Jeff Roush Profile picture
Apr 29 9 tweets 2 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
There are many problems with conflating religion and politics, but one of the biggest is it covers up all matters of nuance and, at times, reality. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue
I was raised in a Christian, Republican home. And at the time, I learned and bought into the idea that those two terms were virtually synonyms. Republicans were “good,” and Democrats must therefore be evil.
This covered all manner of sins, so to speak. The notion that a Jimmy Carter was somehow immoral or evil, and Reagan a beacon of goodness, seems almost laughable when you look into the lives, actions, and policies of the two.
And today, the notion that Trump is somehow a “good Christian man” as compared to Biden being a “secularized evil man” takes things well past the edges of ridiculous. But for those who can’t separate religious beliefs from party politics, it’s hard to see it.
We need to separate it all. Someone identifying as “Christian” isn’t necessarily “good.” Someone who identifies with the Republican Party may well be neither “Christian” nor “good.” The heuristics here don’t match reality.
We have one party trying to help the wealthiest Americans keep getting wealthier, on the backs of those who need help the most; to send children to work in factories; to encourage attacks on gay and trans kids; and to hide information or lie every day. How is this “good”?
And on the other side, we have one party working to help more people access health care and the social safety net; to protect kids from harassment and bullying based on identity; to slow the onslaught of gun-related murders. How are these “evil”?
Republicans rely on labels and sloganeering for two reasons: (1) they are simple, however inaccurate; and (2) if they openly share their positions, a massive majority of Americans will disagree with every damned one of them.
If we help move more voters to look deeper than labels and heuristics, to look at the actual people running to see who stands for them, then Republicans will lose every election. That’s the task ahead. It’s a hard one. But open, discerning eyes are what will save this country.

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More from @JeffRoushPoetry

Apr 30
There are good reasons Americans don’t trust our government institutions. We’ve moved from a “trust, but verify” model to a “just trust us and shut up” model. And this may feel pie-in-the-sky right now, but we could change that.(Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue
1. Congress. We need a new Voting Rights Act—in part because the Supreme Court gutted the one we have, but also in part because some of the threats have changed. The way districts are drawn has turned the ideas of democracy and representation into punchlines.
We should demand fair districts in every state. This doesn’t just mean balancing democratic and Republican districts against each other, but creating more competitive districts. Representatives aren’t accountable to their districts because they are designed to go to one party.
Read 8 tweets
Apr 29
Tonight’s #FridayLimericks go to Samuel Alito, with all due respect—and no more. #LimerickRhyme
Judge Alito is claiming to know
The Dobbs leaker, the source of his woe.
This conspiracy game
Will work best with no name,
While he celebrates killing off Roe.
wapo.st/3HnkSg1
This guy never thought much of our rights;
We all knew well before Senate fights.
It was never that hard
To see Sam’s disregard
For the gains he’d soon put in his sights.
civilrights.org/resource/oppos…
“Please respect us,” we heard him beseech—
During a naked political speech,
Where the man bared his clause
For conservatives’ cause
At the Heritage folks spend and leech.

afj.org/article/justic…
Read 8 tweets
Apr 28
A bit of local democracy in action to share. Last night I attended a school board meeting—something I don’t do often enough. The topics included a series of proposed policy changes, two of which in particular seem troubling. (Thread)
#ResistancePride
#LiveBlue ImageImage
The proposals were put out to address changing federal and state definitions/interpretations of “sex” in Title VII and Title IX. Specifically, they were deleting the parenthetical that defines prohibited discrimination to include the bases of gender identity and sexuality.
The problem in a nutshell: Ohio is challenging the federal definition as applied to Title IX. But with the definition in flux, the board chose to eliminate the language in question—and leave LGBTQ students feeling unsupported, written off.
Read 15 tweets
Apr 21
The trend of silencing elected representatives seems to be spreading. The @TNGOP and @MTGOP have acted with callous disregard not only for the representatives they silence, but for all the citizens whose representation they are cutting off. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue
The complaints about “decorum” are simply bogus. State Congress should not be using Pleasantville as the model for their operation, letting those with more power decide whether they want to hear unpleasant truths about their actions or biases.
Whether you call this nation a democracy or a republic, that is not how it is supposed to work. If you are a citizen of these or other states where a GOP majority is using these kinds of shenanigans to cut off voters from representation in government, this should wake you up.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 19
Like many, I’m disappointed that Dominion settled. But I don’t think it’s a terrible thing for America. Rather, we should treat this as a starting point for a new front in the war against disinformation. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue
The Dominion lawsuit felt incredibly strong—but there is no guarantee they would have won. Actual malice is a high bar. I think they had enough evidence to clear it, but it wasn’t a slam dunk with a jury.
And if it had gone all the way through, this was a case specifically about lies about, and damage to, Dominion. Any required on-air statements would have related to Dominion voting systems, rather than Fox’s general attacks on information and democracy.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 16
Like many here, I got much more involved in politics in 2015-16. But while fear and frustration were certainly part of my motivation, what keeps me going isn’t what I’m against; it’s what I’m for. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
#LiveBlue
The two can look and even feel similar. At times they cross over. But I find if all I am doing is opposing the worst of what I see in politics, I lose sight of what really matters to me. I’m not aiming for the struggle; I’m aiming for something more.
The Constitution of the United States provides that it exists “in order to form a more perfect Union.” It’s aspirational, yes, but it is motivational too. It speaks to a nation that should aim to grow, to progress toward becoming a nation that works for everyone.
Read 10 tweets

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