she would be in the new president’s face every day advocating for what I believe.  Isn’t that exactly how democracy is supposed to work?  Isn’t that the difference between persuasion and dictating?

And finally, the holy.  To no one’s surprise, Billy Graham’s son and Trump sycophant Franklin Graham claimed “Evangelicals for Harris” had misled people using his father’s image in the advertisement.  He blamed the organization of aligning with liberals who “are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris.”  Fortunately, this was not a consensus in the Graham family.  Jerushah Duford, the daughter of Billy Graham’s oldest offspring Virginia Graham Tchividjian, told the 40,000+ participants on the Zoom call that the aversion to Christianity by many young people is a direct result of the faith’s support for Donald Trump.  She explained the evolution of the evangelical movement this way.

These things happen slowly over time. First, people professing the Lord made excuses for [Trump’s] lack of kindness, then for the name-calling. Soon it was making excuses for assault. Then it became making excuses for January 6, and now making excuses for convicted assault and 34 felonies.

She closed with the following reiterating it is not what Trump does, but how Christians respond to it.

Voting Kamala, for me, is so much greater than policies. It’s a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread, and that is why I get involved in politics.

I have no idea how much, if any, difference it will make in November.  I am relatively sure Trump will still garner a sizable majority of the white evangelical vote.  But as I wrote last Sunday, it will make a difference on January 20th.  As you know, I do not share Latasha’s or Virginia’s belief in a divine source of grace, but grace is a universal concept and a path to reconciliation in what will hopefully be a new era in American politics.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Hmm!

Culture

Truth, if rejected, is found to be false.  Facts, if rejected, are said to be incorrect…Truth is determined by the inquirer’s intention; facts by the inquirer’s outcome.

No truth has been changed by applying further knowledge.  Many a fact, however, has been discarded when proven incorrect.

Jon Huer/Tenure for Socrates

Synchronicity is alive and well this Saturday morning.

During an interview on  MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” co-host Michael Steele asked former New Jersey Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman (a Harris supporter) why Donald Trump still holds on to 45 to 47 percent of the American electorate.  Whitman replied, as I believe Huer would have.  Donald Trump has been “their truth” for a decade, and it is hard for people to admit their truth might be wrong.  In the previous segment, Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO), when asked how the new-found enthusiasm and excitement around the Harris/Walz ticket would translate into votes, he talked about the more than 200,000 new volunteers who signed up since Kamala Harris announced her candidacy.  The intersection of those two answers is what triggered today’s post.

Quantity and quality are two different things.  Volunteers talk to family, friends and neighbors.  They also knock on strangers’ doors or engage them at public events.  For many of these individuals, Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda may still be “their truth.”  They will not be swayed by telling them, “You know, Trump has been lying to you about the economy, immigration and crime.”  First, volunteers would be replacing “their truth” with “my truth.”  Second, as Whitman suggested, people do not want to be told “their truth” is wrong.

New truths come not from external sources, but from within.  So, the question is, “How do we get voters to create their own new truth that Harris/Walz would be better, not only for America, but for them personally?”  This explains why Huer provides a more likely path to conversion when he says, “Many a fact, however, has been discarded when proven incorrect.”  What can you say to someone willing to listen that will get them to say to themselves, “Hmm, if that’s a fact, maybe I need to reconsider what I believe, my truth.”

In several recent posts, I have provided examples, largely from Project 2025, that are provable facts.  If Head Start is eliminated, families with young children will face $6,800 a year in childcare expenses.  The two-bracket income tax proposal will reward the wealthy and punish middle class families.  Mass deportation of migrant workers will further increase food prices.  However, these are things that were most apparent to me.  Volunteers must be prepared to respond on issues that are at the top of the list of the people they want to influence.

Let me give you one example how this might play out.

VOLUNTEER:  I can see you’re worried about the future.  Anything in particular?

VOTER:  I’m worried that, if Harris is president, she will take the country deeper and deeper into debt.  Yesterday, I got an email from my congressman who said, “Our national debt officially hit $35 TRILLION. If families across #FL04 are required to live within their means, then the federal government should do the same.” I think he’s right. [NOTE: The quote is an actual post from my favorite MAGA congressman Aaron Bean.]

VOLUNTEER:  We all recognize the need for government to live within its means.  But Project 2025 says that the federal government should be debt-free.  But to suggest families do that is just not correct.  Don’t we have mortgages?  Car loans?  Student loans?  Outstanding medical bills?  When a family budgets each year, they include loan payments in their calculations.  The president and Congress have to do the same thing.

VOTER:  Hmm?  Doesn’t that mean the annual payments increase as the debt goes up?

VOLUNTEER:  You’re referring to what is called “debt service” and you are correct.  Do you think Donald Trump will be better at that than Kamala Harris?

VOTER:  Yes.

VOLUNTEER:  That was not the case when he was president.  In four years, according to U.S. Treasury records, the debt increased by $6.7 trillion, more than any one-term president ever.  And over $4.0 trillion of that is due to the Trump tax cuts which mostly went to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.  Harris supports making those who have benefited most from doing business in America pay their fair share while Project 2025 proposes even more tax cuts for the same people who got the benefit last time.

VOTER:  Hmm?  I’m not sure I’m convinced.

VOLUNTEER:  That’s okay.  I just appreciate you giving me a chance to tell you why I’m so excited about America’s future under a Harris/Walz administration.  If it’s okay, I’d like to give you this brochure which has some links to confirm what we talked about and how future President Harris proposes to make it better.  Thank you for your time.

Fact-based.  Civil.  Respectful.  The issue is irrelevant.  It’s the VIBE.  Even if the voter still doesn’t like Harris, maybe he or she will still like the volunteer.  Which is one more “Hmm” moment.  Gee, this Harris supporter isn’t the radical socialist they’re painted to be.

It may not help on November 5th, but it will make a difference on January 20th.  I am betting voters who have these kinds of encounters with Harris volunteers are not going to believe the election was stolen or support an unconstitutional or violent effort to overturn the election.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Willie Sutton Rides Again

Politics

The answer to all your questions is MONEY!

Don Ohlmeyer/Former NBC West Coast President

This quote is most often used in relation to sports.  It made the news cycles again last week when the NFL, after claiming they were reinventing the kickoff for player safety, announced a plan to expand the regular season from 17 to 18 games.  At 17 games, the playoffs are already a war of attrition.  The answer of course, as Ohlmeyer said, is money.  Despite the fact half the squad may be on injured reserve, replacing a third pre-season game with one that determines playoff contenders is a no-brainer, figuratively for  the owners, literally for the players.

However, sports has no monopoly proving Ohlmeyer’s theory correct.  I realized that when I read “Does Trump even want to win?” by Washington Post columnist Jim Geraghty (August 5, 2024).  Geraghty presented a laundry list of behaviors, most recently his attacking Georgia governor Brian Kemp and his wife, that he suggested was the exact opposite of someone serious about winning an election.

  • “Trump is laying the groundwork for another election conspiracy theory and another set of excuses if he loses the state of Georgia in November.”
  • “Maybe it’s a sign Trump is panicked because switching Biden for Harris couldn’t have gone much better for Democrats.”
  • “Saturday night was just the seemingly billionth example that at any given moment, Trump cannot prioritize anything…”
  • He knows “…reporters are drawn to conflict, and ‘Trump vs. other Republicans’ is always a storyline that excites them.”
  • “It is fair to wonder whether Trump’s heart is in his check-the-box statements about the policies he intends to enact.”

But Geraghty waits until the final paragraph to launch the most damning possibility.

Trump had a fairly easy path to victory against Biden, and beating Harris is still very much within the realm of possibility. But he just doesn’t seem interested in staying focused and putting in the work. Great pick, Republicans.

Which is where Don Ohlmeyer comes back into the picture.  The question is, “If Donald Trump no longer has ‘a fairly easy path’ to  the White House,  does he have an easier path to achieve some other goal?”  Once again, the answer to Geraghty’s question, “Does Trump even want to win,” is MONEY.

Consider the following.  Much is being made about the personnel in a second Trump administration, and how the Earth One guardrails will be gone.  However, those best at greasing the skids for the “big grift,” Jared and Ivanka, will not be there either.  And their replacements, courtesy of the Heritage Foundation HR office, will not have Donald’s finances as their priority.  They will be reporting to the likes of Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts and Silicon Valley deep pocket Peter Thiel who have embedded their political operative JD Vance to be the COO of their enterprise to take permanent control of the federal government.

So Trump, if president, will have to serve as both CEO and COO of Trump DC, Inc.  There’s just one problem.  He no longer has a Pennsylvania Avenue hotel where foreign governments can reserve rooms for imaginary guests.  He has already tapped out the market for inflated memberships at Mar-a-Lago.  What’s left?  Continuing to scam the same small donors who show up at his rallies.  The same ones who send their hard-earned money to pay for Trump’s legal fees.  The same one’s who buy into the fear about armed IRS agents and transgender people destroying America.  In other words, the avenue to another financial windfall as president is less certain than it was eight years ago.

Which explains why, while Harris and Walz are barnstorming seven swing states, Trump is holding a single rally this week in Montana, a state he won by  20.4 percent in 2016 and 16 points in 2020.  Call it the Willie Sutton campaign strategy.  I’m sure if you asked him, “Why are you going to Montana,” Trump would reply, “That’s where the small donors who think I’m the second coming are. And all I have to do, is lie, which, as you know, comes second nature to me.  And they send me money.”

All this bodes well for Harris/Walz.  It does not, however, mean they are assured victory or can take their foot off the accelerator, whether gas or electric.  In Trump’s absence, the source of incoming missiles will more likely be Vance and Trump campaign surrogates.  Yesterday the Harris campaign demonstrated they have stocked the armory and are ready to fire back.  Attacks directed at Walz for his response to the Minneapolis riots after George Lloyd’s murder were immediately countered with audio of Trump praising the governor at the time.  And efforts to “swift-boat” Walz’ National Guard service were met with “swift” fact checking including letters from the Minnesota National Guard which disproved the false claims. 

This is not the Democratic party we are used to.  Efficient, effective and on message.  In 89 days, we will know the only thing that matters, whether it made a difference to voters.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Owning It

Politics

If you had the best-selling soft drink in America, wouldn’t you remind shoppers of that every day?  If you had a dominant share of the automobile market, wouldn’t you encourage non-buyers to experience the same joy of driving current owners have?  And if you had the most effective drug for treating a medical condition, wouldn’t you be flooding the airwaves with facts about your success?

Of course you would.  Which is why, for way too long, it puzzles me that Democrats have shied away from exploiting their advantage when they are on the popular side of most issues about which Americans care.

  • 74 percent agree “the wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes.” (September 2021 POLITICO/Morning Consult Poll)
  • 63 percent say “abortion should be legal in all or most cases. (Pew Research/March 2024)
  • 88 percent support universal background checks for gun purchases.  66 percent support bans on high-capacity magazines.  And 64 percent want a ban on assault weapons. (Pew Research/June 2023)
  • 62 percent have a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act.  (Kaiser Family Foundation/April 2024)
  • 74 percent favor free breakfast and lunch programs for all students. (Data for Progress Poll/2021)
  • 69 percent do not think teachers are paid fairly. (IPSOS/NPR/May 2023)
  • 65 percent oppose banning books from classrooms and school libraries in their own district. (IPSOS/NPR/May 2023)
  • 74 percent support U.S. participation in global efforts to address climate change.  66 percent favor federal government incentives to support alternative energy sources.  (Pew Research/March 2023)

It may have taken too long, but “the times, they are a-changing.” That is why I get excited when Tim Walz dares the Trump campaign to call him a “monster” for signing universal school breakfast/lunch legislation in Minnesota.  Or when Kamala Harris does not hesitate to promise when she is president she will sign legislation requiring universal background checks, red flag laws and a ban on assault weapons.  Or that Democrats now know it is not enough to tell voters Trump and Vance are on the wrong side of an issue.  Politicians who want to ban books or make your personal healthcare decisions or peek in your bedroom windows are just plain “weird.”  “Mind your own damn business!!!!”

Not only do Democrats have the right message, they have the right messengers.  All the charts in the world have failed to convince voters of the truth about the success of the Biden/Harris administration on the economy, immigration and crime.  But when a former prosecutor and a Nebraska farm boy tell you violent crime is at a 50 year low, undecided voters are more likely to say “Huh?” instead of “You’re lying.”  And when the say “Huh?” maybe, just maybe they Google “crime in the USA” and hit on the headline, “Joe Biden is correct that violent crime is near a 50-year low” (Source: Poynter.com based on FBI data).

Of course, they have not done this alone.  And perhaps their best ally is Trump, Vance and their brain trust.  You don’t like inflation?  Every page of Project 2025 has a solution to an imaginary problem that will raise the cost of living for every American.  Shut down NOAA and home insurance costs rise because actuaries have less reliable data.  Eliminate Head Start and the parents of children in that program now have to pay for nine months of day care per child.  Deport 10 million migrant workers and the cost of fresh produce will skyrocket. 

Which is why Donald Trump now lies about his attachment to the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025.  He originally bet on what he thought was the same ambivalent, disorganized and inarticulate Democratic Party which has let him and his sycophants get away with murder for eight years (hundreds of thousands if you count COVID).  A bet which seems likely to add to his portfolio of bankruptcies.

It reminds me of the sign in many retail establishments.  “If you break it, you own it.”  In this case, it’s just the opposite.  By owning their shared affinity with American voters on most issues and challenging GOP lies which camouflage that affinity, Harris and Walz can break a pattern of timidity which has plagued their party since the Reagan Era.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Build the Walz

Politics

Amelia Island/August 6, 2024/9:12 a.m.

If you have not placed your bets on the Kamala Harris Veepstakes, it is not too late.  As I previously wrote about the efforts to replace Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, it was less important who picked up the baton, but how and why it was done.  This morning I looked at her choice of running mate through the same lens.  And the winner is:

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz

And as I always try to do, this choice is not based on what most pundits feel are his strengths. 

  • Six years as governor with an approval rating of 61 percent. 
  • Having  grown up in rural Nebraska, he can celebrate the achievements of small town residents as opposed to the negative stereotype depicted by JD Vance.
  • He has been a …

FLASH:  At 9:19 a.m., CNN is reporting (drum roll) Tim Walz will be on the Democratic ticket in November.  Damn, scooped again!

With this news, let me share the counter-intuitive reason I think this is the perfect choice.  For undecided voters who are fed up with both parties, Walz is a reminder of a time when so many Americans sought a life/citizenship balance.  And how did they do that?  By focusing on their full-time lives and part-time engagement in civic give-back.

Tim Walz is not a career politician.  Following his graduation from high school in 1982, he joined the Army National Guard in which he served for 24 years.  During that same period he was a high school social studies teacher and assistant football coach.  His first foray into elective politics involved part-time jobs as county commissioner and state legislator.  His primary concern was for his family and students.  His elevation to presumptive vice-presidential nominee was certainly not planned as he suggested last night referencing his “rise” from high school geography teacher to national political figure.  “Life comes at you fast.”

Equally important, Walz is the embodiment of what middle-class voters would view as the American dream.  He did not attend an elite Ivy League university but earned a BS in social studies from Chadron State College and an MS in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.  All paid for, in part, benefit of the G.I. bill.  He served his country as a non-commissioned officer, a Command Sergeant Major in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment.  He remains married to his college sweetheart Gwen Whipple (Will Trump accuse her of squeezing the Charmin?) with whom they have a son Gus and daughter Hope.

His experience more than his words will resonate with many middle class voters.  And his time in the National Guard means, when he talks with veterans, it is from the perspective of a “foot soldier,” not the brass.  His story has no Silicon Valley sugar daddy or blown inheritance.  It is about hard work, self-reliance and a joy of life.  You cannot tell me that will not “play in Peoria.”

I’ll end on one quick observation about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.  If as Tim Russert might have said, “It’s Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,”  Shapiro was touted as the right “political choice.”  I disagree.  Ask Mike  Dukakis who assumed picking Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen would assure the Lone Star State would be in his column.  I wonder if there would have been a backlash by Keystone State voters.  “We elected him to be our governor and six months after telling us he wanted to serve Pennsylvanians, he wants to leave the state for DC.  He’s just another ambitious, hypocritical opportunist.  (Add your own expletive.)”  And you know, Trump and his MAGA surrogates would have a ball accusing Harris of caring more about the election than the nation and claim she could never carry the state without him.

Harris/Walz versus Trump/Vance?  My money is on the Democratic “10 letter ticket.”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP