The Cycle- On Substack
The Cycle- On Substack
Welcome to the Crusades 2.0
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Welcome to the Crusades 2.0

An Interview with Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening our Democracy.
The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening  Our Democracy | Broadleaf Books

If you’ve been following the transition of the Republican Party from the party of Reagan into whatever the hell it is now you’ll know that the once “useful idiots” of the Republican Party, the Christian Right, now rule the party and they have big plans for Trump 2.0.

As Dr. Taylor points out in our interview about his book The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening our Democracy, for all the attention January 6th received, a key part of that story has been largely ignored.

Along with bear spray, confederate flags, and combat gear, Christian nationalist iconography was all over the insurrection.

New York Times: Another controversial flag spotted outside an Alito  property | CNN Politics

In fact, you might remember watching this motley crew of Trump loyalists anointing their violent take over of our nation’s heart of democracy with a group prayer.

You may also remember the 2023 reporting that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew something called The Appeal to Heaven Flag many of us were introduced to for the first time on January 6th flying at the highest peak of the Alito family flag poll at various points since 2020.

Even worse, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson flies on on his office door right there in Capitol Hill.

An Appeal to Heaven flag is seen outside Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's office next to the Louisiana state flag.

And worse yet, our likely Trumpian Defense Secretary is an out and proud Christian Nationalist who, I shit you not, is a fan of the Crusades. THE CRUSADES.

All of secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth's tattoos

So what in the hell does it all mean??! What are these religious fanatics planning for the rest of us?

That’s why I’ve brought Matthew D. Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies on for a conversation about the Christian Nationalist movement and what we should expect from them as they ascend to power for the first time in American history.

Don’t miss this conversation because the survival of the separation of church and state depends on it.

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The Cycle- On Substack
The Cycle- On Substack
On The Cycle, political strategist Rachel Bitecofer speaks with today's headline makers about politics.