Authoritarian Bible-eaters for Trump and against the Deep State

This story made me think about authoritarianism in practice. Authoritarians are uncomfortably with actual informed reflection on matters central to their worldview. But authoritarians don't respect all authority in general. They are looking for someone to tell them what to do. Some of them are attracted to very hierarchical jobs like police or the military. But that doesn't mean that they will put the authority of the law or the Constitution or of the existing government (especially a democratic one) above the authority of the group and its leaders.

This is why we see the superficially paradoxical situation in which authoritarians can rebellious against the official legitimate government authority. A classic case is Hitler's Brownshirts (SA), which was a hierarchical paramilitary group supporting the Nazi Party but violently opposing the Weimar democratic government. But SA loyalties could also be volatile. By 1934, Hitler regarded them as a potential threat, producing the "Night of the Long Knives" against the SA leadership.

The story is from Isadora Teich, Christian radio host: If Trump is impeached, ‘gun-toting, bible-clinging, Walmart patriots will spark civil war’ Dead State 06/09/2019. She quotes Todd Starnes of FOX News:

The facts are clear – President Trump was the victim of a political hit job. James Comey and Robert Mueller tried to take him out – but they failed. And now Congressional Democrats stand ready to finish what the Deep State started.

Leaders of Rolling Thunder [biker club] say they are ready to roar back into Washington to defend the president — if the Democrats move to impeach.

And if that happens – do not be surprised if the bikers are joined by hundreds of thousands of gun-toting, bible-clinging, smelly, Walmart patriots. The silent majority in this country is mad as hell – and we’re not going to take it any more.

Hint to any good ole boys who may decide to take action along these lines: If you get in trouble with the law, don't imagine that Todd Starnes or his associates at FOX News will have your back. They won't. That's not how this works.

(I ran that quote through a translation program. If you translated the result's German version directly back into English, it would come out as "gun-carrying, Bible-eating, stinking, Walmart patriots." That's a remarkably good version, actually! It also renders "mad as hell" as "crazy as hell", which also works well for the people Starnes is talking about.

The "Bible-eating" is may favorite, though.)

In fact, the authoritarian personality is in many ways rigid and intolerant. But not all authoritarians are rigid and intolerant in the same way. And personal ambitions are still at play even in very hierarchical, authoritarian groups and organizations. And paranoia about betrayal plays a large role, as well. Far right groups are known for their factionalism and instability.

Starnes orginal post is Anti-Trump Democrats Are Dragging the Nation Towards Civil War 06/01/2019 at his personal Todd Starnes blog.

Christian Right demagogue Franklin Graham also stated in an interview with the hate group Family Research Council, "If the president was brought down for whatever reason, it could lead to a civil war. There are millions of people out there that voted for President Trump that are behind him that are angry and they are mad. We are just living in a very dangerous territory and we need God’s help.” (Quoted in: Samuel Smith, Franklin Graham: Trump’s enemies will hurt America, could spark civil war if impeached Christian Post 05/21/2019).

Starnes and Graham are offering rightwing authoritarians a two-for-one deal: loyal submission to Dear Leader Trump and rebellion against the gubment, the Mean Libruls, and the "Deep State".

It's also a safe bet that Donald Trump and Franklin Graham think the people who go along with them on this are the biggest suckers in the world. And they are not wrong about that.