Prepping for Pence
Be careful of what you wish for. After one week of Trump’s presidency, there is more and more talk about how to remove Trump. There is more and more talk about impeachment; there is more and more talk about invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. There is even more and more talk about Trump’s unstable behavior and his mental condition.
It is clear to me that Trump will not last long in the Presidency. I predict that Trump will last at the most eighteen months. He is simply too erratic and too much a loose canon even for Republicans.
Although the nation will breathe a collective sigh of relief at his departure, this relief will be short-lived. because Pence will be President. Pence will be a worse President than Trump, but in a different way. For Pence belongs to a little known group known as Christian Dominionism. Dominionism is the belief that God’s laws take priority over the Constitution.
A variation of Dominionism is Reconstructionism or the belief that the United States and its policies should be subject to God’s law as based on the Old Testament. Reconstructionism believes that the United States is a Christian nation and that Christianity should be the dominant religion. They also believe that only Christians deserve the protection of the Bill of Rights
Dominionism is an outgrowth of a Calvinistic world view. John Calvin, a leading figure during the Protestant reformation taught that if one were poor that person probably wouldn’t be going to heaven. If one were wealthy one could be assured of God’s blessing. Wealth was a sign of god’s favor. It seems that by this standard Donald Trump is blessed by God and would be going upstairs while Mother Teresa would be doomed to an eternity in hell.
Some Reconstructionists believe that adulterers should be executed preferably by stoning. Other Recontructionists want laws demanding that everyone attend Sunday worship services.
Pence supported religious freedom laws as Governor of Indiana. A rabid hater of Planned Parenthood, and abortion, he also opposed efforts to apply anti-hate laws to LBGT people. He would love to impose Christianity on the Nation.
The bottom line is that Pence believes that the Constitution is subordinate to Christian beliefs and that only Christians are entitled to the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. All others need not apply. A very dangerous man indeed.
I agree that Trump, in spite of his triumphant speech last night of promises he will be unable to keep with his actions so far is doomed in time. And I agree that Pence probably will be a horse of a different color. Thank goodness we have an election in three more years.
Ron