I rarely agree with anything I read or hear from the Christian Broadcast Network ("CBN"), but I stumbled upon an explanation of why the fundamentalists like Trump offered by David Brody that fits with my own stereotyped views of the evangelicals. Essentially, Brody claims that the religious fundamentalists know that they intentionally have imposed on themselves narrow minds that are rigidly opposed to any nuanced thought. They also recognize that their brittle worldview makes them appear to be stupid and backwards, and they understand that they are disrespected and made the subject of ridicule by people who are not afraid to exercise their brains or to ask questions about even things that seem settled.
Brody has created a soapbox and an arena on his CBN radio show for right wing presidential candidates to sell their views on abortion, same-sex marriage, and the myth of religious persecution of Christians to a large, evangelical audience. Using his knowledge of his audience, Brody's expert opinion is that they like Trump because they have convinced themselves that Trump is just as narrow minded and opposed to any nuanced thought as they are, albeit, Trump's beliefs are anathema to the beliefs of the people in Brody's evangelical audience.
Quotes below the squiggle.
In essence, Brody says the people in his evangelical audience are in a misery loves company frame of mind, and he appears to be therefore acknowledging that he too buys into the stereotype that his evangelical audience is indeed composed of dopes. He writes about Trump:
Donald Trump operates in a world of absolutes: A world of right and wrong; a world of winners (him) and losers (McCain, Perry, etc); a world of put up or shut up (literally). Trump's world is colored in black and white. There ain't much grey. And what does Trump get for speaking out so boldly without holding back? Public ridicule.
Brody then shows the commonality his audience perceives it shares with Trump:
Now, think of conservative evangelicals. In their quest to champion biblical values, their mindset is much the same. It is a world of absolutes. They believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. Non-negotiable. They believe there is only one way to heaven and that is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Non-negotiable. They see the world through the lens of spiritual warfare (good vs. evil). And what do evangelicals get for speaking out so boldly without holding back? That’s right: public ridicule.
He concludes by saying, "They relate to him because when they've been bold about their faith they get blasted too. It's a kinship in a strange sort of way."
One more thing. After describing his audience essentially as imbeciles who hate the subject of the message that Trump spews, but like him as a candidate because his rigid thinking and theirs make them think they are related as kin, Brody then offers the revelation that the conservative evangelicals are not swayed by candidates who pander to them about how close they are to Jesus because when Bush II was pushing the Federal Marriage Amendment, the evangelicals later discovered that Bush's campaign spokesman " Ken Mehlman was a homosexual who really didn't believe in the whole effort but it sure was good for political business." As hard as it is to believe, Brody is saying that the I love Jesus candidates are wasting their time if they cannot prove that they are isolated from everyone who is gay.
When you boil down what Brody disclosed, he does not demonstrate that the people in his audience are stupid just for aligning with Trump despite the content of Trump's message, if his take on the Ken Mehlman incident is accurate, he has proven they are dumb also because they would reject efforts by a President to accomplish one of their most cherished goals if it turned out there was a gay person working on the President's team.
Thanks Mr. Brody for putting the pieces together so cogently, and for making me feel good about my own disdain for the political thought process of conservative evangelicals.