GOP won't let democracy stand in the way of imposing their religion as law!

Ohio GOP vow to block abortion voting results

Early Wednesday morning after the results were in that nearly 60 percent of Ohio voters had cast a ballot to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, a GOP state representative in North Dakota had this message for Republicans in the Buckeye State: “Ignore the results.” Literally.  Why? Simple, because to North Dakota State Representative Brandon Prichard his religious belief that abortion must be banned by law was not going to be blocked by a little thing like democracy.

That is why Prichard wrote on social media: "Direct democracy should not exist. Case-in-point: Ohio legalizing the slaughter of babies.” He then urged Ohio Republicans to put their religious beliefs over our democratic Republic by writing, “It would be an act of courage to ignore the results of the election and not allow for the murder of Ohio babies.” He then added, “We are probably 10 years away from this opinion being acceptable though.”

In response, Prichard was pressed by Liam Siegler, a writer who has been published by the conservative National Review, who wrote, "I don't like today's results either but we have a constitution for a reason." But Prichard—who in the past had called on conservative states to "put into code that Jesus Christ is King and dedicate their state to Him"—responded defiantly, “Our political process which has been high jacked by progressives over the last 100 years is the reason to allow the murder of babies. Sorry friend, not a good take."  

Prichard’s response came just hours after Republican and religious zealot Rick Santorum on Newsmax shared a similar sentiment after the Ohio results. That is when the former GOP Senator stated: “I thank goodness that most of the states in this country don’t allow you to put everything on the ballot because pure democracies are not the way to run a country.”

But the most alarming response come on Thursday when Ohio GOP elected state officials began pledging to undermine the new constitutional amendment. In a press release appearing on the official Ohio House website they wrote: “To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative.” Yes, Republicans are vowing to strip Ohio court’s of the ability to enforce the newly approved Amendment. In that press release, the state representatives made it clear they are doing this because of their religious beliefs. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) said, “We will continue to be a voice for every child in their mother's womb who cannot speak for themselves.”  While Representative Beth Lear (R-Galena) stated, “No amendment can overturn the God given rights with which we were born.”

The worst part for those of us who don’t want to live in a religious theocracy is that these reactions are simply coming attractions of what we will increasingly see from Republicans as they continue to lose elections. That was the very warning of historian Kristin Du Mez, author of the must read NY Times best-selling book, “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” and who also writes a Substack newsletter that I highly recommend.   

I spoke to Du Mez this week on my SiriusXM show (excerpt of interview below) and--as with my last conversation with her--it was both informative and deeply concerning.

I asked Du Mez point blank is the concept of Christian nationalism—where our laws are based on the Bible—compatible with democracy? The historian explained that when you hear people on the religious right say, “We are not a democracy, we are a republic,” what they mean is our nation in their eyes is “a Christian Republic.” Du Mez continued, “This is linked to the idea that America was founded as a distinctly Christian nation,” meaning that “constitutional rights cannot be interpreted in ways that goes against God's law in ways, for example, that support LGBTQ rights.” She warned that for some on extreme right, that view is “not compatible with a pluralistic understanding of American democracy.”

Du Mez did, however, repeatedly make the point that the bulk of those who are conservative Christians—and even those who believe in Christian nationalism—do accept the compromises inherent in a democratic Republic. But she warned that could change if the GOP continues to lose elections—especially on issues like abortion.

In fact, the historian shared that after Tuesday’s vote in Ohio, she saw some on the right advocating that they need to better explain the issues surrounding abortion in an effort to sway voters. However, alarmingly the response of others was along the lines of, “We can't trust the population to make the moral choice. They don't need more compelling testimonies. They need to have the power taken from them.” That is akin to what North Dakota Rep Prichard was openly advocating—and apparently working to achieve in the next ten years as he wrote.

I also probed if the Jan 6 attempted coup— led in part by the current Speaker of the House/Christian nationalist Mike Johnson—was inspired by the idea of rejecting democracy to keep Donald Trump in power because he had delivered on religious issues they deeply believe in, such as appointing Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.  Du Mez explained, “I think we have to consider that as part of what's happening here.” She continued, “So when we think of Christian nationalism, it really depends on this understanding of us versus them…There's a division between ‘real Americans,’ ‘true Americans’ who are championing a God given destiny for the nation versus all the rest.”

She continued on to note that “a strong sense of persecution” has been intentionally fermented “inside evangelical spaces.” The Christian nationalism expert added, “In just the last 15 years or so, conservative Evangelicals--given their framework of fear and embattlement, seeing demographic changes--feel like their views are no longer at the center of American culture and instead are now increasingly marginalized.”

Du Mez then warned where this could lead: “All of these things come together to create a sense of urgency, even desperation and radicalization.” Yes, she said “radicalization,” the same term used to explain the process for what has inspired terrorism in the past.  That is what we are dealing with.

That led to Du Mez uttering what may have been the most jarring line of the interview about people like Johnson and a subset of Christian nationalists: “Along with that comes this ends justifying the means mentality,” adding, “If God is on your side, anything you do is righteous.”

That mindset literally can justify anything from future attempted coups to acts of violence—which we have seen in the past by the right and must be concerned with heading into the 2024 election.

The best-selling author did offer ways to counter the potential for increased radicalization among the right. Du Mez shared that “in terms of my broader historical scholarship, and around the rise of authoritarianism globally, what's really important in in moments like these is to strengthen the center right.”  Adding, the key is empowering “those moderate Christians who hold those conservative values but can hold them in such a way that is still acceptable for a flourishing civil society, for a flourishing democracy.”

Christian nationalism may actually be the fuel that MAGA runs on. After all, in 2020, Trump expanded his support among White evangelical Protestants winning 84% of their vote, up from 77% in 2016. They view Trump as their imperfect but effective vessel to impose their religious beliefs as law.  With that in mind, you can understand why nearly 60% of Republicans now view the Jan 6 attack as an act “defending freedom” per a CBS poll. After all, “If God is on your side, anything you do is righteous.”

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