Lies, Damned Lies...And Madison Cawthorn
History's just one damned thing after another, anyway
Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!- George Carlin
If you didn’t sleep through your 10th-grade civics class (as Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) did), you understand the importance of the separation of Church and State. Our Founding Fathers didn’t want their new country to make the same mistakes England had, where the Church of England and the State were indistinguishable.
Of course, Cawthorn, shameless Republican that he is, has no problem with mixing politics and religion if it gets him re-elected. But, like most on the Far-Right, Cawthorn is primarily concerned with his job security. The Constitution and everything associated with it are secondary and distant concerns.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Cawthorn, with no legislative accomplishments to fall back on, is teaming up with zealots like Pastor Greg Locke to reach Evangelicals on the Far-Right end of the ideological spectrum. Cawthorn, perhaps realizing that he may face a tough re-election battle in 2022, has been ramping up the Christian nationalist rhetoric.
‘Cuz America is and should remain the property of good, God-fearing, patriotic, Conservative White heterosexuals.
Cawthorn delivered a Christian nationalist harangue in which he declared that he is waging a “spiritual battle” in the supposedly “evil and vile” Washington, D.C., against people like Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her “cold, evil eyes.”
During his remarks, Cawthorn urged the conservative Christian audience to get involved in politics by encouraging them to follow the biblical examples of David, Daniel, and Esther, who he claimed “influenced the governments of their day to uphold Christian principles.”
Interestingly, Cawthorn never specifies how David, Daniel, and Esther “influenced the governments of their day to uphold Christian principles.” Cawthorn’s reference is curious, as David, Daniel, and Esther are Jewish characters in the Hebrew Bible who lived hundreds of years before Jesus and before Christianity existed as a religion.
But who’s going to let a wee bit o’ historical and/or theological inaccuracy stand in the way of a good story, eh?? Certainly not Madison Cawthorn.
His statement makes no sense in either a historical or religious sense, but no one in the audience thought to question him. But, of course, Cawthorn was preaching to the choir, so they wouldn’t have thought to embarrass him even if anyone caught the error.
Then again, history is just one damned thing after another. The actual order of the timeline is of concern only to losers and/or Liberals.
Predictably, Cawthorn doesn’t actually care about the coherence or accuracy of his statements and has now turned those remarks into a fervently Christian nationalist reelection ad for his campaign. The ad, which was released Sunday afternoon, urged Christians to “take our country back.”
I have no issue with Cawthorn or anyone else professing deeply-held religious beliefs. Religion is and should be a personal concern, one that has no place in public life. But, as with many like him on the Far-Right, Cawthorn cynically employs his Christian faith in the craven pursuit of political power. Left to their own devices, they’d turn America into Gideon, the Christocratic and blood-soaked dictatorship from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
The problem with Cawthorn’s theology is that it’s not centered upon Christian love, tolerance, and acceptance. Instead, it’s predicated on the GOP seizing political power and dismantling American democracy so that Republicans remain in control in perpetuity.
That sort of religious tyranny is precisely what the Founding Fathers were looking to avoid. While the phrase “separation of Church and State” is never mentioned in the Constitution, there’s ample anecdotal evidence to clarify their intentions. One could start with the Treaty of Tripoli (1797), which included the following statement:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims]; and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the countries[.]
Despite what Madison Cawthorn and others on the Far-Right may believe, America is NOT a Christian nation. It’s a nation ruled by secular governance in which approximately 75% of its citizens self-identify as Christian. Religion has its place in American life, just not in our government.
Cawthorn believes in a system that would turn America into a westernized version of Iran or Saudi Arabia- the very thing the Founding Fathers wanted to avoid.
Cawthorn may be claiming to be waging a “spiritual battle” against the wickedness of “evil and vile” Washington, DC. That “spiritual battle” is an effort to transform America into something resembling Gideon. Success in that pursuit would solidify his political future and re-establish the GOP as the permanent political majority.
Like most of the GOP these days, Madison Cawthorn cares about democracy only insofar as he can manipulate it to ensure his continued employment. It’s all- and only- about political power- seizing it, maintaining it, and eliminating any opposition to inevitable GOP domination.
The problem with that is that an entire political party is looking to diminish, if not ignore altogether, a large segment of the population that happens not to share their beliefs. Republican efforts at voter suppression in red states speak to the fear (if not the knowledge) that Republicans can’t compete and win on a level playing field. The only thing left to them, then, is to cheat. Their shameless defrauding of democracy demonstrates that they don’t care who knows what they’re doing or how they’re going about it.
That Madison Cawthorn is one of the loudest and most dishonest voices on the Far-Right is unsurprising. He has no legislative accomplishments to point to, and his integrity isn’t exactly the stuff legends are made of. Sadly, he’s inflated his resume, puffed himself up, and credited himself with achievements and accomplishments he’s never reached.
The youngest member of Congress knows that the only thing that counts is the impression a voter has of him when they cast their ballot. But, in that moment, are they going to remember his lies, lack of integrity, and/or his problematic grasp of biblical history?
They would if he was a Democrat. But Cawthorn’s a Republican, so he’ll almost certainly get a free pass. It’s just the way the world works.
It’s what Jesus would do, don’tchaknow??
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