First, let's correct the identification of "faith" as "whatever you decide to believe in." You no more "decide" what you believe than gay people "decide" to be gay. 90% of the political conversations in which I participate, in person and online, have nothing to do with facts, and everything to do with declaring tribal loyalties.
First, let's correct the identification of "faith" as "whatever you decide to believe in." You no more "decide" what you believe than gay people "decide" to be gay. 90% of the political conversations in which I participate, in person and online, have nothing to do with facts, and everything to do with declaring tribal loyalties.
As Boss Tweed used to say "I don't care who people vote for as long as I can pick the candidates." Team red vs. team blue is the current sporting event, but both sides are equally clueless. Trump is anathema because he at least tries to sabotage team red's agenda (make rich people richer). But the idea that D's don't want to make rich people richer is equally as ridiculous as any "faith" from the Trumpiest faithful.
I'd suggest the move toward the religious was at least suggested by the civil rights movement's inspiration of using churches as the nexus of organization. Of course as soon as (Reverend) Martin Luther King started talking about sharing the wealth, he was assassinated.
In any case, the political right often mimics and follows the political "left" (there really is no left left, hence the quotes). For example, Jimmy Carter deregulated trucking and airlines, both showing Reagan how to deregulate, and throwing the workers in those heavily unionized industries under the bus. Teamsters endorsed Reagan in the next election.
Finally, a word about the religious right. They're more interested in stirring up dissatisfaction and dissent than in any principles. Jerry Falwell supported abortion until his political masters told him to stop doing that. To kill the New Deal, dissent, any dissent, must be honored, and sabotaging government is just an extra bit of dissent. It goes on all the time. To give you an idea of how well funded it is, the NY Times reports the Kochs spent $889 million in the 2016 elections. The pseudo-lefty (actually capitalist's capitalist) George Soros spent $27 million. The amount of money beats any other predictor of outcomes. Perhaps the most radical recent departure from conventional wisdom was Bernie Sanders' appeal to the internet to fund his campaign. That's a hopeful sign, but certainly no guarantee of victory.
First, let's correct the identification of "faith" as "whatever you decide to believe in." You no more "decide" what you believe than gay people "decide" to be gay. 90% of the political conversations in which I participate, in person and online, have nothing to do with facts, and everything to do with declaring tribal loyalties.
As Boss Tweed used to say "I don't care who people vote for as long as I can pick the candidates." Team red vs. team blue is the current sporting event, but both sides are equally clueless. Trump is anathema because he at least tries to sabotage team red's agenda (make rich people richer). But the idea that D's don't want to make rich people richer is equally as ridiculous as any "faith" from the Trumpiest faithful.
I'd suggest the move toward the religious was at least suggested by the civil rights movement's inspiration of using churches as the nexus of organization. Of course as soon as (Reverend) Martin Luther King started talking about sharing the wealth, he was assassinated.
In any case, the political right often mimics and follows the political "left" (there really is no left left, hence the quotes). For example, Jimmy Carter deregulated trucking and airlines, both showing Reagan how to deregulate, and throwing the workers in those heavily unionized industries under the bus. Teamsters endorsed Reagan in the next election.
Finally, a word about the religious right. They're more interested in stirring up dissatisfaction and dissent than in any principles. Jerry Falwell supported abortion until his political masters told him to stop doing that. To kill the New Deal, dissent, any dissent, must be honored, and sabotaging government is just an extra bit of dissent. It goes on all the time. To give you an idea of how well funded it is, the NY Times reports the Kochs spent $889 million in the 2016 elections. The pseudo-lefty (actually capitalist's capitalist) George Soros spent $27 million. The amount of money beats any other predictor of outcomes. Perhaps the most radical recent departure from conventional wisdom was Bernie Sanders' appeal to the internet to fund his campaign. That's a hopeful sign, but certainly no guarantee of victory.