Donald Trump made the Religious Right implode in less than a week

[rug]

It wasn’t pretty.

Jack Jenkins
Senior Religion Reporter at ThinkProgress.
8 hrs ago

For decades, it’s been widely understood that religious conservatives are a force to be reckoned with in American politics. Millions of evangelical Christian voters — led by dynamic, charismatic leaders of the so-called “Religious Right” — have bent our electoral system to their will, helping propel Republican candidates into the White House on several occasions. Even as their power waned in recent years, political analysts insisted that the era of “values voters” is not yet over, as faith-fueled activists worked to widen their rock-solid networks to include conservative Catholics, Jews, and America’s increasingly influential Mormon population.

But that was before this week — when Donald Trump effectively forced the Religious Right’s entire political apparatus to collapse in on itself.

This assessment may sound hyperbolic, but it is not the bullish musings of left-wing pundits. In fact, it is now the lament of several within the conservative Christian movement itself, many of whom watched in horror this past week as the traditionally ironclad bonds of the right-wing faithful were torn asunder as leaders battled over whether or not to continue supporting Trump’s increasingly chaotic campaign for president.

The dispute centered around a core question challenging right-wing faith leaders, who traditionally hold commanding influence over their flock: Can a committed conservative Christian support a candidate like Donald Trump, who not only struggles with faith questions but also has a record of, at the very least, bragging about sexually assaulting women?

https://thinkprogress.org/how-trump-just-made-the-religious-right-implode-in-less-than-a-week-d47a058945a1#.8qw5xktpd

[Missn-Hitch]

1. Good.

I will have a drink to that.

[slingsam]

2. I'm starting to think we might owe The Yammering Yam a Vote of gratitude

He has single-handedly accomplished what we failed to do for years.......

Destroy the GOP
Destroy the Religious Right
Destroy Conservative Ideology
Destroy the Tea Party (Do you ever hear of them any longer?)

And He made President Obama produce his Birff Certificate.......


Not one of us came close.


(where the hell do I find this so called "sarcasm" tag??????)

[thecrow]

3. You mean this one?

it's in the smilies catalog

[NastyRiffraff]

4. You have to go to the next group of smilies

just click on the "..." button on the bottom right.

[stone space]

6. It seems like everything Trump touches dies. He's toxic.

He has single-handedly accomplished what we failed to do for years.......

Destroy the GOP
Destroy the Religious Right
Destroy Conservative Ideology
Destroy the Tea Party (Do you ever hear of them any longer?)

At this rate, pretty soon Trump's only backup will be the NRA and their fellow gundamentalists.

I wonder how far this pattern of implosions could go...

After all, everything he touches...

[Initech]

5. The fact that religious right leaders are standing by Trump after this latest fiasco...

Really says a lot about what they really think about "family values".

[gopiscrap]

7. Fuck 'em may they all go to Hell!!!

[mountain grammy]

8. “The 2016 presidential election will be remembered as the last spasm of energy

from the religious right before its overdue death." We can only hope.

[Upthevibe]

10. Excellent article for those who've been wondering how Christians are looking

at this. I have several RW Christian friends who I was born and raised with in TX. I still love them and will not let this effect our relationships. I believe they feel the same way. I now live in CA and have for 25 years. However, we've been friends and still see each other even after all this time. We don't talk politics at all. I would be interested regarding who is on what side.

[czarjak]

9. Delightful...

[Still Blue in PDX]

11. Last night on NPR I heard a Baptist Pastor in TX, Robert Jeffress, explaining why he supports Trump,

and it didn't make a lick of sense to me.

http://www.npr.org/2016/10/16/498171498/pastor-robert-jeffress-explains-his-support-for-trump?ft=nprml&f=

I spent almost a decade of my life as an evangelical Christian (it was just a phase), and there is absolutely nothing that would have gotten me to vote for Trump then any more than I would vote for him now.