It has been amply demonstrated that whenever the religious right says it only wants a place at the table for Americans with “traditional values,” it’s a sham. Whenever their leaders think they’re in unguarded moments where only their followers are listening, their true colors come out. One of the starkest examples of this came on Monday morning, when one of the religious right’s most extreme personalities went on a rant that is staggeringly loony even by religious right standards. He actually blamed Jewish organizations for attempting to destroy American culture.
In a movement full of loathsome characters, Dave Daubenmire is one of the most loathsome of all. The former high school coach-turned-evangelist believes that non-Christians have no right to sit in judgment of Christians, and that Hillary Clinton had no business running for president because she’s a woman. He’s also a full-blown conspiracy theorist; when Jeff Sessions was finally confirmed as attorney general, he openly hoped that Sessions would blow the lid on Pizzagate.
But those statements are models of sanity and restraint compared to what he spewed on Monday. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Daubenmire’s special guest was Charles Jennings, the head of Truth in History, a fringe Pentecostal outfit in Owasso, Oklahoma. Jennings told Daubenmire’s audience that Jews are behind a long-standing conspiracy to erode America’s supposed Christian foundation. He argued that this goes back to the time when the Jews were responsible for crucifying Jesus–and therefore, Jews have always been “the enemies of Jesus Christ.” For some time, he has argued that the true Israelites are to be found in the United Kingdom and the United States. This sounds like a new twist on British Israelism, the racist notion that Anglo-Saxons and their descendants are the true descendants of the Israelites.
Jennings told Daubenmire that this legacy continues to this day.
“Now, who is against Christianity and Christ today, mainly? There’s a lot of Israelites that are against Christ. But the organized effort to de-Christianize America has come from mainly Jewish organizations.”
Did Daubenmire try to shut this bilge down? Nope. He jumped right in, mentioning that the ACLU was one of those “Jewish organizations.” Jennings tickd off the Anti-Defamation League, while Daubenmire added the Southern Poverty Law Center. Jennings then reviewed how these organizations prove that they are the enemies of Christ.
“Who rises up and files a lawsuit against County X because they have a cross on the yard of the courthouse or a nativity scene? Who has perverted our culture more than these people that hated Jesus and hated the apostles? It’s the same crowd.”
The ACLU and SPLC have been among the religious right’s pet hates for years. But to hear Jennings and Daubenmire talk, they have been part and parcel of the vast Jewish conspiracy for years. Even by religious right standards, this is staggeringly loony.
Just in case Daubenmire even thinks about saying he was taken out of context, consider this excerpt from the information section on the full video.
“Caucasian gentiles have been the driving force for Jesus Christ throughout history. Understand this, the lie that modern day Israel is anything related to Jesus Christ, Christianity, or God’s people is a complete lie. They have an agenda to destroy righteousness, for they work for their father the Devil.”
Lest you think this is snark, see for yourself via a screenshot from YouTube.
Daubenmire has been blowing anti-Semitic dog whistles for some time. He claimed the Syrian missile strike came because Trump was listening to Jews rather than people who were “Holy Ghost filled”–a line similar to what fellow wingnut evangelist Rick Wiles spewed around the same time. He also claimed that Jews have lost God’s blessing because they’re “Christ-haters.”
But this latest screed leaves no doubt. Daubenmire is a stone-cold anti-Semite. It’s time to call him out for it–politely, of course. Let him have it on Facebook and on Twitter. Be sure to give Jennings an earful on Facebook and on Twitter as well. Jennings also airs his program on World Harvest Television, a Christian satellite channel run by LeSEA Broadcasting. Do they condone Jennings’ blatant anti-Semitism as well? Ask them–politely–on Facebook.
(featured image courtesy Daubenmire’s Facebook)
