A Pragmatic Alliance

Last weekend the conservative organization Turning Point USA hosted a major convention in Detroit featuring top conservative figures like Vivek Ramaswamy, Kristi Noem, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Charlie Kirk (the founder of Turning Point). The big draw was Donald Trump as the keynote speaker. What I saw at the convention was instructive for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the Conservative Movement as it pertains to saving this nation.

Attending this event was a novel experience. I’ve always followed politics, but at a respectable distance. I don’t keep track of all the personalities in politics (I didn’t recognize half the speakers at this event), and I don’t get super-engaged in the political process. Catholics for Catholics held a breakout session on the Catholic vote and invited me to speak on the state of the Church as it relates to the November election. Catholics for Catholics is committed to injecting unapologetic Catholicism into the political world, so I was happy to accept the invitation.

Over the years I’ve attended countless Catholic conferences, but a political convention like this is a completely different animal. The differences, in fact, reflect why Catholics should be wary of a too-close alliance with the Conservative Movement, on which I’ll elaborate more in a moment.

This is not to say that the convention didn’t have its positive elements. The other attendees I met were solid, down-to-earth people. They were mostly evangelical Christians rightly concerned about the direction of the country. They were all yuge Trump fans, but most of them understood his limitations. As one woman said to me, “I don’t want him as my pastor, but I’ll be happy to have him as my president.” These were the type of people I’d love to have as neighbors.

I was also happy to witness a strong resistance to the transgender movement. The biggest cheers by far occurred when a speaker condemned drag queen story hours or men participating in women’s sports. (Based on political conservatives’ track record, however, I’m not confident the Conservative Movement will remain strong against the trans tyranny, but at least for now it is resisting it.)

Aside from those positives, however, it was clearly evident for any with eyes to see that the Conservative Movement is not going to save this country. Most of the speakers came across as robots who simply knew which clichés to say to get a cheer (“I love my country!” “Peace through strength!” “Biden is incompetent!”). Listening to a Kristie Noem or a Rick Scott speak made me think that perhaps AI is already with us in human form. No originality, no real thinking. I have no idea if they actually believe what they are saying, and I suspect that in more than a few cases, they do not. This is in sharp contrast to many of the true believers in the crowd. 

I was reminded of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Conservative politicians often make bold promises to true believers, but then disappoint greatly once in office. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for all the Charlie Browns.

There were exceptions among the speakers. Vivek Ramaswamy gave an impassioned and intelligent speech. Steve Bannon is inspiring. Benny Johnson is hilarious. Donald Trump, Jr. is far more impressive than I thought he would be. And of course his Dad can work a crowd better than anyone I’ve ever witnessed. Notice that, other than Donald Trump, none of these men are running for office right now. They state truth bluntly and don’t worry about the consequences as much.

Of course, while speakers—good or bad or boring—might command the most attention at a convention, they are not the entire story. The whole event came across as part carnival, part grifterfest, and part acquiescence to the culture.

The main stage was set up and run to generate the most emotional response possible. The music was incredibly loud (yes, I know I sound like a boomer, but it literally pounded your heart) and chosen simply on its ability to stimulate. There were fireworks and smoke machines and light shows that introduced and concluded every talk. Every speaker was introduced as if he or she was the Next Political Savior. It was clearly a pavlovian effort to get people pumped up to hear Congressman Nobody from Nowhere say what the previous six speakers said.

Then there was the grifting. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with people making money. I think the term “grifter” is over-used, usually by envious people. But watching some young woman “influencer” push some bottled water product (“Freedom2o!”) that is supposed to advance conservatism is a bridge too far for me. It’s water, people.

The most disconcerting part of the convention, however, was the atmosphere itself. The focus of Turning Point has always been young people, and many were there. What struck me, as someone who usually attends Catholic conferences and goes to a TLM parish each week, was the dress of the young women. Many appeared as if they would later be working the streets, if you know what I mean. And I don’t think this is just a generational or prudish thing, as I don’t really care about women wearing jeans or professional outfits. No respectable Christian would ever dress in the clothing paraded at this convention.

Why do I bring up all these criticisms when I largely agree with the general goals of the convention? Because Catholics need to be reminded, again and again, that the Conservative Movement will not save this country. The Movement’s acceptance of the degenerate culture around us is its kryptonite. I didn’t hear one speaker condemn gay marriage—an issue that was front-and-center within the Movement a decade ago and was likely one of those clichés yelled out to get an automatic cheer. Very few said anything against abortion. People who think the surrounding culture is basically fine as long as we get a different occupant in the White House move us toward defeat as much as progressives, albeit a little slower.

So should Catholics simply skip this election? While I’m tempted by that argument, I believe that practicing Catholics should support Donald Trump this fall. I see this as a pragmatic alliance. He may not be one of us, but he doesn’t hate us. This was the theme of my talk at the convention. I believe that practicing Catholics should support Donald Trump this fall. I see this as a pragmatic alliance. He may not be one of us, but he doesn’t hate us. Tweet This

I was speaking to mostly Trump-loving Catholics, and I urged them to realize that many strong Catholics are hesitant to vote for Trump. As I see it, it is these “Trump-hesitant” Catholics who will be the swing vote to decide whether Trump gets the majority of the Catholic vote this fall.

Who are “Trump-hesitant” Catholics? I’m not talking about the modernist boomers. They aren’t hesitant, they’re haters. They’re voting for Biden no matter what. I’m also not talking about the average Catholic who doesn’t really take his religion into consideration when voting. I’m talking about the faithful Catholics who would never vote for Biden but because of their distaste for and/or distrust of Trump and the Conservative Movement, they plan to either vote third-party or, more likely, not vote at all.

I understand these Catholics; in fact, I have been one of them. I released a podcast a few months ago in which I suggested that I might not vote this November. I received a lot of responses to that episode. Interestingly, those who criticized me were mostly people my age or older. Those who agreed with me were mostly in their 20’s or 30’s. These young people are completely disaffected by the political process, either because of the failed promises of the Republican establishment, or due to skepticism toward the legitimacy of the voting process, or because of a dislike for Donald Trump. Whatever the reason, they plan to sit this election out.

While, like I said, I’m sympathetic to this view, I’ve come to see things differently now. The felony convictions of Trump made clear that the Left will stop at nothing to retain power. These people want to control every aspect of my life and want to shove their degeneracy on my children. They throw pro-lifers in jail. They have their FBI goons investigate Latin-Mass parishioners. They parade sexual deviants on our television screens and in the faces of our children. Trump won’t do any of that, and that made me rethink my own inclination to sit the election out.

A friend who is solidly in this group that is very cynical of the political process plans to vote for Trump in the fall. His argument is simple: “To vote for him takes about an hour out of my life. In return, I might get four years of relative freedom from my enemies until they try to come after me again. That’s a worthwhile trade.”

That’s what I mean by a pragmatic alliance. You don’t have to like Donald Trump. You don’t have to believe him when he promises to solve all our problems on his first day in office. You don’t even have to think he’ll be a good president. And no, Trump and the Conservative Movement won’t save us. But Trump doesn’t hate you, and he won’t use the State to try to come after your way of life.

The same cannot be said of the Democrat ticket. Isn’t holding one’s nose to vote for Trump worth it to avoid the possibility that the State won’t hate you for four years?

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]