In theory. Yet I’ve not ever heard of that happening.
Yeah, Trump tried to get the Johnson Amendment repealed, and the House did vote to have it struck down (sneaking it into a budget bill) but it didn’t go all the way.
Yet it doesn’t seem to be enforced so it might as well not exist. There’s one pastor who is flat-out telling his congregation that if they vote Democrat, they can’t be in the church. He’s also claiming publicly that he will start a riot bigger than the January 6 insurrection.
This was months ago. Nothing has happened to him, nor will it happen, surely. Churches can say whatever they want and it doesn’t matter. Laws that nobody enforces aren’t really laws. In the words of Barbossa, Captain of the Black Pearl, they are “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules”.
I think I see that you’re not familiar with, so called, ““Pastor”” Greg Locke? He’s part of Steven Andenson’s New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement (also known as the NIFB).
I can’t find a single video that fully encapsulates his pure evil… but let’s say that Greg’s the kinda guy that would piss on a LGBT person that was on fire because they were dying to quickly and weren’t suffering enough.
This year in my Michigan precinct, there were no Democratic or Republican ballots. You were simply told by the person giving you the ballot that you could only choose one side of the ballot to vote on and if you tried to go back and forth and vote for both parties your vote would be discarded.
Yeah, I feel the pain of being other than a MAGAbot in Ottawa County. I grew up in Muskegon, one county to the north and while not exactly a liberal hotbed, is at least more diverse. My daughter’s biggest mistake in life was going to Hope College, which she corrected after one semester. They’re good people- as long as you act and believe exactly as they want you to. I’ve heard stories of people in Holland having to wash their cars in their garage on Sunday, lest they be seen by neighbors working on the Sabbath.
Not sure how long it’s been since you heard those stories but Holland is actually a liberal oasis in an otherwise red county. I grew up in Dearborn and it’s largely the same politically in Holland. Democrat mayor, Democrat on the county board. Now venture outside city limits? Look out.
And heading NE of Muskegon is no treat either.
Crazy nutjob screed said:
We believe civic engagement, ground up, is critical to preserve a healthy, moral society.
Yeah but what about when that “civic engagement” is bullshit? Turns out it matters how it’s prepared. Always make sure to follow USDA guidelines:
"Ground up bullshit is more susceptible to contamination than whole cuts of bullshit. It’s often made from the bullshit of many idiots, so bullshit from a single moron can end up contaminating many voters in a precinct or district.
With whole cuts, any harmful bullshit that may be present usually sticks to the surface, so it will be killed pretty easily once you expose it to intelligence."
In a positive development, a resident started a fundraiser for the library, and it has currently raised $140K. And after a public meeting last week, the library board voted unanimously to put a funding measure on the November ballot. It’s sad that fundraisers are needed for stuff like this, but I guess we find the bright spots where we can.
Yeah, “Pastor” Locke had a book burning a few months ago, and it was apparently crashed by a man who threw a book into the fire, and he said he was gay, that was a Bible he threw into the fire, and then yelled “Hail Satan” and ran off before anyone could catch him. I’m a Christian, and I love this! Were this to happen in my area, I probably would have purchased a pulp novel at a thrift store and done something similar LOL.
Locke can say pretty much whatever he wants, politically anyway, because his organization (I refuse to call it a church) does not have a 501(c)3 status. He PROHIBITED masks after COVID hit, if that tells you anything.
Not being a 501(c)3 doesn’t make that much of a difference, in my opinion. Churches pretty much have free rein to say what they want without fear of governmental crackdown.
Hey OP - how did yesterday’s election treat you? I looked up the election results, but wasn’t able to really assess their implications.
FWIW, I recently met up with some excellent folk at the
Grand River Watershed Arts/Music Council. Just offering that in case you were looking for more local folk with whom you might share views.
So six of the eight nutjobs running for county commission seats didn’t have any competition yesterday (including my district), and the two that did, handily defeated the democrats, so the county board is now run by shitbirds.
Not even “paper candidates”?
Nothin’. This has been traditionally a Republican area, but run by old-school Dutch reformed conservatives. Solid, salt-of-the-earth-types. Nothing fancy, but everything was run great. They even established a county Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, to better address the needs of the growing minority and LGBTQ populations in the more populous areas of the county.
These nutjobs saw an opportunity to catch everyone (both Dems and the incumbent Republicans) off guard with a lot of money and billboards. They won.
Really sorry to hear that.
So I just want to give a little update from here in West Michigan, a bit of good news-- a feel good election story, sanity rising up to defeat batshit crazy:
As I mentioned in the OP, West Michigan (and specifically my county, Ottawa) is traditionally old-school conservative. The Congressional seat in Grand Rapids was Gerald Ford’s. A few years ago, libertarian Justin Amash was the representative. Then moderate Republican Peter Meijer (who voted to impeach the previous president) was the member of Congress representing a good chunk of West Michigan (Grand Rapids area).
But then last year, Meijer, who, as I mentioned, voted to impeach Trump, lost his primary to noted nutjob and former Trump appointee, John Gibbs. Ah yes, John Gibbs. What can I say about this guy?
Well, this guy was never actually Senate-approved for his Senate-approved job, as Senators in both parties questioned his fitness to hold office. This guy has said that women don’t “posess [sic] the characteristics necessary to govern,” and that women shouldn’t have the right to vote. This guy was a very vocal “the election was stolen” Trump stooge. This guy claimed Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair took part in Satanic rituals, and that Democrats are the party of “Islam, gender-bending and anti-police.” Gibbs is just an absolute bonker-balls looney toon. This guy’s only political/government experience prior to squatting in the Trump admin for a few years was as a “political commentator;” mostly he just spewed nonsense on Twitter.
Spoiler alert: He freaking lost the election in November, and a Democrat now represents a good chunk of West Michigan for the first time in, like, ever! Hooray! Hillary Scholten-- a marvelous person who will be a great congresswoman.
Oh, but wait, there’s more. Did I say this was a feel-good election story where sanity rises up to defeat batshit crazy? Oopsie.
Remember the nutjobs who I told you about that took over our county board? The ones who this thread is actually about? They won their election in November (as expected, since many of them ran unopposed once the primary was over), and were sworn in this week. One of their first acts in office (literally, minutes after being sworn in) was to fire the totally competent county executive (who was unanimously approved by the old Republican board), and hire John Fucking Gibbs to run the county. It was such a batshit move that even one of the new batshit county board members voted “no” on it.
They fired a seasoned and successful municipal/county administrator and brought on a clueless douche who has no experience working for a county, let alone running one.
Also at the meeting, the nutjobs voted to change Ottawa County’s vision statement from “Where you belong” to “Where freedom rings.” And these nutjobs, notorious antivaxxers who basically began their political movement to oppose masks and vaccine mandates, fired the totally competent County Health Director and are planning on putting their own stooge in the office; I can only imagine what this dude’s agenda is. Oh, and they also voted to eliminate the county’s Office of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, which was created in 2018 by the county’s previous Republican board. This department was a huge turning point for the county, and was much-needed in a once-lilly-white, but now becoming more black, Latino and Asian, county. It was a good move to attract business to the county, which is why the previous board established it. But these new clowns are terrified of the words “diversity,” “inclusion” and “equality.”
So anyway, happy new year. The idiots have officially taken over Ottawa County, Michigan.
Possible lining to the cloud: this may screw things up enough to bring out opposition candidates and get them all thrown back out at the next election.
People who complain vehemently about government often complain even more vehemently when its failure to work screws up something they’re used to having functioning.
From mid-Michigan, I feel your pain. Ottawa County always seemed like a bastion of conservative common sense, such as it was - Gerald Ford country. Hopefully this is an aberration that will correct itself next election cycle before too much damage is done.
The problem with these far right-wing types, as has been noted, is that they aren’t interested in governing at all. They want chaos and destruction of societal institutions, leading (they hope) to power and attention for themselves. They are hateful, horrible people. Yes, not all Republicans are like this but until the current R party kicks them out, I will never vote Republican again.
Are you talking about the mythological “pendulum” effect?
No, I’m talking about the “if my road didn’t get plowed I’m voting out whoever I can blame for it” effect.
(I don’t know whether in that particular county the county administrator can screw up the highway superintendent. But I’m pretty sure the county administrator can screw up something that’ll directly screw up a lot of people who vote. And it reads to me like this one’s going do, whether deliberately or by accident.)