Before laying out the case that
is today’s discourse, let us begin by stipulating a working definition for
mulligan. According to Merriam-Webster, mulligan is defined as:
“A free shot sometimes given a golfer in informal play when
the previous shot was poorly played”
If you are a golfer, you
are probably already familiar with the term. If not, think of do-over, fresh
start, redo, refresh, renew, restart, or start over. The subtle distinction is,
in golf, a mulligan is most often a onetime thing. I’m sure I don’t have to
tell you Donald Trump is not a “onetime kinda guy.”
Alas, I’m getting ahead of
myself. Back to the future…or at least the immediate past. Yesterday, Tony
Perkins, a former Republican member of the Louisiana
House of Representatives and current President of the Family Research
Council, a conservative policy organization based in Washington, D.C., said in an interview on
CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront:”
"Yes,
evangelicals, conservatives, they gave him a mulligan. They let him have a
do-over. They said we'll start afresh with you and we'll give you a second
chance."
The timing of Mr. Perkins’ comments was
important in that it followed a Wall Street
Journal report that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen,
formed a private LLC to pay a former porn star in exchange for not speaking
publicly about an alleged sexual encounter with the then-candidate. For the
record, Mr. Cohen, President Trump, and the former porn star, Stormy Daniels,
have all denied the alleged sexual encounter.
Family Research Council is best known for promoting
socially conservative family values. One of the foundational pillars of the
organization, per its website is promoting marriage and family. This is
expressly stated as:
“Family
Research Council champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization,
the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. Properly understood,
'families' are formed only by ties of blood, marriage, or adoption, and
'marriage' is a union of one man and one woman."
Mr. Perkins, in clarifying his position, and
that of evangelicals and conservatives, writ large, who support President Trump
(no matter what), said it is the relationship Trump has built with
evangelicals, as well as his “constitutionally conservative” policies,
including appointing judges who oppose abortion that garners the support.
You know what? I’m not even gonna trip about
this incident. In fact, were it just this one instance, while I would still be
inclined to deem it hypocritical, I could at least accept the premise of it
being a mulligan. But I think we all know that is not how this President rolls.
What do I mean by that, you may ask? That’s a
great question; I’m glad you inquired. It means this gentleman, and I use the
term loosely, has a long and lurid history of using words and taking actions upon
which conservatives in general, and evangelicals in particular, would routinely
frown. But even in golf, he is apparently known for his excesses. That Mr.
Perkins employed a golf analogy is apt, because the President has certainly indulged
frequently in his love of golf during his first year in office,
during which time he is said to take “one free mulligan after another” on the
links, according to former ESPN
columnist Rick Reilly.
The Right and the Evangelicals attacked
President Obama day in and day out during the entire 8 years of his presidency.
Eight months into the Trump presidency, it is clear comparisons are there, just
begging to be made between Trump and Evangelicals' hypocritical new stances. As
I have noted often, conservatives and evangelicals leap to twist themselves
into pretzel shapes, all in an effort to defend Trumpspeak and behavior.
Undoubtedly
Mr. Perkins and his evangelical and socially conservative friends are schooled
in the ways of our President, and they not only know just what he needs, they
are committed to giving it to him. So how about these for do-overs, fresh
starts, redo’s, refreshes, renewals, restarts, or start-overs?
· In 2016, President Obama visited flooded
areas of Louisiana. At the time of his visit, there had been 13 deaths, 7
trillion gallons of rainfall, 24 inches of measured rainfall, and an
estimated $15 billion in damages had accumulated. Evangelicals lambasted
President Obama for not visiting earlier.
· In 2017, President Trump visited a dry
airport near flooded areas of Texas. At the time of his visit, there had been 16
deaths, 11 trillion gallons of rainfall, 49 inches of measured rainfall, and an estimated $50 billion in damages had accumulated. President
Trump didn’t hug a neck, kiss a cheek, or wipe a tear. He didn’t encounter
water falling from the sky or puddling upon the earth. He didn’t mention the
loss of a police officer, or the drowning of a family of six. Evangelicals
offered no criticism.
· In 2012, in anticipation of President
Obama’s quick response to Hurricane Sandy, Citizen Trump tweeted: “Not only
giving out money, but Obama will be seen today standing in water and rain like
he is a real President---don’t fall for it.” He went on: “Obama is now standing
in a puddle acting like a President –give me a break.” ~ October 31, 2012. He
was damned for getting to NJ to soon and actually getting his feet wet, and
damned for waiting for the water to recede in Louisiana, as the Governor asked
him to do.
· In 2011, evangelicals excoriated Obama
for leading from behind and not protecting Libyans from being slaughtered by
Gaddafi. Then, after getting others to go first with their troops and money,
evangelicals eviscerated President Obama for getting involved in Libya. Damned
if he did, damned if he didn’t.
· In 2013, when Syria erupted, President
Obama sought a Congressional prescription by asking Congress to direct his
actions. They refused. The GOP led Congress opted out because had they taken a
position, they wouldn’t be able to change it and be on the opposite side of the
President. They wanted to be on the opposite side of whatever action he took.
· In 2010, after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil
spill, conservatives castigated President Obama for not doing enough. They
named the spill, “Obama’s Katrina.” And
then…when President Obama met with BP and persuaded them to a $20 billion fine
to execute the cleanup, a House GOP member, Joe Barton – TX, openly apologized
to the CEO for the shakedown of BP by President Obama, and Rand Paul said
President Obama’s criticism of the foreign company was “un-American.” Damned if
he did, damned if he didn’t. Imaging the crowing Donald J. Trump would have done about his negotiating skills.
· In 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell refused to support President Obama’s initiative to warn the public
about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. McConnell would
not sign a bipartisan statement about Russia’s efforts. President Obama felt
the lack of a bipartisan action would serve the Kremlin’s interest. Naturally,
when the conversation emerged after the election, Republicans, conservatives,
and evangelicals blamed Obama for not doing anything to warn the public about
the Russian intrusion. Not just damned if he did, but obstructed, and then damned
when he didn’t.
So it is with this serial
conservative, GOP, and evangelical hypocrisy as a backdrop that I pen today’s
post. Team Trump, which includes an amalgamation of all of the above, and then
some, has the unmitigated gall and outrageous audacity to whimper, whine, and whinny
that the current criticism of President Trump is unprecedented; worst than any
previous president has had to endure. I do not hesitate to convey to you that
such a claim fails to pass either the reasonable man (or woman) standard, or
any version of a truth test. It’s just a fact-free claim; baseless and absurd
on it’s face. What is clear is that…EvangelicalsHave Given Trump A Mulligan: It Must Be To Infinity!
I’m done; holla back!
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