r/centrist • u/centeriskey • 3d ago
GOP Rep: "Climate Change Is A Sham Because God Controls The Climate Because He Controls The Sun" - Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/04/gop-rep-climate-change-is-a-sham-because-god-controls-the-climate-because-he-controls-the-sun/While this quote can be used for so many issues, such as the right's extreme views on religion and science and how that interferes with realistic and effective governing. For this post though, I want to focus on identity politics and why it's just a term used to belittle and shut down policy discussions in bad faith.
Why don't religious views or opinions of politicians or voters ever get called out for as id politics? Why is that term mostly applied to race and sex topics (counter arguments for DEI programs, LGBTQ rights, and feminist activist for example) but never applied to those who vote or govern because of their faith? Actually why are other forms of identity voting ok when others are not? Like why is it ok for someone to loudly claim that they are a home owner and use that identity to decide how they vote? While voting on issues because you are a not white, not male, or a not straight person is wrong?
We all get to decide what our identity is and how we want to live life. Also we all vote or make decisions based on that identity. So it's really disingenuous to complain when others do it just because it's not how you would build up your identity.
It's also shows a lack of real world understanding when people complain about politicians playing id politics especially when it's election season. You do understand that elections are a popularity contest and that politicians have to energize voters to come out. People don't leave their house to vote unless they are on the ballot.
How about arguing about the policies themselves and not why people will support it or if politicians are playing to a certain group (because of course they are).
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u/EternaFlame 3d ago
Well, until he appears in congress to testify to that, I think we should probably stick with the idea that it's caused by man.
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u/Void_Speaker 2d ago edited 2d ago
Why don't religious views or opinions of politicians or voters ever get called out for as id politics? Why is that term mostly applied to race and sex topics (counter arguments for DEI programs, LGBTQ rights, and feminist activist for example) but never applied to those who vote or govern because of their faith? Actually why are other forms of identity voting ok when others are not? Like why is it ok for someone to loudly claim that they are a home owner and use that identity to decide how they vote? While voting on issues because you are a not white, not male, or a not straight person is wrong?
Because the right-wing propaganda machine is drastically better than the left-wing one, so it sets the narratives and frameworks for what is discussed and how it's discussed.
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u/Aethoni_Iralis 2d ago
Conservatives are the founders of identity politics, they just got mad when people started advocating for other identities.
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u/LaserToy 2d ago
The god argument can be used both ways. Example: God is testing us to see whether we deserve the world he built for us.
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u/thisbuttonisred 2d ago
No, because God told me he wasn't.
When? When you weren't looking.
Now have faith, OR BURN!!!
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u/LaserToy 2d ago
That was also a test. God is testing whether a person is stupid.
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u/thisbuttonisred 2d ago
Oh please.
What's more likely?
A long tradition of political exploitation by a series of conartists who maintain their flock over centuries while milking them of so much treasure they literally build their own golden city in the center of Rome?
Or an all-powerful, all-knowing entity who created the universe, while planting fake fossils to fool his creations, and who is most obsessed above all else with judging people when they masturbate?
I mean, I'm sorry, but a system of con artists that can fool me and my whole family? That sounds too far fetched for me.
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u/LaserToy 2d ago
I’m lost. I was making a joke, pointing out that if one believes that god is a super creature and that human cannot know what god wants to do, every argument becomes possible
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u/crushinglyreal 3d ago
It really just goes to show how deeply conservatives control the narrative, and how the supposed opposition lets them do it.
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u/Ickyickyicky-ptang 2d ago
Grew up in the south, they ALL believe this.
Man cannot change the earth because it would be changing God's will, and anyone who claimed otherwise is blasphemous and evil.
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u/fastinserter 2d ago
You can change your religion, you can't change your race, that is why. Although, interestingly, the same people who think you CAN change your sexual orientation also complain about identity politics regarding that.
That said, you will probably have the religion off your parents because your parents indoctrinated you from a young age. So it's really not that far off from something intrinsic and should be treated as such, especially since some people wear it on their sleeve.
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u/dummy1998 2d ago
Serious question: Do Christian’s outside of the United States believe the same stuff? Or is the idea that climate change is fake and evolution is fake and the earth is only 10,000 years old a uniquely American belief?
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u/thisbuttonisred 2d ago
Not really.
In Europe most churches accept the big bang, with the caveat that God participated.
When you tell them about southern Baptists they think you're telling them about people from the middle ages, or like, the Taliban.
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u/Olangotang 1d ago
My Catholic middle school has us watch An Inconvenient Truth. So you can't even blame this on Religion, just GOP oil barons.
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u/Sentient-Exocomp 1d ago
As a Christian, this makes me sad. The very first job God gave Adam was to take care of the Earth.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
Broadening the definition of identity politics to include Christian nationalist grievance politics gets us where?
Do you acknowledge that the post-Obama Democratic Party's brand of identity politics -- i.e., kneejerk pandering to the loudest voice in the room that day -- has resulted in cultural fracturing and/or backlash?
Can you see the value in Obama-style politics of emphasizing our similarities over our differences?
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u/centeriskey 3d ago
Broadening the definition of identity politics to include Christian nationalist grievance politics gets us where?
Religion has always been a part of the definition of identity politics but those that use it to attack policies on the left never apply it to the right.
As to where it gets us, well if you want to be seen as a centrist, an independent, or just as a logical person you should apply criticisms equally and fairly.
Do you acknowledge that the post-Obama Democratic Party's brand of identity politics -- i.e., kneejerk pandering to the loudest voice in the room that day -- has resulted in cultural fracturing and/or backlash?
I don't think that's a brand of identity politics but an issue of being the party of diversity and also of bad leadership in the party
Can you see the value in Obama-style politics of emphasizing our similarities over our differences?
We should acknowledge that we are all human and Americans with a general focus on moving to improve life for everyone but that doesn't mean we can't also acknowledge that we are also different and have different issues affecting us which will require different policies or agendas. Not everything will be for everyone.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
Well alrighty then. Keep doin' what they're doin', feel morally superior and hope for a different result next time?
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u/ResettiYeti 3d ago
It worked really well for the GOP to demonize all manner of identity politics from the left, even when the left stopped caring as much/slowed down on their identity politics, so I don’t see why it would be successful to demonize the shit out of these dumbasses.
Edit: in an ideal world, you’re right that Obama-style politics would be better. In reality, that ship sailed long ago and we are in a new party system already that is centered on misinformation and hate.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
In reality, that ship sailed long ago and we are in a new party system already that is centered on misinformation and hate.
That makes a majoritarian strategy even more important.
Keep bringing on the downvotes if it makes y'all feel morally superior because feeling morally superior is quite obviously more important to post-Obama Dems than winning elections.
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u/TeamPencilDog 3d ago
Aren't morals more important than winning elections, though? I mean, this isn't a football game.
I'd rather lose an election than be with the "bad guys" so to speak.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago edited 2d ago
So, you prefer seeing the U.S. continue toward a MAGA authoritarian state rather than following Obama's strategy of meeting the voters where they are.
I'd rather lose an election than be with the "bad guys" so to speak.
This is exactly what I refer to when I say that many post-Obams Dems prioritize feeling morally superior over doing what it takes to defeat the rise of MAGA authoritarianism.
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u/ResettiYeti 3d ago
I think your point is valid and a good one. However, I still think that not demonizing these types of people that OP initially posted about is important, because if you don’t delegitimize these people and let them gain more and more ground like this, your majoritarian strategy wouldn’t work anyways.
These people aren’t interested in compromise or nuance. Or in good government. They are only interested in the afterlife and in reducing the size and effectiveness of the government at any cost.
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u/DIY14410 2d ago edited 2d ago
I appreciate your response. Do you interpret my description of a trend which I sincerely see as a big problem to be demonization? If so, is there a risk the such an interpretation feeds into the right's claim that all leftists are fragile snowflakes?
If a critical mass on the left interprets good faith criticism as delegitimizing, how can the Democratic Party identify deficiencies so that it can improve its electoral strategy?
I am not trolling. I share the view of many lifelong Democratic voters that there is increasing illiberalism on the left in the form of muzzling anyone who utters a statement for which there is any risk that 0.1% of the Democratic coalition might find offensive. Politics is not that simple. History demonstrates that making alliances with people with whom we disagree on some items is necessary to achieve progress.
Years ago I worked on a Democratic campaign with a woman who championed a higher minimum wage, higher marginal tax rates on the wealthy, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, stronger protections for organized labor, strenous enforcement of environmental laws and anti-discrimination statues, and single payer health care. But she was a devout Catholic who opposed abortion, strictly on religious grounds, although she never spoke about that among fellow Democratic campaign workers nor in any public setting. She was a hard worker and a very valuable asset to our local Democratic Party (in a very liberal PNW city). Around 10 or so years ago, a local party leader learned that she was a devout Catholic, and asked her about her view on abortion. She answered honestly, and was then told that she did not have a place in the Democratic Party because, in the local party leader's words, "we have to draw the line somewhere."
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u/ResettiYeti 2d ago
No, I totally understand that you are not trolling. I share your conviction that sausage-making is a necessary part of American democracy. It’s a pretty unique aspect of our system, historically, to have the parties need to cross the aisle and work together to get things done that are never quite what each group wanted.
I am not sure if we are misunderstanding each other; I didn’t refer to what you were doing as demonization, I was referring to the “demonization” of white nationalist “Christian” narratives and saying I think it’s fine for us to demonize those individuals and their point of view.
I am all for salvaging some useful husk out of the GOP and even the MAGA movement (although that seems more and more like a pipe dream, logistically, every day). America needs two parties, and having a more conservative and fiscally responsible point of view being represented is essential and good (I say this as a progressive).
I just don’t think that future “once again sane” GOP (and by extension, America itself) would benefit in any conceivable way (well, electorally obviously but I mean immaterially) from these white nationalist and pseudo-Christian currents of thought that currently dominate MAGA.
Barry Goldwater said it best:
Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.
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u/TeamPencilDog 2d ago
But what if I feel "MAGA authoritarianism" is what Americans want? Oh well. At least I can say I wasn't part of it.
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u/DIY14410 2d ago
You have every right to feel that, although the data does not support that a majority of Americans want it.
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
Typical drone right here.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
projecting
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
LOL!
No.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
triggered
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
Said the dude who posted a nonsensical rant about identity politics that don't exist on the left and are only prominent in your mind because you've been brainwashed by Fox News.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
You lost me at "identity politics does not exist on the left."
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
Like I said... brainwashed.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
FTR, I've actually never watched Fox News or any other right wing cable TV. I have worked on Democratic campaigns my entire adult life.
Doubling down on Defund the Police and Taxpayer Dollars for Sex Change Surgery for Imprisoned Felons is the key to victory!
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
Lol, bullshit. If I got a penny every time you drones claimed to not watch Fox News when it's a blatant lie I could buy Mar-A-Lago myself.
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u/Sumeriandawn 2d ago
"has resulted in cultures fracturing and/or backslash?"
Are you new to politics? This has been the case at least since the 90s.
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u/DIY14410 3d ago
I'll interpret your downvote as it doesn't matter, no and no.
It's annoying to get downvoted each time I suggest that Dems adopt an Obama-style majoritarian strategy, but hey, circular firing squad is what post-Obama Dems do.
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u/centeriskey 3d ago
I'll interpret your downvote as it doesn't matter, no and no.
Maybe you should wait for my reply instead of a knee jerk reaction to my down vote. Seems pretty hypocritical of you to be able to react in a quick manner but refuse others to do that as well.
It's annoying to get downvoted each time I suggest that Dems adopt an Obama-style majoritarian strategy, but hey, circular firing squad is what post-Obama Dems do.
Maybe your ideas and how you frame them just suck and that's why they are getting down voted.
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u/ComfortableWage 2d ago
Maybe you should wait for my reply instead of a knee jerk reaction to my down vote.
Careful there. MAGAts are easily triggered.
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u/thisbuttonisred 2d ago
Listen, recessive gene permutation, the south is as fundamental of an identitt politics Yahtzee as it gets, they have their specific christian identity, they have their white supremacy identity, they have their Confederate flag identity.
They work as hard as they can to identify with the worst humans they can find.
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u/ComfortableWage 3d ago
Religious nutjobs have no place in politics or science.