Theocrats on the March
They're organized and they care way more about culture war bullshit than you.
Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel made headlines earlier this year when, at a Senate candidate forum, he declared that the separation of church and state did not exist:
This is the kind of statement you expect from a socially stunted troll, which is what Mandel is. You might be inclined to write off his sentiment as a soulless loser saying anything in attempt to be elected. That is a grave mistake.
For one, the odds of Mandel being our next Senator are better than me or anyone reading this would like to believe. I know the camp of Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan is licking their chops as the prospect of facing Mandel in the general election, which exactly why Mandel will be the one that puts him into the blender.
Mandel’s sentiment of there being no separation of church and state might sound crazy, but it’s a belief of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Ohioans. A vocal minority overall within the state population? Sure, but you can win elections with vocal minorities. And this one is loud, proud, and extremely organized.
Consider this article from yesterday by Laura A. Bischoff in The Columbus Dispatch:
The Center for Christian Virtue, which for nearly 40 years has stood in the center of Ohio's culture war debates, is taking a major leap to cement its power and signal its plans for expansion.
The nonprofit paid $1.25 million for a downtown Columbus building at 60 E. Broad St. that overlooks the Ohio Statehouse. It is fundraising another $3.75 million renovation of the 15,000-square-foot building.
"This building, for us, signifies the importance of having a strong Christian voice in not just Ohio politics but in American politics," said Aaron Baer, CCV president since 2016. "This is us saying we're going to be competing for ideas at the highest levels and have a real commitment to excellence in all that we do."
Well, the Center for Christian Virtue isn’t the first group to weaponize America’s lax “non-profit” laws to the tune of building a million dollar headquarters in the downtown of a major American city. Can’t begrudge them for that, even if the symbolism of their new digs overlooking the Statehouse is too jarring to ignore.
I wonder what kind of ideas this group is looking to foist upon the rest of us? After all, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of Zion, is one of the world’s greatest philosophers even if you don’t agree he was the son of God. Let’s see how they’re spreading his gospel of goodwill:
Some of that advocacy involved fighting against LGBTQ rights and protections. In 1993, CCV pushed through a Cincinnati city charter ban on laws protecting gay people from discrimination.
In 2004, Burress and CCV led the effort to put a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions in Ohio. Eleven years later, that amendment was rendered moot when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage is constitutionally protected in Obergefell v. Hodges.
In 2007, CCV advocated for a state law that limits strip club dancers' physical contact with patrons.
Oh, great. This group, which started “in the basement of a Cincinnati church,” didn’t need to pay taxes while outright promoting hate against gay people.
Thankfully the moral arc of the universe does indeed bend towards justice. The Center of Christian Values lost all those battles because, much to the chagrin of Christians of their ilk, their sexually repressed worldview can’t control the liberalization of American society. That’s why gay marriage is no longer the lightning rod it once was even 10 years ago and that pisses them off because fag-baiting used to be such a potent fundraising tool.
So what these freaks do is turn to government to try to legislate their morality on the rest of us. And make no mistake, they have a receptive audience in the various legislative reptiles that get sent to Columbus from the state’s rural hinterlands.
Here’s what is on the CCV’s agenda next year in the wake of their new downtown building, again taken from The Dispatch:
Passing the 'backpack bill' that will allow every K-12 students to get a government voucher to attend private school.
Passing a bill to limit the health care transgender children can access regardless of parental consent.
Opposing a bill to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and public places based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Stopping a citizen-initiated statute and stand-alone bills to legalize recreational marijuana.
You know, I’ve read the King James Bible three times in my life, and I must have been high on black market marijuana the entire time because I don’t recall Jesus sermonizing against public education, transgender children’s right to healthcare, or gay people’s right not to be discriminated against by landlords, employers or their state government.
I do recall sermons on protecting marginalized people and warning against worldly obsessions of power. But that stuff usually gets lost in translation when you listen to Evangelicals.
They don’t believe in separation of church and state because they see the church as the state. They will never stop pushing until everyone agrees with their reactionary, hateful views. And cretins like Mandel will gladly abet them in exchange for their votes.
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