Modern American politics makes a lot more sense once you realize that nobody's particularly interested in winning, they're interested in seeing the other guy lose.
You're not wrong. But this demographic is weird. I posted a few days ago about Roy Moore's Evangelical supporters. That shit about how he never asked a girl out without asking her mom's appreciation first? That appeals to this group. That was a win for him and a confirmation of their values, regardless of how tangentially condemning and slimy that felt to everyone else. That shit about how he's being witch-hunted and persecuted by Alabamian outsiders and GOP establishment? That appeals to this group too. Every one of them feels like their denomination is under attack, modern-day biblical persecution. The recursively insular nature of this denominational demographic cannot be overstated, and they all want Moore to win because fuck the Democrats for sure - you're absolutely not wrong there - but also because no one else will stand for Evangelical theopolitics. There's not a better option for them, but also Moore is loved in this community. I'll leave you with their words, an excerpt taken from a friend of a friend's Facebook page. With 1,035 total friends, this post got 122 likes, 12 shares. I won't talk about the comments... And I’m biased. That's right. I don’t throw my friends under the bus when they get accused of something with highly questionable timing and which no one can prove. You treacherous, stinking Judases - you Republicans, who have abandoned Roy Moore. You are despicable. I pray . . . I pray . . . to God Almighty that you be accused of sexual assault – FALSELY – and that no one, absolutely NO ONE, comes to your aid. You reap what you sow, you false ones. Your loyalty is like the morning dew, disappearing at the first sign of heat. You turn on your own and you eat him, like a mother destroying the fruit of her own womb. Yes, I just compared you to a child murderer. Same deal, different person, similar friend total, similar like/share ratio: I repeat, this demographic is weird, and their fanatical support of theopolitics is stronger and more perverse than your OP gives them credit.I’m mad as h_ll about the Roy Moore Accusations!
You want some real guilt? Here you go. You waited until just before one of the most important elections in our nation’s history, an election involving the only man in anyone’s living memory to stand for God Almighty and His word and really, truly mean it, even putting his life on the line! And you, you pathetic simpering weasels, report on the righteous man who intends to stand against the forces of darkness, the forces of infant-killing, of marriage perversion, of Constitution-subversion! You chose to side with the Prince of Darkness over the man standing against the evil of our nation, which is slipping rapidly into Hell! And you expect us to believe you!? No, I can’t, I won’t, I’ll never believe you!
Praying for someone to suffer like Job! How Christian! I wasn't raised in the fire-and-brimstone tradition, but I had more exposure than I would have chosen to the Episcopalian brand of Christianity when I was growing up. I don't remember being taught that prayers were to be used to smite one's enemies. Tons of hypocrites among our sect, but we at least feigned goodness. I don't want to condemn people en masse, but raising a child in one of the more virulent forms of Christianity feels close to child abuse. It must be a rare person who has the fortitude to make their own way in the world after being exposed to that shit.I pray . . . to God Almighty that you be accused of sexual assault – FALSELY – and that no one, absolutely NO ONE, comes to your aid.
Louder for those in back. It's so hard to make those who haven't lived Fire and Brimstone fundies understand this. When one side is 'Right with God' and the other is full of baby murderers, there isn't much room for nuance.I repeat, this demographic is weird, and their fanatical support of theopolitics is stronger and more perverse than your OP gives them credit.
I don't know, man. Marguerite Perrin has her place in this I guess, but the two people I quoted up there are basically normal except for theology and politics. One of them's a Lt. Col. in the USAF reserves with years of experience in military law - a legal advisor/mentor for international forces in Afghanistan and Kuwait/Iraq. Conservative for sure by all other metrics, but it's religion that drives their support. The other worked in senior administration for the Office of the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for nearly a decade under Moore himself - knows Moore personally as a "man of God and a brother in Christ". Again, religion drives their support. Both posts were within 2 days of today, all news considered. I chose those two specifically to avoid Perrin-types.
I sense there's a story behind it, and I sense you know it.
That is not a modern distinction. "that guy's just like me" has been a factor in politics since Andrew Jackson at least.
