The annual Values Voter Summit brings Religious Right leaders and activists together with Republican officials who are courting their political support. Donald Trump and Mike Pence made this year's summit the first one ever addressed by a Republican presidential ticket, but it was Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin who made the most deplorable comments--no small achievement at an event featuring people who've supported the criminalization of homosexuality, the banning of abortion without exceptions and the denial of First Amendment protections to American Muslims.
Bevin, who was honored with the Distinguished Christian Statesman award on Friday night, demonstrated his "statesmanship" on Saturday morning when he used rhetoric normally heard from the fringes of the far right, suggesting that freedom would be so imperiled by the election of Hillary Clinton that the people sitting in that hotel ballroom and their "children and grandchildren" might have to shed blood to allow America "to recover as a nation."
During the Obama administration it has become almost routine to hear far-right leaders talk about the possibility of armed revolution against the federal government. But it was jarring to hear a sitting governor suggest that America might only survive the election of Hillary Clinton through bloodshed.
"America is worth fighting for. America is worth fighting for, ideologically," he said. "I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don't have to do it physically," said Bevin. "But that may in fact be the case." He explained that it might take the shedding of the blood of tyrants and patriots for America to survive a Hillary Clinton presidency:
Somebody asked me yesterday, I did an interview and they said, 'Do you think it's possible, if Hillary Clinton were to win the election, do you think it's possible that we'll be able to survive? That we would ever be able to recover as a nation?' And while there are people who have stood on this stage and said we would not, I would beg to differ.
But I will tell you this: I do think it would be possible, but at what price? At what price? The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood, of who? The tyrants to be sure, but who else? The patriots. Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood that is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something, that we through our apathy and our indifference have given away.
Bevin has since tried to downplay the extremism of his comments by claiming on Monday that he was speaking about "military sacrifice" and the need to "fight to preserve the exceptionalism and the promise of America." But, as journalist Matthew Yglesias wrote, Bevin's explanation is "completely at odds" with the actual speech, in which he "is very clearly talking about patriots winning back liberty from the tyranny of Democratic Party governance," with Hillary Clinton playing the role of the tyrant whose blood must be shed to water the roots of the tree of liberty.
Bevin's comments, like the nomination of Donald Trump, reflect the conservative movement's increasing willingness during the Obama administration to embrace the far right. What were always fuzzy lines between "mainstream" conservatives and more extreme elements have virtually disappeared, exemplified by Trump's appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's radio show and the hiring of Steve Bannon, proud propagandist for the alt-right, to run his campaign.
Trump's path to the nomination was blazed by the conservative movement's embrace of know-nothing punditry, the vilification of liberals and mainstream media, and the promotion of conspiracy theories about President Obama's citizenship, faith, love of country, and supposed intention to invoke martial law to avoid relinquishing the White House after his second term. The Thomas Jefferson quote to which Bevin allude - "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants"--has been used by anti-government activists on issues ranging from health care reform to gun control to public land use. Timothy McVeigh was wearing a T-shirt with that quote on it when he was arrested 90 minutes after bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City.
The toxic consequences of the Republican Party's embrace of its far right have been all too evident this year, with violent clashes at campaign events and the reemergence of a white nationalist movement electrified and energized by Trump's attacks on immigrants, Muslims, and Black Lives Matter activists.
Republicans' decades of delegitimizing the federal government have brought us to such a dangerous level of division and distrust that it now feels as if they truly are playing with fire. The portrayal of the federal government as a tyrannical force has already led to armed standoffs between law enforcement officials and self-appointed militias. What will be the consequences of right-wing figures' suggestions that America could not survive a Hillary Clinton presidency?
Donald Trump's assertion that he could only lose Pennsylvania, where polls showed him well behind, if the election were rigged was irresponsibly setting the stage for an even more intensely divided country. Matt Bevin's suggestion that Trump losing the election might require violence from those who have been led to believe it's the only resort for those who love America is reprehensible and reckless.
But rather than apologize, Bevin has dissembled. And on Thursday morning he sent a fundraising email in which he portrayed the criticism he has been receiving as a badge of honor, saying, "It goes to show how out of touch liberals are with our principles and values when they take offense to statements by our founding fathers."
Bevin's utterly unconvincing defense of his remarks about shedding blood if Clinton wins have led to calls for his resignation and impeachment. Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jay Bookman called Bevin's comments "dangerous, volatile and profoundly irresponsible." The Arizona Republic editorialized against Bevin on Wednesday, saying, "True patriots don't call for blood." The entire editorial is worth reading, as is its conclusion:
We are not a nation where political losers take up arms. Politicians hint at that as a solution may think they are just throwing out applause lines to people who know better.But they are also lighting fuses and presenting violence as a legitimate way to solve political differences. That is dangerous and un-American.
Americans will have to live and govern together after this election is over. It's time for responsible leaders to repudiate those who suggest that peaceful political struggle will no longer be possible or sufficient if their preferred candidate fails to win.