The Trump-led Conservative Movement won’t save the nation, but it will at least keep the State from coming after practicing Catholics.
By Eric Sammons
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.
Der Friedensstifter 