The puzzle of America’s MAGA problem
A continuing essay series examining the conflation of politics and religion.
The Statue of Liberty is pictured during the flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, N.Y., July 17, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me."
— Emma Lazarus
For many people living in America today, especially during the past fifteen years, with the start of the Obama Presidency (2008) in particular, our nation has seemed to become more and more divided politically along an internal-demarcation line of conservative versus liberal polities. This division of citizens into a red versus blue conflict became starkly clear during the forty-fifth administration of the White House while it was occupied and operated by its executive officer, Donald J. Trump who is now a multiply indicted criminal defendant; his co-executive officer in office Vice President Mike Pence was well known for his puritanical Christian values based belief system. Their pairing together as the Republican Party’s 2016 national Presidential election ticket was notable for the clear and obvious differences between the two candidates. It was a metaphorical marriage between a known adulterer and a chaste puritan. A political odd couple unlike anything ever before witnessed in American history. A more accurate analogy might be to describe America’s 2016-2020 top-level leadership team as a king of little intelligence who for the first time was experiencing and abusing genuine political power and as first among equals in the office he occupied was tied to a Pharisaical Christian Pastor who could not bear to be seen in the light of the public eye, because he was “not of this world” (John 15:19.)
The picture that I have just painted can truly be said to be a black and white image of visibly significant dark and light contrasts that rivals the differences found between night and day, with the important distinction of a day that is darkened by thunderstorms on all horizons and a moonless night that is also darkened by thunderstorms on all horizons. Oh, woe is America today, for we are a nation divided that is no longer considered the light of the nations for all other nations to look to, for lady liberty’s light, that glorious beacon upon our northeastern coastline, has been dimmed and damaged by a mind-set of peoples who no longer consider their neighbors to be worthy of consideration as co-citizens.
“For months now it has felt weirdly as if life in the United States of America is playing out on a split screen. On one side is a country that in the past three years has invested in its people more completely than in any era since the 1960s.”
“In contrast to this optimistic can-do vision that is making American lives better is the other side of the screen: that of former president Trump and the MAGA Republicans who have doubled down on supporting him.”1 -
I have, for several months now, been focused on putting together what is arguably the most important three dimensional jigsaw puzzle I have ever attempted to piece together without any clear picture to look at for assistance. This puzzle, at this point in time, has no name. Upon looking at the myriads of pieces in their unassembled state I could at first only see the most easily seen colors the blues and reds and smatterings of white here and there; as I began to work on sorting the pieces into their common attributes I began to see some patterns, and as I was able to put some pieces together one with another finer distinctions of colors began to appear, some purples here, larger patches of white over there, African blacks, Middle eastern browns, Asian yellows, Indian reds etcetera. The borders and body of the puzzle are still undefined, this is because it is a 3-D work of living art and is in a constant state of change.
Many of you reading these words of mine now know that I am wholly focused on understanding just how America has become this split screen of images Heather so aptly described, above and, in her most recent Letters from an American. So now with all that said the stage is set for me to show you where I first got started with putting together this puzzle.2
Now to be perfectly clear my attention to the problems of the conflation of politics and religion started way back in 1993 when I first encountered Dominionist theology, suffice to say that is a story best left for another time, but my point to be made is that I saw back then what many are only now just beginning to become aware of as the underlying problem within American government.
So where did I actually begin to work on putting this puzzle together recently? That is the subject of the remainder of this essay.
Because the proponents of MAGA are committed conservatives it has been necessary, from my perspective, to start to understand the problem of America’s politically divided constituency by looking to conservative thought leaders. Without getting into the things that I have already written about I think in light of today’s topic as depicted by the quote from Heather above and the general awareness now present of this problem I will use the first article I read written by a conservative intellectual who is an employed member of a significant conservative think tank. To keep things simple and to hopefully help you develop your own sense of what I first encountered and have had to work my way through to the point that I am currently in my understanding of the MAGA movement’s takeover of the Republican party, what I now think of as the Neo-Republican Party, I am going to present you with several quotes and pose some basic commentaries and questions for you to ponder upon. At the end of this essay I will place a link to the article in question for you to read in full for yourself. From there it is up to you to decide if you want to blaze your own trail to understanding the MAGA/Christian Nationalist problem or simply continue to follow and support my work by reading what I come to understand and develop into a clearer completer picture of the puzzle of America’s MAGA problem.
"“Conservatism” is no Longer Enough3, is the title of the article from which all the following quotes can be found.
The opening paragraphs should capture your attention:
Let’s be blunt. The United States has become two nations occupying the same country. When pressed, or in private, many would now agree. Fewer are willing to take the next step and accept that most people living in the United States today—certainly more than half—are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term.
I don’t just mean the millions of illegal immigrants. Obviously, those foreigners who have bypassed the regular process for entering our country, and probably will never assimilate to our language and culture, are—politically as well as legally—aliens. I’m really referring to the many native-born people—some of whose families have been here since the Mayflower—who may technically be citizens of the United States but are no longer (if they ever were) Americans. They do not believe in, live by, or even like the principles, traditions, and ideals that until recently defined America as a nation and as a people. It is not obvious what we should call these citizen-aliens, these non-American Americans; but they are something else.4
In which of the “two nations” do you consider yourself to be a citizen? Are you one of the “non-American Americans?”
“The conservative movement” still matters because if the defenders of America continue to squabble among themselves, the victory of progressive tyranny will be assured. See you in the gulag. On the off chance we can avoid that fate, it will only be if the shrinking number of Americans unite and work together. But we can’t simply mandate that conservatives “set aside” their differences, no matter how urgent it is that they do so. So my goal here is to show why we must all unite around the one, authentic America, the only one which transcends all the factional navel-gazing and pointless conservababble.
Practically speaking, there is almost nothing left to conserve. What is actually required now is a recovery, or even a refounding, of America as it was long and originally understood but which now exists only in the hearts and minds of a minority of citizens.
This recognition that the original America is more or less gone sets the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy apart from almost everyone else on the Right.5
What is this “one, authentic America?” Do you think that America needs to be “recovered” or needs to undergo a “refounding?” What is this “original America” being discussed here?
Paradoxically, the organization that has been uniquely devoted to understanding and teaching the principles of the American founding now sees with special clarity why “conserving” that legacy is a dead end. Overturning the existing post-American order, and re-establishing America’s ancient principles in practice, is a sort of counter-revolution, and the only road forward.6
“Overturning"?” “Re-establishing?” “Counter-revolution?” This sounds suspiciously like sedition; are you comfortable with this type of thinking? Do you think that this is something that motivates the MAGA movement?
Claremont was one of the very few serious institutions on the right to make an intellectual case for Trumpism. This is not an accident. Nor is it an accident that Claremont has never identified with any of the conservative (or liberal) factions. When commentators try to label us, they usually just say “Claremont conservatives.” “True MAGAs” is another label—occasionally used by those who think Trump voters inhabit yet another enclosure in the conservative zoo.7
Wow, “True MAGAs” that is quite a claim. “An intellectual case for Trumpism” How is this not understood to be an oxymoron?
Authentic Americans still want to have decent lives. They want to work, worship, raise a family, and participate in public affairs without being treated as insolent upstarts in their own country. Therefore, we need a conception of a stable political regime that allows for the good life.
The U.S. Constitution no longer works. But that fact raises more questions than answers. Can some parts of the system—especially at the local and state level—be preserved and strengthened? How would that work? How do we distinguish the parts that are salvageable from the parts that are hopeless? How did all this happen, anyway? The answers to these questions are not obvious. Having a coherent plan—thinking through what American citizenship used to mean, what made it noble and made the country worthy of patriotic love, and how to rebuild its best elements—requires input from people, and institutions, who have given these matters a lot of thought.8
Okay, I will stop for now, as I can feel your bloods boiling into a steaming rage. The Claremont Institute, by the way, is one of the first 21 organizations to join in partnership as an “Advisory Board Member” with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. The article from which all of the above quotes are found (published March 24, 2021) was what led me to discovering Project 2025 which was formed the following year, and announced in a press release on June 24, 20229, after the article was first published.
If you have managed to stay the course with me and read all of the above, then you have my most sincere appreciation and thanks. I genuinely think that this work I have consciously chosen to apply myself to of researching, studying, and writing my findings and developed understandings is truly very important. I hope you will continue to support me in this endeavor and share these things and what you might have learned from them with others.
Our liberal historic Democracy is currently in grave danger and it is up to those of us who are ready, willing, and able to commit to the work of shining the light of truth into this darkness that threatens all that is good and right and above all charitable in our search for a truly reasonable, righteous, liberty of conscious that is free from the restraints of old-world thinking as we make our way forward into a common future based on logical, sound, scientific thinking that acknowledges facts and reality, as opposed to outdated traditions and imaginary deities and their puppet master humans who would seek to control other humans for their own dominating end-purposes.
Robert J. Rei, November 11, 2023
"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." -Aldous Huxley
“November 10, 2023” Heather Cox Richardson, November 11, 2023, Letters from an American, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-10-2023
I removed the physics metaphor due to errors of fact and to cut down on the reading time of the piece as a whole. Sorry for any confusion.
““Conservatism” is no Longer Enough” Glenn Ellmers (Claremont Institute’s Salvatori Research Fellow), March 24, 2021, The American Mind (A publication of the Claremont Institute), https://americanmind.org/salvo/why-the-claremont-institute-is-not-conservative-and-you-shouldnt-be-either/ Retrieved November 11, 2023
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"2025 Presidential Transition Project Forms Advisory Board With Leading Conservative Partners” Press Release, June 24, 2022, the Heritage Foundation,https://www.heritage.org/press/2025-presidential-transition-project-forms-advisory-board-leading-conservative-partners
Once again, you speak truth: America is a country divided with a very serious philosophical chicken and egg problem.
My questions are: did it get that way because of rigorous philosophical driven belief sets; or, are independent events in a chaotically mathematical sense coalescing into a new reality that is still trying to figure out what it is? Are all of the philosophical efforts merely about providing some form of “intellectual structure” for each of the potential chaotic end states? The topology almost defies description.
Overwhelming chaotic complexity could also be a big driver for the simplistic MAGA reactionary rhetoric and action set up by by opportunistic people like TFG and his minions: thinking is impossible so merely get people to act irrationally on their angry feelings and ignore the consequences, until the “system” reigns aberrant behavior in or is altered to allow it. The minions’ goal is authoritarian domination by any means possible. Irrational anger is a powerful motivator, and a tool.
Capital is a lifeless zombie who doesn’t care who wins or loses so long as it can make irrational amounts of money and is allowed to influence politicians, elections and laws with impunity.
Dominionism has been around for a long time, but thrives in disturbed soil, as do disturbed souls. I’m thinking it’s an opportunistic independent event that has been allowed to fester. It’s adherents feel they gain some modicum of control over their lives through it and want to impose it on everyone while American Democracy is being redefined. It’s the ultimate approach to proselytization, and, is driven by intellectual philosophy, however misguided.
One of the “non-American Americans” here, if I understand the counter-speak correctly. The Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, founded on the political philosophy of Harry Jaffa who is credited with the line in Goldwater’s 1964 nomination acceptance speech “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue” and who believed Robert Bork of all people was insufficiently conservative, an Institute which has as a Senior Fellow John Eastman (soon to be disbarred) and is closely aligned with Hillsdale College should be scaring the bejeebers out of us.
Ellmers rambling “‘Conservatism’ Is No Longer Enough” (the entirety of which I read) has to be read a few times through to let it really sink in. At first pass it’s chest bounding for The Claremont Institute. At least it’s able to separate Trump the individual from Trumpism the movement and is no fan of the former given his bombastic personality and therefore is not the Chosen One to lead them forward. The essay is written ambiguous enough to draw in the uninitiated, lacking in concrete steps forward for the counter-revolution, but on second and third reads the nuances of catch phrases are the start of a dangerous manifesto.
“The rule of the majority in America would be limited in principle to doing what could only rightly be done by all the people. That is, the majority acting in and through the Constitution, could not infringe the rights of the minority. The government derived its authority from consent of all the American people, who created the Union to protect their natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That meant no more kings exercising authority by “divine right”; no more hereditary aristocracy; no more established churches; and no permanent bureaucracy staffed by unaccountable “experts.” For the first time, the idea of a social compact uniting all the people would form a truly nonpartisan regime.
The great difficulty is that this idea only works if everyone agrees—that is, if everyone “gets it” and acknowledges that we are all fellow citizens (friends, ultimately) and that any temporary majority in power must represent the rights and interests of all.”
Non-partisan? Rightly done? All the people? Which “all”? The non-partisan All that is left after the purge of the “non-American Americans”? What is meant by “temporary majority“?
It does however leave this non-American American wondering what are their intentions for those of us non-MAGA voters that are not “understanding of the right principles, but also the detailed knowledge and practical wisdom needed to apply those principles to our specific circumstances. “
I look forward to reading about more pieces of the 3-D puzzle as they fall into place.
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/the-claremont-institute-for-the-study-of-statesmanship-and-political-philosophy/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_V._Jaffa
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/conservativism_is_no_longer_enough_its_time_for_something_new.html
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/4/1/22356594/conservatives-right-wing-democracy-claremont-ellmers