I received the following response from a member of a Democratic county organization. “I am immediately put off by the name calling…If anyone is going to beat McClintock they’ll have to get beyond preaching to the converted.”
I want to be clear about my language. It is not name calling to state that the Republican Party is supported by QAnon, a terrorist threat. It is not name calling to state that the Republican Party is supported by the Proud Boys, a violent paramilitary threat. It is not name calling to state that the Republican Party is supported by the Oath Keepers, a violent anti-government militia. These are all facts. It is also a fact that members from each group, including key leadership, have been found guilty of, or on trial for, seditious conspiracy because of their behavior on January 6.
It is not name calling to state that more than half of Republican voters want America to be a Christian Nationalist nation.
If people want America to remain secular it is important to speak clearly. Do you want your children to go to school and pray to an evangelical Jesus (as defined by the Southern Baptist Convention)? Do you want your daughter’s life decisions to be made by evangelical Christian laws? Do you want American laws themselves to revolve around the evangelical Christian beliefs of today’s Republican Party?
If the answers to the above are yes, then keep saying they are merely conservative. Keep using the language from the 1980s and 1990s. After 2024, your wish will become true. Look at DeSantis in Florida right now substituting the SAT for a Christian Western Heritage test.
The 2024 election is about one thing – Do you want America to be a secular country where people of different faiths and beliefs enjoy equality? The Christian Nationalist Republican Party does not believe this. The Christian Nationalist Republican Party, backed by the violent and delusional QAnon, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers, is an existential threat to everyone who is not a member of the Southern Baptist Convention or a person who subscribes to their beliefs.
This is not normal politics. A normal political party wouldn’t be supported by delusional, bizarre, and extremely dangerous organizations. Every person who believes in secular democracy needs to adjust their language and speak clearly if we are to meet the moment.