The Christian-Nationalist Rot Runs Deep
Also: Kamala Harris skips the start-up phase.
1. Christians
On Sunday, Brent Leatherwood, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, gave a statement about Joe Biden’s decision to step aside from the 2024 campaign. Here’s what Leatherwood said:
Not only is this a historic decision, it is the right decision for our nation. The role of president takes a heavy toll and, based on what has been apparent for some time, it was unrealistic to ask President Biden to endure another four years of the incredible burdens placed on the one who occupies this office.
Twenty-four hours later, Leatherwood was fired.
A number of Southern Baptist pastors/influencers were outraged by Leatherwood’s statement. Here’s Baptist News Global:
Calling Biden’s decision a “selfless act” did not go down well with that far right crowd, exemplified by Georgia pastor Mike Stone, a former candidate for SBC president and former chairman of the SBC Executive Committee.
Stone tweeted a link to the BP story and said: “Despite what some partisans will say, nothing in the record indicates Mr. Biden has ‘walk(ed) away from power’ as ‘a selfless act.’ Nothing.”
To which Southern Baptist pastor Wade Lentz replied, “Even Ray Charles could see that!”
Which prompted this public reply from Stone: “Ray Charles, Ronnie Milsap, and Stevie Wonder could’ve written a song about it.”
A posting of the BP story by the ERLC on X — and Stone’s posting on X — both drew dozens of angry responses demeaning Biden, damning Leatherwood and pouncing on the ERLC.
Southern Baptist commentator Megan Basham quickly joined the fray: “This is one of the most dishonest and cynical political statements I have ever seen. No one believes that Joe Biden dropped out due to selflessness. It’s almost obscene to utter something so discrediting in a moment like this.”
The ELRC’s executive committee, led by Pastor Kevin Smith, announced Leatherwood’s firing on Monday night.
Such are the demands of Christian nationalism.
But it turns out that Pastor Smith was out over his skiis. He had initiated Leatherwood’s firing without bothering to convene the executive committee. Or even inform two of the four members.
So this morning (Tuesday) the ELRC executive committee released a new statement saying that Leatherwood had been reinstated—or hadn’t been fired in the first place; this detail is hard to parse. And also that Pastor Smith had resigned as chair of the executive committee.
All’s well that ends well, I suppose. But the fact that Leatherwood’s very Christian statement about Biden made so many Southern Baptists angry is illuminating.
Just as a point of contrast, here are some things that various Democratic religious believers said after Donald Trump was shot in the ear:
Joe Biden: I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
Kamala Harris: We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting. We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action. Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence.
Nancy Pelosi: I thank God that former President Trump is safe.
Hakeem Jeffries: My thoughts and prayers are with former President Donald Trump for a full and swift recovery. I am thankful for the decisive law enforcement response and that of our first responders. America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.
Biden and Pelosi are Catholic. Harris and Jeffries are Baptists. Go ahead and find a Democrat who objected to their statements of concern and prayer for Trump.
You can’t.
Christian nationalism is a perversion of Christianity. But it’s more than that. It’s a perversion so deep that its adherents seem happy to cut themselves off from the root of their faith. They are seeking first the Kingdom of Don.
The kind of Christian nationalism displayed by Pastor Smith this week isn’t simply another variant of Christianity. The “Christian” part of it is an afterthought. Inside the packaging, there's simply a different colorway of nationalism.
The Christian nationalists upset at someone saying something nice about Joe Biden are spiritual cousins not of Hakeem Jeffries or Nancy Pelosi, but of Jack Murphy and Curtis Yarvin.
2. Campaign B-School
Kamala Harris has a number of decisions to make, quickly.
For starters, it appears as though Harris will inherit the entire Biden 2024 campaign—the personnel, the org chart, the infrastructure, and the money.1
Harris could keep everything as-is. But she is likely to bring in her own people and place them on top of the existing structure in order to create a clear strategic vision that she herself is in sync with—and can then be pushed down the chain to the pre-existing logistical operation.
If you remember Harris’s 2019 campaign, her biggest problem was management.
Creating a presidential campaign is like building a start-up. You have to hire smartly, manage people, and husband resources while trying to create product-market fit with a short runway.