Here Goes!!! Let's get one thing straight...THERE WAS NO VOTER FRAUD during the 2020 election that could have possibly changed the outcome! Numerous investigations, several audits mostly backed by paper ballots, & evidence presented to 60 courts that were thrown out for not being credible, all proved there were no signs of widespread voter fraud! Even the Trump-inspired cyber ninjas spent several months trying to change the results of the Arizona election, only to show Biden's margin of victory actually increased. Also consider that at least 3 Biden states would have to flip to change the results. I would expect crackpot white supremacists & QAnon conspiracy nuts to be pushing this voter fraud/stolen election nonsense, but it's especially disturbing to me that evangelicals have taken the lead in promoting such mind-numbing poppycock. Some pastors have totally lost their minds: https://www.rawstory.com/oral-roberts-pastor-prophet-biden/.
As for mail-in or dropbox ballots which Ohio has successfully used for years, they are cross-checked through signature verification & matched with current voter registration records, making the preposterous voter fraud claims as seen in the hyped-up 2000 Mules movie practically impossible. Another baseless claim that some areas had more votes than registered voters has been thoroughly debunked. Other absurd QAnon-inspired allegations propagated by the feather-headed Mr. My Pillow feature Dominion voting machines being compromised by such unsavory sources as Communist Chinese hackers, Israeli space lasers, Italian spy satellites, George Soros or the long-departed Hugo Chavez. Never mind that President Trump's own DHS called the 2020 election the most secure in history: https://www.vox.com/2020/11/13/21563825/2020-elections-most-secure-dhs-cisa-krebs. It is so hard for starry-eyed Trumpeters to believe Biden got 81 million votes, failing to grasp that having Trump on the ballot not only energizes his own base, but REALLY energizes the anti-Trump vote.
The only reason the validity of the 2020 election even became an issue is because the Trump base repeatedly believed him when for years he falsely railed against rigged elections & voter fraud, while they kept hearing those same lies in unison from several conservative mouthpieces: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/trump-voters-big-lie-stolen-election/629572/. The "big lie" & MAGA movement is at its core a cult mentality that could culminate in our democracy falling into an authoritarian dictatorship. The obstacles these tyrannical autocrats couldn't overcome in 2020 & 2021 to take back power, they're scheming to correct & succeed for 2024. The resentment felt by followers who think their guy was cheated out of office is accompanied by a mindset of "anger, envy, hate, rage, and revenge—in which a sense of injury and anxiety become key to the group’s identity"...https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/april-web-only/holy-week-good-friday-cross-christ-evangelical-culture-wars.html.
As for actual evidence, the signs are overwhelming that Trump & his cronies in various ways did try to change the 2020 election results! The coup attempt which the Jan. 6th congressional committee is in the process of proving occurred, has made the stakes so high in future elections that policy positions shouldn't even matter these days: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/07/jan-6-was-worse-than-you-remember-it-must-define-our-politics/. Make no mistake, what we've witnessed marks the first time in American history a president tried to steal an election & stay in power, basically looking to declare himself dictator. The orange menace has always sought the same status his good friend the Russian dictator holds. In case you missed it, Trump even said Putin's invasion of Ukraine was smart, savvy & genius: https://news.yahoo.com/trump-calls-putin-genius-savvy-151552807.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall. Why would any of us even want a Putin puppet as our own president?...hit this next link, scroll down & click on the video to If Trump thinks Putin is smart, what does that make Trump?: https://accountability.gop/campaigns/.
When polling indicates two-thirds of the GOP base still believe the 2020 election was stolen & half of those folks agree violence might be justified to rectify the situation, America has a YUGE problem! The most unhinged 2nd Amendment thugs among them even seem itching to start a civil war. Our constitutional democracy cannot hold up when the credibility of our elections is being systematically threatened & undermined by what is essentially a far-right fascist movement. When we do get to the afterlife, it'd be interesting to ask those citizens who lived in Germany a century ago how did that work out for them?...
The evangelical church is being badly damaged by the perception they're leading the way in these efforts to deny us our rights & freedoms. When two-thirds of Americans do not want Roe repealed, it's a sign hearts & minds haven't been changed: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/only-31-back-overturning-roe-v-wade-in-poll-done-after-supreme-court-leak/ar-AAX1DWU?ocid=EMMX&cvid=f699f7d0c4d146d08970a1d520e26604. Should the court force an anti-abortion edict on the nation, a backlash is sure to follow (https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-poll-overturning-roe-more-likely-to-help-democrats-than-republicans-by-double/) & such a ruling is likely to be short-lived. I've always warned about Christians having the tunnel vision to vote based only on a singular issue, especially with all the other baggage we're now seeing with the Trumpist Republican Party. And by uncompromisingly siding with a cult master who's a serial philanderer & liar (verifiable count of 30,000 lies while in office) with evangelicals being regarded as Trump's most loyal base, the hypocrisy & moral duplicity are abhorrent & driving others away from the church in droves: https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-one-evangelical-pastor-left-093340569.html.
Another YUGE problem constantly spreading propaganda & conspiracies is the grifting/disingenuous right-wing media spearheaded by Fox fake news, our country's version of Russian TV: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/carlson-shows-why-cable-news-is-ideal-terrain-for-election-misinformation/ar-AAX079f. Carlson is among the pundits who has often praised, excused & empowered Putin, as Russian TV has even aired his show. Such outlandish show hosts routinely exchange facts & moral integrity for ratings & profits with messaging that amps up their audiences: https://www.pbs.org/video/fox-effect-1651527625/?source=social&fbclid=IwAR0tTwsRU1WwIbcQL-Z7U1SmGTeYaiPCrf4N_TlqMz64k3613nMpSb10WpI. Before Putin went on the attack, I firmly believed the lying far-right media was the single biggest problem America faced, fueling the destructive false narratives & bitter divides.
So overall if you're concerned about the future of our country, the GOP & the evangelical church, it's time to jump off the Trump train. The Dems are far from perfect but at least they're not fascists, & for now they're the only viable alternative until the GOP regains some form of sanity. For a decade I've personally been studying & fighting in this GOP intra-party civil war on behalf of the rational side (known as RINOs until I finally gave up on the party), but the radical loony extremists keep winning & keep getting worse! Their Frankenstein media monster keeps dishing out the increasingly toxic garbage that followers keep swallowing. I fear permanent damage is being done to the pillars of our governing institutions & our Constitution, but if these far-right lunatics ever retake power, all bets are off for our democracy.
As a long-time Evangelical, Republican & Fox News watcher back when they were constructive, I do believe Satan is using this current Christian nationalist movement to deceive, tarnish & ultimately destroy the evangelical church along with democracy, which for now he's succeeding: https://www.yahoo.com/news/conservative-urges-american-christians-to-reject-the-new-rights-authoritarian-impulses-190625309.html. This isn't the type of message heard from pulpits on Sunday mornings, but perhaps it should be: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/evangelical-trump-christians-politics/620469/. And believing a lie like the big lie undermines a person's Christian witness as a purveyor of truth. To save the church, Christians should abandon MAGA & embrace genuine faith movements such as this: https://www.christianpost.com/politics/new-curriculum-helps-churches-combat-christian-nationalism.html. We also need new church leaders like these who've maintained their moral values by not bowing at the altar of Trump: https://religionnews.com/2021/09/10/ex-southern-baptists-beth-moore-and-russell-moore-share-laugher-regrets-erlc-trump-evangelical/.
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