Two very significant, telling things happened during Donald
Trump’s meeting with 1000 evangelicals this past week. Both of them portend Trump’s tyrannical
ambitions when in the Oval Office.
First, as was previously mentioned – Trump lied directly into
the faces of 1000 Christian leaders he was supposedly seeking to win over to
his campaign.
He stated that he got a majority of the evangelical vote in
the southern Primaries. But, that is demonstrably
false. Trump garnered an average of 35%
of the evangelical vote in most southern states. 35% is far from majority in anyone’s math
textbook.
In fact, that literally means that around 2/3 of evangelical
voters voted against him – choosing other candidates.
The sad reality is that none of these so-called “Christian”
leaders called him on the lie; not even after the event.
But, that’s not the worst of what transpired. Everyone knows Trump has a problem telling
the truth and exaggerating his performance on just about everything (Remember,
he’s “a tremendous believer”!).
For him to lie to the faces of Christian leaders may be
deplorable, but it is not out of character for the author of “The Art of the
Deal.”
No, the more ominous statement Trump made was greeted with warm
applause by the gullible group seated on Trump’s home turf.
Trump promised to get rid of the Johnson Amendment. The Johnson Amendment, named after then U.S.
Senator – Lyndon B. Johnson – was added to a bill passed into law in 1954.
It has had the effect of stifling religious political speech
in churches – something Johnson and other segregationists favored in an effort
to quash the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s.
Essentially, it has kept pastors from taking public stances
on political candidates and elections in their churches for over 70 years now.
It is an onerous piece of legislation that has never been
challenged in the courts.
Of course, Christian leaders want it gone. That is not the problem.
The problem is the fact that no matter what Trump promises,
he would have no authority as President to make it null and void on his own.
Constitutionally, it would have to be repealed by both
houses of Congress and then he could sign it into law if he was President at
the time.
But, unless he plans the same unconstitutional power grab as
President Obama has attempted with his “executive order pen”, a President Trump
cannot end the Amendment on his own.
To tell this group of leaders otherwise is disingenuous at
best. At worst, it is a downright lie.
Unless, that is, that Trump has already planned to be an
imperial President cut from the same cloth as Obama - doing what he wants and
the Constitution be damned.
Given some of his other public statements, it is clear he
has no understanding of the Constitutional “checks and balances” in the
Separation of Powers.
Presidents don’t make or repeal laws; then enact or veto
laws passed by Congress.
Obama ignored the Constitution as much as possible in his
eight years in office and a feckless, corrupt Congress allowed him to get away
with it.
It appears a President Trump would be just as lawless to
implement his agenda.
The saddest part of all of this is that the supposed moral
conscience of the nation – these 1000 Christian leaders – showed absolutely no
morality and cheered Trump’s baited hook to reel them into his obeisance.
So much for being “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”!!
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