How Does the Romney-Ryan Ticket Fit into the "Teavangelical Utopia" Timeline?
Rachel Tabachnick printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Tue Aug 28, 2012 at 12:08:53 PM EST
In his 2012 book, Christian Broadcast Network's David Brody mapped out a 16-year timeline for achieving a "Teavangelical Utopia," the phrase he uses to describe a Tea Party/conservative evangelical takeover of politics.  Brody also describes Mitt Romney's efforts to cultivate Christian Right leaders as early as 2006. Many of these same leaders were working feverishly to find an Anybody-but-Mitt candidate to rally behind in the primaries earlier this year. Where do the Teavangelicals go from here, and how does the Romney-Ryan ticket fit into their agenda?
Brody's book, The Teavangelicals: The Inside Story of How the Evangelicals and Tea Party are Taking Back America, was published in June and includes a foreword by Mike Huckabee. David Brody is one of the most recognizable faces at the Pat Robertson-founded Christian Broadcast Network and serves as the network's chief political correspondent and author of "The Brody File" column.  In his book, Brody maps out a "Teavangelical Utopia" that could unfold between 2012 and 2028 building on the successes of the movement at the local and state level.
If evangelicals and Tea Party Libertarians continue to rack up victories on the local and state level as well as get a solid majority in state houses, school boards, and on the board of county commissioners, then what you have is a serious ground game that will not only influence state issues and elections but national races too. It will probably also influence people's opinions of the Tea Party. Since the height of the midterm elections, multiple polls have shown how the Tea Party's favorability ratings have declined. Part of the reason for that is the perception that the Tea Party is an uncompromising force at the national level, but a steady stream of local victories should produce more good will among Americans who may begin to see a Tea Party that affects positive change rather than just an uncompromising bunch bent on opposing everything under the sun.  Tea Party members hope the ultimate result will be controlling the agenda and comprising the makeup of many of the state Republican parties. Nobody is saying it's going to be easy, but that's part of the plan. Change the game from within, and reap the political rewards.

Brody continues,
Whatever the future holds for the Teavangelicals, we do know that they've already had success because they've steered the nation's conversation to that of fiscal restraint and constitutional responsibility. But that triumph is temporary. The Teavangelicals' ultimate accomplishment is an America where the federal government is minimized and Judeo-Christian principles are maximized. The outcome depends on confronting the five challenges listed in this chapter.  Conquering just one or two won't cut it. But this is a process that will take time, measured not in months but years ... many years.

Brody maps out the "Teavangelical utopia" of the future in a timeline going from 2012 - 2028 in the epilogue of the book.  Note that the book would have gone to the publisher prior to Romney  capturing the nomination.  I've summarized Brody's timeline below, which is titled "Teavangelical Utopia: Myth or Reality?"

November 6, 2012
Obama loses the election.  The GOP retains the House and takes the Senate.

November 4, 2014
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (described as part of the stuffy old GOP establishment) is replaced with "Teavangelical Jim DeMint."

November 8, 2016
Obamacare has been repealed and the incumbent Republican president wins reelection.  Teavangelicals increase their numbers in the House and Senate.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Education are eliminated.

A Tea Party candidate defeats Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the primaries and wins the general election.  Senate Majority Leader Jim DeMint resigns as promised based on term limits and Rand Paul becomes Majority Leader. Harry Reid is defeated by a Tea Party candidate.  Paul Ryan is named Treasury Secretary.  [Note that this was written before Ryan was named as Romney's running mate, a choice that likely would result in a rewrite of many components of Brody's timeline.]

November 6, 2018
Teavangelicals continue to increase their numbers under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Rand Paul and House Majority Whip Allen West.  Rick Perry and Sarah Palin form a think tank to support local Tea Party groups.  Mike Huckabee is its spokesperson.

November 3, 2020
Mike Pence is elected President with Marco Rubio as his Vice President.  The GOP holds supermajority in the House and Senate.

November 1, 2022
The Teavangelical supermajority caps spending, replaces the IRS, eradicates the "death tax," pushes for Federal Marriage Amendment.

November 5, 2024
President Pence wins reelection.  "School choice" and end of funding for Planned Parenthood become law.

November 3, 2026
Tim Scott (S.C.) becomes Speaker of the House.

November 7, 2028
Marco Rubio is elected President.  

Liberals around the country hold candlelight vigils mourning the America they once knew under President Obama ...

There are numerous references to Romney in Brody's book. Romney's presidential aspirations required cultivation of the Religious Right political power bloc and he began courting leaders as early as 2006 while governor of Massachusetts, when Romney now describes himself as being a "severely conservative governor."  In one reference in Brody's book, repeated in a recent PBS interview, he describes Mitt and Ann Romney meeting with leaders in 2006 and their subsequent over-the-top gesture. From the book,

"In a private meeting at his home in the Boston suburbs, Ann and Mitt Romney visited with more than a dozen evangelical leaders including Franklin Graham, the late Jerry Falwell, Richard Land, Jay Sekulow, Frank Wright, and Gary Bauer.  They sat in a circle and ate sandwiches while discussing topics like the fight against radical Islam, stem cell research, and Romney's Mormon faith.  It was by all accounts a pleasant meeting.  About a month later, all the evangelical attendees received a giant box. Inside was a chair with a brass plate on the back of it.  Inscribed on the plate was Romney's signature with the words, `There will always be a seat for you at our table.'"

It remains to be seen what role the Romney-Ryan ticket will play in advancing the "Teavangelical Utopia" mapped out by Brody.  Thus far it appears that in order to win the election, the GOP establishment is anxious to suppress the Teavangelical wing during the convention and downplay the significance of the Tea Party and Religious Right control of the GOP platform.

The Teavangelical partnership could alienate many evangelicals, including those who reject the overt partisan and political tone of the partnership and the further melding of religion and rightwing politics.   As shown in video embedded in my article on the pre-convention rally at the River Church, as soon as Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne finished his Sunday evening sermon and  turned over the microphone to the Tea Party rally, the Master of Ceremonies called upon the nation to look upward to God. He then immediately compared liberals to dogs and cracked jokes about Nancy Pelosi's "Broomstick One."

Brody recognizes that the Teavangelical partnership and agenda to eradicate the government safety net for the poor alienates many progressive-minded evangelicals and notes,

"... you won't see progressive evangelicals at your neighborhood Tea Party rally."

The merging of the Bible with Ayn Randian ideology may also alienate many socially conservative Christians, some of whom view this as a corruption in service of the interest of mega-corporations and the wealthy. Not all conservative Christians will buy into the David Barton claim that Jesus opposed the minimum wage, the Rousas Rushdoony-sourced idea that most taxes are unbiblical.  Many conservative Christians will see through the claims being promoted by Teavangelical alliances that the EPA is a liberal conspiracy against the poor, and that oil companies are their greatest champions and defenders.

Nevertheless, Brody claims the Teavangelicals are more politically powerful than ever and that the "Teavangelicals and Mitt Romney" can be "the hottest show in town." Romney may have another idea and the GOP establishment appears to be working to hide the Teavangelical wing from view during the convention.  A Teavangelical pre-convention "unity" rally held on Sunday showcased the movement's response to Romney and it's 2012 political strategy - one that appears to be more about demonizing President Obama than supporting Romney.

As I'm posting this article, I'm listening to Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation, one of the speakers at the Sunday rally, comparing the GOP establishment to the Soviet Union's Central Committee.  This follows a post at Tea Party nation by Phillips about the RNC titled "The Committee of Commissars."

It could be an interesting week at the GOP Convention, but it doesn't look like it will be the Romney-Teavangelical partnership that David Brody described as "the hottest show in town."




Display:
I predict that he won't be talking about the "Teavangelical Utopia."

by Rachel Tabachnick on Tue Aug 28, 2012 at 02:01:11 PM EST

Basically, this supports the postulate of the article on the Rand/La Vey/Dominionist combine: these are people who do evil for the sake of doing evil, and (psychologically, I'm sure) feed on the life forces of those expiring as they are crushed under foot. What kind of traitorous spirit gloats at the thought of millions of Americans lighting candles in mourning for the America they once knew? In the Twentieth Century, the open expression of such a sentiment would not have been brooked.

by Rey Mohammed on Thu Aug 30, 2012 at 03:39:40 AM EST
...that Teavangelicals believe that what they are doing is good and holy. If we assume that they are knowingly promoting an agenda of greed and selfishness, we underestimate the power and appeal of their self-righteousness and their message. Equating this with Anton La Vey's ideology is a red herring and one that leaves us unable to understand why Teavangelicals would consciously shill for mega-corporations and billionaires.

I believe the challenge for us is to understand why Teavangelicals believe their mission is holy, wholesome, and patriotic, and how they have been able to convince millions of hardworking Americans of this.

by Rachel Tabachnick on Thu Aug 30, 2012 at 09:50:05 AM EST
Parent

There is no mystery behind the actions of the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, or other billionaire donors.  They are acting in their own self-interest and supporting policies that will make them even more obscenely wealthy than they are today. Perhaps that can be described as consciously evil, although I would guess that they justify to themselves why they should have the power and money to manipulate the political system.  The real mystery is why millions of Americans who are hurt by these policies, will vote for the politicians who support them.

If we assume that all of these Americans wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "let's see how much evil we can do today," then we will never understand the power of the Teavangelicals' political message or how to counter it.

by Rachel Tabachnick on Thu Aug 30, 2012 at 10:06:39 AM EST
Parent


I think some of the questions we have to ask are: (a) what do they fear? (b) why do they fear it? (c) why does the Teavangelical solution appear to be an appropriate and effective response to their fear? (d) what alternatives, if any, can we offer as ways to ease their fears? (e) how can we get at least some of them to give those alternatives a chance?

It seems to me that the vast majority of the Teavangelical constituency is in deep pain and distress. Such people are desperate for answers, for a way to get rid of the pain. When given the choice between nuanced analysis of complex, systemic problems, and possible solutions that are measured, will take a long while to bear fruit, and are not guaranteed to succeed; and a simplistic, slogan-filled, "do this now and all will be well" campaign, too many grasp at what looks like the sure thing.

by MLouise on Thu Aug 30, 2012 at 11:55:15 AM EST
Parent
Yes, we need to understand how the Teavangelicals  are manipulating this pain.  More challenging, we have to figure out how we can reach people with alternatives and empower them to support policies that will actually help improve the lives of Americans.


by Rachel Tabachnick on Fri Aug 31, 2012 at 07:34:23 PM EST
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