ELECTION 2024: CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM
🆘 A Clear and Present Danger (read every link. seriously.)
💡What's the issue: Christian nationalism, a once-fringe ideology, has infiltrated the mainstream and is shaping the far-right extremist political agenda. This movement advocates for increased religious influence in government and public life, strict censorship in education, and calls for the dominance of white Christians in cultural and political spheres. Dive deeper
💁♀️What happened: Christian nationalists believe the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and that God has chosen the U.S. to lead the world. They want the U.S. to be a fully Christian nation, with (white) Christians in positions of cultural and political power. This ideology is being used to justify the complete destruction of American democracy. Not surprising, the anti-democratic Project 2025 (Trump's playbook for 2025) heavily embraces Christian nationalist language and its ideology. Read about Project 2025 here.
👀 How did we get here: Christian nationalism has recently gained prominence in public discourse, but its influence within government has quietly expanded for decades. Jeff Sharlet's bestselling book and Netflix series, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, traces the movement to the early 20th century, particularly within American evangelicalism. Similarly, Kathryn Joyce examines the "Quiverfull" movement in her book, Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement. The book sheds light on efforts to embed conservative Christian values into society, often at the expense of civil and reproductive rights. Sharlet and Joyce are joining BigTent Wed. 03.27 at 7PM ET. RSVP
🛝 Current State of play: As Christian nationalism gains traction among the MAGA Republicans and in deeply red states, it is crucial to understand this ideology, especially considering its implications for democratic values and religious freedom.The alignment of Christian nationalist beliefs with anti-democratic agendas, witnessed in its influence on the insurrection and the staunch support of Trump, poses a clear and present danger to American democracy.
🗣️ What can we do:📍Read the work of Josh Kovensky of Talking Points. He focuses on the right-wing attempt to impose Christian nationalism in the U.S. through support for Trump and the MAGA movement. See links below📍Watch the new feature-length documentary God and Country, which examines the role of Christian nationalism in American politics.📍Track Christian nationalist events from groups such as Michael Flinn's ReAwaken America and Charlie Kirk's Turning Points USA.
🗓️ RSVP HERE: JEFF SHARLET AND KATHRYN JOYCE ON BIGTENT | WED 03.27 | 7:00PM ET |
LEAD STORY: VOTER VIGILANTISM
🛝 Current State of play: The use of targeting voter rolls to urge election officials to purge voter registrations is becoming more common place. Calling themselves election investigators, these private eyes have pressed officials in Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia to drop voters from the rolls en masse, sometimes numbering 1,000 at a time. But, in fact, they are challenging legitimate registrations and seeking to weed the voter rolls of citizens they simply don’t like. Read more
🕵️Who are these "election investigators": They include Cleta Mitchell, Kari Lake, and Mike Lindell of the mattress fame (see more here.) They include an expansive web of grass-roots groups that formed after former President Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020. These groups have made mass voter challenges a top priority this election year, spurred on by True the Vote, a vote-monitoring group with a long history of spreading misinformation. Read More
🏎️ Zoom Out: Of course there is a safe and tested way to keep the voter rolls updated nationwide: the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC. States use this nonpartisan information-sharing organization to reduce error in maintaining their rolls. However, a right-wing vigilante group called EagleAI has launched to search for fraud. As the Brennan Center for Justice has documented, it’s poorly designed to catch real wrongdoing — but it is a tool for disenfranchisement.
✍️ What can we do:📍Check your voting registration status using the BigTentVote✔️ link or our QR Code, and then share it with family (especially young adult children) and friends.📍Subscribe to the Democracy Docket newsletter to learn about what is happening in the most vulnerable states.📍Check out the work of our three partners who are champions fighting against voter suppression. The Brennan Center for Justice; Fair Fight Action and VoteRiders: these organizations stand firm on the side of voting rights.
RECORDING: MARC ELIAS AND LAUREN GROH-WARGO UNDER THE TENT
READ: BRENNAN CENTER FULL REPORT ON VOTER SUPPRESSION
CATCH ME UP: MODERATE WOMEN VOTERS
💁♀️ What's happening: Women outnumber men by more than 3M in the U.S. electorate, with white women being the largest group among women voters. They make up almost 40 percent of voters while white men make up roughly 36 percent. A 2023 study by the Women and Politics Institute revealed that women are engaged in politics, and tuned into conversations about issues such as reproductive rights and inflation. However, women are also burnt out, financially strained, and concerned about extremism in politics. In particular, white women remain deeply divided among education, location and religious lines — making them possibly the largest swing vote up for grabs in the 2024 elections. Read more
🔙 The backstory: Since 1952, white women have only voted more Democratic than Republican twice across 17 presidential elections: Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton. Data from American Women and Politics shows that while women generally tend towards Democratic leanings, white women often cast their votes with a more conservative slant compared to women of color.
🖼️ The big picture: Despite the turnout of pink hat-clad women at the 2017 Women’s March in Washington protesting President Trump’s administration, Trump won 53% of white women’s votes. The fall of Roe v. Wade did pull white women to the left. However, MAGA messaging on education, particularly regarding COVID-19, fear mongering of "critical race theory," and book bans is making earning the demographic's votes more complicated — a warning for 2024.
🥫So…is there a secret sauce: It turns out white women's voting decisions are influenced less by their views on Trump, and more by practical, “kitchen table issues," and by the erosion of democratic principles. Jackie Payne, CEO of Galvanize Action, is focused on connecting with 4 million moderate white women through strategic, research-based initiatives. By aligning with the priorities of moderate women, she seeks to make a significant impact in the voting decisions of these women. Dig Deeper
🗓️ RSVP: JACKIE PAYNE COMING TO BIGTENT 04.02 |12:00PM ET
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS ⤵️
🗓️ KATHRYN JOYCE AND JEFF SHARLET | WED 03.27 | 7:00PM ET Investigative journalist Kathryn Joyce and right wing expert/author Jeff Sharlet will discuss Christian nationalism, and the central role of the Christian right in the rise of Trumpism and neofascism.
🗓️ JACKIE PAYNE - GALVANIZE | TUES 04.02 | 12:00PM ET
Galvanize Executive Director Jackie Payne and journalist Bonnie Fuller will discuss the moderate white woman voter, and what role could they play in the 2024 election.
🗓️ SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT) WITH LIS SMITH | WED.04.03 | 7:00PM ET Senator Chris Murphy and political strategist will join us to discuss what happened to the bipartisan border deal, why comprehensive immigration reform is so difficult to get approved, and next steps.
🗓️ LIZ CHENEY AND KATIE COURIC | WED 04.10 | 7:00PM ET Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) will join us in conversation with Katie Couric. They will discuss Cheney’s new bestselling book Oath and Honor, the future of the republican party, and the health of our democracy.
🗓️ ANNE APPLEBAUM AND KATIE COURIC | THURS. 04.25 | 12:00PM ET Renowned historian Anne Applebaum will join us in conversation with Katie Couric, discussing the state of American Democracy in 2024. They will take a dive deep into in analyses about where our democracy stands today and where it's headed.
🗓️ JUDY WOODRUFF AND SARAH LONGWELL | WED 05.08 | 7:00PM ET
America at a Crossroads PBS host Judy Woodruff and The Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell will join us in a discussion about the role of media in shaping political perceptions and more
🧵EVENT RECAPS
VOTE FORWARD AND LETTER WRITING 2024
Catherine Vaughan, Emily Wasserman, and Nia Bentall from Vote Forward dove into the impact of letter-writing and explored its effectiveness in creating positive change.
LAUREN KUNIS - CEO VOTERIDERS
Lauren Kunis, CEO/ Executive Director of VoteRiders, emphasized her efforts in educating citizens about obtaining voter IDs. She also discussed ways we can help communities maintain ongoing voter ID education and assistance programs.
MARC ELIAS AND LAUREN GROH-WARGO
Marc Elias, the founder of Democracy Docket, and Lauren Groh-Wargo, the CEO and co-founder of Fair Fight Action, discussed voter suppression impacts on elections and what are the next lines of attack in 2024.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
❌ It's Happening Again | Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has filed a motion to force a vote on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Read more
👯♀️ The Supreme Court seems bitterly divided. Two justices say otherwise. | SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett was still celebrating at the White House when she received her first congratulatory phone call from the high court. On the line: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s leading liberal, an Obama nominee and the first Latina on the bench. Read more
👩⚕️ A Win for Women’s Health | Recently, President Biden signed a new executive order that expands U.S. government research on women’s health: pledging $200 million to better understand women’s health concerns. Read more
👀 LINKS KEEPING US UP AT NIGHT 😳
🌎 Global Antisemitism Trends, Learnings and Stats | ADL
👁️ America First Legal, Stephen Miller is spoiling for a Fight | NYT (gift link)
🇺🇸 Is Voting Still Worth it? | NYT (gift link)
🚨Sign up for Voting Reminders. They come only twice: 30 days before the election and one day before. (There may even be local elections you don’t know about - and you will be notified.)
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