Pandemic Politics: Takeaways from Night Three of the RNC: Ignorance, Fear, Lies, and Idolatry

 Convention season is winding down and night three of the Republican National Convention is in the books. One of the advantages of the technology age is virtually everything gets recorded and archived for posterity. We don't have to wonder if people actually said something or claim they said something. Instead, we can simply pull up the video and gasp in horror as they say it. At least that was my reaction to watching some of the videos from the RNC. Four things I noticed by watching and listening to the speakers during the convention are the sheer level of ignorance they espouse, the fear-mongering about what will happen if they lose power, the blatant falsehoods told about their political opponents, and, sadly, idolatry from America's supposedly evangelical vice-president, Mike Pence. As Christians, it is our obligation to speak truthfully in love at all times. Perhaps someone should send Mr. Pence a Bible with some highlighted passages for him to study. I wonder if he will regret having sold his soul when his political career is over, hopefully in four and a half months. 

Let's begin with ignorance: The Republican Party likes to proclaim its fondness for America's history and frequently cites actions and words by our founding fathers and other historical statesmen from the past. In many cases, they get it wrong so they just make up something that sounds like a historical figure might have said it. Here's Lara Trump supposedly quoting Abraham Lincoln:

Trump declared that Abraham Lincoln "once famously said, 'America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.'"

Only, he never said that. Ever. Lincoln did, however, condemn mob violence in an 1838 speech to young men. Perhaps that was the sentiment that Ms. Trump wished to convey. It is a common theme at the RNC this year, which I will get to in a moment. 

Another attempt at rewriting history came from Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) when he claimed that James Madison signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Sorry, Madison, wishful thinking won't make it so. Altogether, there were seven signatories from Virginia but Madison was not among them, including its author, and future president, Thomas Jefferson. History is not hard folks. Get it right.

Let's move on to fear, which seems to be the primary theme of the RNC. Lots and lots of well-off white people are trotted out to give speeches about all that we have to fear in 'Joe Biden's America.' There will be riots, looting, protests, massive hurricanes (okay, I made that one up but he must have something to do with them, right?). If Joe Biden is elected president, America will be in flames, socialism will be everywhere, your kids won't get taxpayer-funded religious education, and low-income apartments will be built in the suburbs. Gasp! 

Let's think about what all these rich white people are actually saying. America will be in flames with riots and protests. That is happening now but not because of Joe Biden. It is happening because of the failure of the Trump Administration to speak out against police brutality against people of color. It is happening because young, unarmed black men keep getting shot by police officers. It is happening because most Americans have had enough of the systemic racism in our institutions. Far from enabling more of that, Joe Biden will adopt policies that will end those things. 

Socialism will be everywhere if Joe Biden wins? Really? Has he announced a plan to take state ownership of the means of production? If so, I haven't heard of it yet. Do these people even know what socialism actually consists of? I don't think so. They conflate shared responsibility with socialism all the time. I suggest they stop buying auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, and any other form of shared responsibility insurance if they're worried about socialism. Let them put up a surety bond to pay all their own expenses out of pocket if a catastrophe occurs. 

Low-income apartments are coming soon to a wealthy suburban neighborhood near you if Joe Biden wins. So what? Don't the poor deserve to live in safe, clean neighborhoods? Are these rich white people insinuating that poor people don't deserve to enjoy the American dream? I don't get what they fear about poor people. I guess if you can isolate them to low-income neighborhoods you never have to drive through you can forget they even exist. That makes it easier to believe that Donald Trump cares about people like you. 

Then, there are the blatant lies told by every speaker at the convention. Donald Trump cares about you. He is a compassionate man who loves all Americans and works hard every day on their behalf. He does so on Air Force One as he flies to Mar-a-Lago, he does so as he plays golf, he does so as he sleeps because he is so smart he absorbs things. After all, his uncle was a doctor. 

Oh wait, you want me to be specific about the lies. Okay, buckle up Buttercup because it is going to be a bumpy ride. Burgess Owens claimed that we fought against socialism in WWII. Uh, what? The communists (socialists) actually fought on our side against the Nazis (fascism). Look it up some time Burgess. 

The night ended with Mike Pence claiming the Trump Administration has made America great again. Let's see, over 180,000 dead as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest total in the world. Yep, that's greatness. At least we are number one in something. Millions of Americans are jobless, neighborhoods are burning, secret police forces are arresting citizens, and only 30% of Americans approve of the job the president is doing. That sounds like greatness to me. 

One of my political heroes, Ronald Reagan, ran for re-election in 1984 based on the idea of whether we were better off in 1984 than we were four years earlier. The overwhelming answer given by a majority of Americans was 'YES.' This administration can't ask that question because the vast majority of Americans would have to say no. Sure, some rich white people would say yes. But what has the administration actually done for working Americans? 

Mike Pence has made a point to claim he is an evangelical Christian. I'm not here to cast doubt on the veracity of that claim as only God knows the true state of a man's heart. It does, however, seem hypocritical (at the very least) to make such a claim and then publicly lie about your political opponent. 

Historian John Fea put it this way (parentheses are mine):

Pence’s speech was filled with misleading statements, half-truths, and blatant lies. He claimed that Joe Biden wants to defund the police (Biden specifically denied this here). 

He said that Biden “opposed the operation” that killed Osama bin Laden.” 

He said that Donald Trump has “achieved energy independence for the United States.” (This actually happened in 2013 under President Obama) 

He said Joe Biden wants to “end school choice.” 

He said Joe Biden wants to scrap tariffs on Chinese goods. 

He said that “no one who required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator in the United States.” 

He said that Trump suspended “all travel from China” before the coronavirus spread. 

He said that Biden did not condemn the violence in American cities. 

He said that Biden supports open borders. 

All of these statements are either false or misleading.

Pence should know better and be held to a higher standard since he claims to be a man of faith. How he lives with himself, I have no idea. I know I could not do it, which is why I teach politics and will never run for office. 

Finally, Fea discusses the open idolatry Pence spoke about at the convention. He says it better than I ever could so I'll let his explanation suffice.

Finally, Pence has proven to be a master at fusing the Bible with American ideals. Again, this is not new. The patriotic ministers of the American Revolution did this all the time. It was heretical then. It is heretical now. Such a rhetorical strategy manipulates the Bible for political gain.

For example, Pence said, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and that means freedom always wins.” Pence is referencing 2 Corinthians 3:17: “now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” This passage has NOTHING to do with the political or “American” freedom Pence was touting in his speech. St. Paul spoke these words to encourage the Corinthian church to live Spirit-filled lives that would free them from the bondage sin, death, and guilt. Pence has taken a deeply spiritual message and bastardized it to serve partisan politics and this corrupt president.

In the same paragraph, Pence says, “So let’s run the race marked out for us. Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents, fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire. Let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom.”
Here Pence is referencing Hebrews 12: 1-2. That passage says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Again, see what Pence is doing here. Instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus, we should fix our eyes on “Old Glory,” a symbol of American nationalism. The “heroes” he speaks of are not the men and women of faith discussed in the previous chapter of Hebrews (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets), they are the “heroes” (as he interprets them) of American history. Jesus is the “author and perfecter” of our faith and [American] freedom.”

The use of the Bible in this way is a form of idolatry. My friend and history teacher Matt Lakemacher gets it right:

Hebrews 12, which Pence is “quoting” here, says to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. While Pence gets around to him (although not by name) it only comes after asking us to fix our eyes on “Old Glory” & “this land of heroes”. #RNC2020 #courtevangelicalpic.twitter.com/RoULj79TGd

— Matt Lakemacher (@matlake27) August 27, 2020

Pence’s mixing of Hebrews 12 and American nationalism is idolatry. It is blasphemy. The American flag is not the author and perfecter of our faith. #RNC2020 #CourtEvangelicals #ChristianNationalism

— Matt Lakemacher (@matlake27) August 27, 2020

Christians beware...the GOP is using you to achieve their political purposes. It is time to stand up and say enough is enough. 

Pandemic Politics: Christian Faith and the Party Conventions

 As we approach the end of the 2020 political party conventions, the rhetoric is ratcheting up once again between the Democrats and the Republicans. Each party wants to appeal to some segment of Christian voters in the battleground states. Six states appear to be the most important for the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. All six were carried by Donald Trump in 2016 and he needs to hold on to at least four of them to have any hope of victory in 2020. For the Republicans, it means holding on to a large swath of the white evangelicals Trump secured in 2016. According to Pew Research, 81% of self-identified, white evangelicals supported Trump. Early polling this year indicates his support may have fallen a bit but will still be similar to the numbers pulled by John McCain (74%) and Mitt Romney (78%) in 2008 and 2012, respectively. As a reformed, white evangelical myself, I find these numbers both easy to understand and deeply troubling. 

First, I understand the level of evangelical support on one level due to the chasm that has developed between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party on the issue of abortion. As the parties have become more polarized over the past several decades, the center has all but disappeared. From a political science perspective, that means that all (or nearly all) Republicans oppose abortion and all (or nearly all) Democrats support abortion rights, even if they personally oppose abortion. For many white evangelicals, nothing else matters. Their choice is seemingly quite easy. 

However, things are never as black and white as the parties make them seem, which is why I find white evangelical support for Donald Trump so troubling. Christianity is about far more than the latest front in the culture war. Christ did not come to Earth to make morally good citizens for hell. He did not command his disciples to go forth and teach people to make sound moral choices on their way to hell. He taught them to go forth and make disciples of every nation, tongue, and tribe, teaching them to observe all that he commanded. Notice that making the disciples comes before teaching obedience to His commands (or at least simultaneously with it). I have yet to find commands from Jesus to reform contemporary society, though I agree that Christians should be a force for good and fight against injustice on all fronts, whether it be the slaughter of the unborn or the killing of another unarmed person (regardless of race) by the police. 

Therein lies the problem with Donald Trump, at least for this reformed evangelical. He (and his party) use Christians to achieve their own political ends. Trump has no core beliefs. He has been pro-choice, pro-life, for Kamala Harris, against Kamala Harris, for Joe Biden, against Joe Biden, and so on. He will do or say anything to gain the adulation he desires. Like the beast of Revelation, he wants the world to fall at his feet and worship him. Sadly, many American Christians have done just that. 

The Bible teaches Christians to love their neighbors as themselves but their preferred presidential candidate spews hatred and deceit from the bully pulpit. A Washington Post analysis shows that Donald Trump has lied or put forth misinformation some 20,000 times. In a conversation with a Christian friend recently, he tried to make that equivalent to President Obama making what turned out to be a false statement about keeping your healthcare if you liked it. His point was that both parties lie so voting for one liar over another is really not a big deal. I would also say there is a difference between deliberately deceiving people and something turning out to be false. Motives matter, at least to this Christian. 

In addition, the Bible teaches Christians to be faithful to their spouses. Donald Trump has cheated on three wives, divorced two of them, paid hush money to a porn star, and admitted on tape to sexually assaulting women because he was a 'celebrity.' No matter, my Christian brethren say, Democrats are far worse. Really? Joe Biden married his current wife (Jill) after he was suddenly widowed at a young age when his wife and daughter died in a tragic automobile accident. By all accounts, Biden has been faithful to his second wife, though unverifiable claims of assault have been leveled against him, which he has categorically denied. Barack Obama was also faithful to his wife Michelle and raised two daughters (Sasha and Malia). Yet, he was mercilessly attacked by the right and accused of being secretly gay and frequenting bathhouses in Chicago. Sadly, my Christian brethren lap this up like a dog returning to its vomit instead of standing up against it. 

Of course, we all know who was the biggest proponent of the lies leveled against Barack Obama...the man occupying the White House right now. He perpetuated the so-called 'birther' movement and has suggested that Kamala Harris is ineligible to become president since her parents were immigrants, though she was born in Berkeley, CA. It is the same tactic he tried to use on 'little' Marco Rubio in the 2015-16 Republican Presidential debates. Something about not bearing false witness seems to be running through my mind right now. 

Granted, we are all sinners in desperate need of God's grace and forgiveness, which comes only by accepting the propitiatory sacrifice Jesus Christ made for those who would trust in Him to reconcile them to a holy God. We all break every commandment given to us by our Lord every day. We do it knowingly through acts of commission and we do it unknowingly through acts of omission. 

I am told by many of my Christian brethren that there is no way a Christian can support a Democrat, especially one that is pro-choice. My reply is always that there is no way an honest Christian can support Donald Trump or the modern Republican Party. It espouses 'faith and values' at its convention while endorsing a man who has neither. Convention speakers stand up and tell blatantly false lies about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. One speaker was removed from the lineup yesterday for retweeting a bunch of anti-semitic garbage earlier in the day. One couple praises Trump for removing an Obama era rule that required low-income housing be built near new suburban communities. In other words, keep the non-white riff-raff out so our property values don't decline. All the while, speaker after speaker claims Trump is a decent, honest man. I've seen the president's tweets, listened to his lies for four long years, and watched my country burn because the man in the Oval Office cares only about getting attention. Instead of working to resolve longstanding issues of race, he denies they exist. Instead of working to ensure healthcare access for everyone, he sues to undercut the Affordable Care Act at a time when 30 million Americans lost their jobs and their healthcare. Instead of letting the doctors and scientists present Americans with the facts about COVID-19, he dismissively claimed it would be gone by early March. Nearly six months later and 180,000 Americans have died due to his mishandling, misdirection, and misleading messaging. Ah, but at least he's against abortion. Today. Who knows what he'll believe tomorrow.

Pandemic Politics: The World Turned Upside Down

It is now early August of the year that shall not be named. We all long for a return to the 'before times' when we knew nothing about the virus that has turned the world and our country upside down. Since March we have seen nearly 4.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and more than 155,000 confirmed deaths. Public health experts estimate the actual number of infections is six to ten times higher, which would mean somewhere between 30 and 45 million people have been infected in the U.S. Unfortunately, that is far fewer than what we need to gain herd immunity (if it exists with this virus). We need somewhere between 200 and 240 million people to be infected before that happens. In the meanwhile, our best bet is to wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, and avoid closed-in spaces such as theatres, bars, restaurants, and churches. Yet, with flu season just a couple of months away, we could be in for a very bad fall/winter season. 

The early response to the pandemic was to cease non-essential economic activity, which was, in my humble opinion, the right move. Unfortunately, many states jumped the gun on restarting their economies, which also provided the virus with a path to continue its assault on America. Patience is a virtue that many lack, especially political leaders whose very careers may hang on the performance of the economy. The saddest part is that states such as Florida were on the verge of crushing the spread of the virus in early May. One more month of a complete lockdown might have been enough to prevent further spread of the virus. Yes, the economic pain might have been difficult for many people but the result of opening too soon has been a dramatic spike in cases and a trebling of deaths. More than 7,000 Floridians have now died from COVID-19 and the state is second only to California in the total number of cases. It did not have to be this way. 

Nationally, the economy has taken a terrible dive. More Americans are out of work as a result of the mishandling of the pandemic than were out of work when the economy collapsed during the Great Recession from 2007-09. The graphic below shows the unemployment rate for those 16 years of age or older from 2007 to the present.

As you can see, the unemployment rate steadily declined following the Great Recession and had reached what economists refer to as 'full employment' in February of this year. In a nutshell, full employment is a situation where anyone who wants a job can find one. Those who are classified as unemployed are usually either underemployed or transitioning between jobs. That number will always be around 3% of the workforce for a variety of reasons. It may take a year or more before we get anywhere near that number again because many businesses that were forced to shut down in March may never reopen or may downsize when they do reopen. 

In addition to the unemployment rate, GDP fell in the 2nd quarter of the year by a whopping 32.9%, which is the worst single-quarter decline in history. The effect of this decline will be with us for quite some time and will disproportionately impact certain industries, such as hospitality and tourism. The loss of income means people won't travel for vacations to places such as Walt Disney World or book cruise vacations (if and when they are allowed to resume operations). Sales at restaurants and hotels will be well below average for a very long time. Airlines will likely suffer as well due to the lack of travelers taking vacations. See below for additional information.

Beyond the impact on consumers is the impact the decline will have on government revenue. Any substantive decline in GDP results in a decline in government revenue, which means the federal, state, and local governments will have to borrow more (or be granted funds from the federal level) to accomplish basic services demanded by citizens. Since 48 of the 50 states have constitutional amendments that require them to balance their budgets each year, the feds will need to step in and help. But where will they get the money? By borrowing against the future, of course. But our national debt is already over $26.5 trillion and rising. Pre-pandemic, the Trump Administration expected to add $4.8 trillion to this total in his first four years and another $3.5 trillion in his second term. Due to the pandemic, that amount is now at $6.8 trillion plus whatever stimulus package emerges from Congress in the next week or so plus the shortfall from the reduction in revenue due to the economic collapse. Needless to say, President Trump is on track to increase the national debt more than any of his predecessors in just four years and leave future generations with the bill. 

Why does the debt matter, you might ask? The short answer is that it matters because we must pay interest on it every year. For the current fiscal year, that interest comprises about 10% of the federal budget, or about $405 billion with two full months left in this fiscal year. That's money we cannot use to fund education, infrastructure programs, military improvements, social safety net programs, or anything else. By the end of the fiscal year, the interest on the debt alone may be a record $600 billion! Compare that to the total deficit in President Obama's final year of $672 billion. Trump's total deficit for the year was expected to be about $1.3 trillion pre-pandemic. His post-pandemic total is estimated to hit $3.7 trillion for the year. It will likely be another trillion above that due to the next fiscal package coming from Congress. 

The point of this is not to blame the president for the debt or the deficit, though he does deserve some of that to be sure, especially for the massive increase in debt attributed to his 2017 tax cuts and boosts in military spending. The point is that this situation is far worse than it had to be. Competent leadership from Washington at the outset of the pandemic would have allowed us to get through this with far less pain, both in terms of deaths and economic disaster. Consistent messaging from the White House with a focus on masks, physical distancing, and maintaining the shutdowns until we had the virus under control would have lessened the impact. The same can be said about providing testing supplies and especially rapid testing. Tests are useless when the results take 10-14 days to get. Money should have been focused on contact tracing, enforcing self-quarantine rules, etc. Very little of that is being done. Tourists show up on half-empty airplanes one day and are traipsing around Walt Disney World the next. 

The bottom line is this: We are in for a lot of pain and heartache in the months (perhaps years) that lay ahead. We have a president that has failed to lead, buried his head in the sand, and when he does speak, lies to the American people about what is really going on. Recently, he suggested postponing the November election due to concerns that voting by mail will result in tremendous levels of fraud. Of course, there is no evidence to support such a claim. Many Republicans, including the Lincoln Project and the founder of the Federalist Society have had enough. They have reached the conclusion that four years of Joe Biden/??? will be more tolerable than another four years of rudderless government under Donald J. Trump. Hopefully, the voters agree with their assessment in November. If there is an election.