In a lengthy statement, David Rothkopf sets out his concerns with the acceptance among some liberals and progressives of the overtly religious language employed by James Talarico and Andy Beshear in their Democratic campaigns.
Rothkopf is alarmed at this application of religious language and its acceptance by members of the Democratic coalition.
#ChristianNationalism #religion #Democrats #JamesTalarico #AndyBeshear
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https://davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/heaven-and-hell-in-american-politics
He's concerned that, though what Talarico and Beshear espouse runs directly counter to the Christian nationalism animating MAGA, their appeal to religion threatens the church-state wall as much as Christian nationalism does.
As a Jew (though a secular one with a family heritage of repudiating religion), he's also troubled by the Christian-specific language of Talarico and Beshear.
#ChristianNationalism #religion #Democrats #JamesTalarico #AndyBeshear
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These are valid and serious concerns, of course. At the same time, it has to be said, they ignore the centrality of religious discourse in American politics and the way the Trump's fascist movement has occupied center-stage precisely by promoting Christian nationlism.
From where I stand, to fail to address that dominance directly, by wresting religion away from the hands of fascist movements, is to yield to those movements.
Whether we like it or not, religion is part and parcel of American political life and long has been. And no one is better equipped to challenge the toxic Christian nationalism of MAGA than those who stand within the Christian tradition but who recognize that MAGA is offering a perverted, twisted, demonic version of Christianity.
This is especially important for those living in red states like Texas and Kentucky.
It's much easier to live in the milieu of the pluralistic, Democrat-living culture of the coastal regions, and to look askance at religion-saturated discourse in political life. Those living in the red heartland do not have that luxury, however. We've long seen that civil rights movements sparked by members of Black churches are an engine for radical democratic change in our society.
William Lindsey 
MacCruiskeen