Thread by @daveweigel

First up today at Faith & Freedom Coalition conference; John Solomon, Jena Ellis, and Hogan Gidley, talking about media/2020. Cheers when Solomon predicts that in Georgia, (GOP) state leaders will "take over Fulton County and say, we're going to run the elections going forward."

This panel accentuates how much "the media" is shorthand for "cable news." Solomon: "They talk to their friends, and that's it, it becomes an echo chamber." That's not an unfair description of cable chatter! But of the actual reporting going on?

Like, for example, Reid Epstein and Nick Corasaniti didnt' call up some green room experts for this story, they talked to local elected officials, who shared views like "Trump won."

https://twitter.com/reidepstein/status/1406222468788936706

Moderator David Brody asking panelists to describe the Trump they know. Solomon: "Behind the scenes, what I've seen is a man who's remarkably compassionate to people." Recalls a time when he told Trump a friend was sick and Trump called them.

Not gonna livetweet every segment (I'm interviewing folks during part of the plenary session) but Dinesh D'Souza is up now, asking why Biden does not apologize to the black community for the Dixiecrats.

"Why don't you say: The worst crimes in America, we, the Democrats, did?"

D'Souza has been on this "Democrats won't admit their racist history" thing for a while, but I read this NYT package called "the 1619 Project" - maybe you've heard of it - and this was covered.

Ralph Reed sits with D'Souza to go over the 9-0 Fulton case, which has been an applause line here. (The ACA defeat has not been mentioned.) "It's a great blow to the court-packers," D'Souza. "The gay lobby on the court was part of the nine."

Very interesting discussion between D'Souza and Reed now about Employment Division v. Smith - and why SCOTUS didn't use Fulton to set new religious liberty precedent.

"We have bought into a jurisprudential philosophy that has to be re-examined by our side," says D'Souza.

"The people really getting shafted right now are the Jan. 6 protesters," D'Souza says. "Nobody in the Republican Party has championed their cause. Nobody who has the means has put up a defense fund."

D'Souza says the protesters were "trying to get an honest count of an election," not overthrow the an elected government, and contrasts how Rs talk about Jan. 6 activists vs how the left is "building monuments to George Floyd."

Rep. Barry Loudermilk says he's going to state his beliefs and dare "the cancel culture" to cancel him. "I’m a Christian, and I’m not ashamed of it. I believe the Bible is the infallible word of God... I believe there are two sexes, male and female."

Loudermilk also says that "marriage is between a man and a woman" but it's "okay" if others don't believe that. Like the ACA staying put, this is the sort of conservative concession you wouldn't have imagined at Ralph Reed's conference 10 years ago. minnpost.com/politics-polic…

"I've had covid twice," Loudermilk says, "and let me tell you, it's none of your business whether or not I've been vaccinated."

He adds that he owns an F-150 that "burns fossil fuels" and "the only regret I have is that I don't have two of 'em."

Loudermilk also says people have the right to question election results without being called "an enemy of the state" - "that's what happens in Communist countries."

One big theme of the weekend has been conservative diversity, with more Hispanic and black pastors coming to the conference than ever before. The Florida setting is a boost for that - lots of south Florida Latino pastors who've been battling the left for years.

Eric Metaxas kind of elliptically criticizes Pence for not accepting challenge to 2020 electors. "If had done what he might have done, he would have been elected president of the United States. But I'm afraid that that's not going to happen."

"Because I love him, I want him to know that he needs to deal with that," Metaxas says. Yesterday, Pence got heckled by a few people as a "traitor," and hasn't otherwise been mentioned much here.

Before calling Juneteenth a "Republican holiday" (Lincoln freed the slaves), Metaxas jokes that "it's a homophobic holiday, because it digs a whole chunk out of pride month."

"We need a full month to celebrate, I don't know."

Metaxas says he's going to say something he can't say, encouraging crowd to say it with him: "BRUCE. JENNER."

"If he ran as Bruce Jenner, I'd tell everybody to vote for him."

Mextaxas keeps returning to his theme that the election was stolen. "We have never faced anything as Satanic as the subversion of the will of we the people... I do not want to be represented by people who do not have the courage to be self-sacrificial."

Metaxas says that he heard Ted Cruz called the Jan. 6 rioters "terrorists." (He has.) "If he did, he needs to repent of that publicly, because I cannot play with anybody who is going to play that game."

One surprise for me this weekend is how little talk there's been about transgender rights and the Biden administration's efforts to expand them. Lots more focus on CRT, though gender fluidity is a big grassroots issue for winning non-white voters over from the Dems.

Metaxas says there is just a "handful" of leaders who've shown courage lately, citing one by name: Mike Lindell.

"If you're not that kind of a leader, your day is done."

Lindell's MyPillow is the main sponsor of Metaxas's show; he offers a discount code, ERIC.

Reed, who does not share Metaxas's certainty that 2020 was stolen, now sitting with Metaxas for a couple onstage questions, trying to nudge him to other topics. Metaxas calls Biden "the fake president of the United States" and that "January 6 people are being persecuted."

"Any Republican that has not spoken in defense of the January 6 people - to me, they're dead," Metaxas says. "Show us that you represent us."

*I can't read Reed's mind but after Metaxas dismissed his first question, Reed asked about Bonhoeffer, saying he might find that question more useful

Panel now discussing how the media did not cover Trump's outreach to Hispanic voters and prominent Hispanics, citing one call to Latino leaders about covid.

This *was* covered, though - critically, bc Trump used the call to talk about re-electing him. cnn.com/2020/05/20/pol…

Trump advisor Jennifer Korn also says media didn't cover Trump's "American Dream Plan" for Hispanics. This, again, was covered, but critically, bc Trump introduced it just six days before the election, with most of his term behind him. cnn.com/2020/10/28/pol…

Of a piece with Trump and Juneteenth - he did endorse making it a holiday, but only late in the 2020 campaign. Obviously, a policy that's a day one priority gets covered differently than one pushed during a campaign, when people expect politicians to pander to them.