CPAC and the Right-Wing International

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/11/25/the-world-according-to-cpac/

This article caught my eye because of the growing sense of a Right-wing International. And it's one that certainly incorporates the Evangelical community but is not exclusive to them.

And yet as that movement continues to grow in terms of its international influence, its horizons have broadened (it would seem) and increasingly there is cross-fertilisation taking place. While the American GOP has a long and established record of ties with international fascism, the Evangelical movement has hitherto kept some distance – but with Trump all of that has changed.

And so now we need to watch all the more carefully because the rhetorical refrains and ideology of these people are running rampant in Christian circles. The doors are wide open.

As expected the movement is rife with contradictions – both ideological and practical. As the article suggests the mainstream media label is itself becoming blurred as Right-wing figures now own a significant portion of the market. And as I and other have argued for years, identifying the mainstream as 'Left' has always been misleading at best. The Establishment that has long controlled the major institutions is neither fully Left nor Right. Someone like Michael Bloomberg seems to exemplify the views and values of this class. They could be described as liberal (or often more libertarian) when it comes to personal ethics, social mores and the like and yet they are Right-wing when it comes to economics, the markets, and the utilisation of Western power to enforce their will on the larger world. They are Liberal Imperialists in the classical sense, which certainly incorporates much of the Right-wing spectrum. Their economics are often more sophisticated than the kind of lame ivory tower concepts promoted by some ideologues or the intuitions of the Right-wings street. Likewise, they are not likely to fall prey to nationalist mantras and fanatical narratives but this doesn't mean that they are 'globalists' who want to see the state disappear. On the contrary their business interests need the state and especially its military power.

Bannon's conception of international communism working with the capitalists is comic – an exhibiting of both his ignorance and that of his audience. They have attached the communist label to a vast spectrum of ideas – very little of which has anything to do with the basic concepts of Marxism. Consequently they make little sense but as the term communism is really meant to provoke an emotional response (as opposed to referring to any actual ideological content) – it works.

Nationalism, anti-immigration, and increasingly the subversion of democracy are the big ideas. These groups will not win by means of the ballot box. Consequently they are laying the groundwork for the discrediting of all established institutions that have historically granted validity to the democratic process. The social consensus is being destroyed. Again, here's the irony. They largely lament this fact and blame the breakdown on the social chaos and upheaval they wish to combat. And yet it is these Right-wing elements that are doing all they can to destroy what remains of the consensus – the general acceptance and trust within society of its governing bodies and institutions and the values that undergird them. The imagery of the ouroboros again comes to mind. They are rapacious serpents and yet they can't build. They only destroy – even to the point of self-destruction. The Left is ultimately self-destructive. As Christians we can say that and see the futile end of their project. But in the short-term it is the Right that is self-destructing, being devoured by its internal cancers.

Even the promotion of the Mexican Drug War is riddled with contradictions. The US pushed for this campaign during the Bush II presidency and yet the wholesale destruction of societies and the chaos it has engendered has only accentuated the immigration crisis – and if anyone happens to be paying attention, the drug crisis is worse than ever. After a multi-year pressure campaign, the highly corrupt US government finally started to clampdown on the pharmaceutical industry and the way it flooded society with opioids. The legal pipelines were slowed and yet the demand was still there and so it opened up a new market via the southern border – and a new phase of drug war and struggle.

While we must agree that the trajectory of cultural debauchery and social perversion is troubling, these Right-wing elements have no solution and in reality those they do provide generate trouble all down the line. While the modern sodomite movement is plagued by various anthropological and epistemological fantasies to be sure, the Right often resorts to lies and scare tactics which do not accord with the integrity expected of a gospel testimony. The end does not justify the means. Additionally, the draconian response these people advocate generates a host of problems not just for those who would profess constitutionalism and adherence to the ideals of Classical Liberalism, but for those who follow the religion of the New Testament. The Kingdom is not advanced by jackbooted thugs kicking in doors and locking up people in cages. As I've often said, I do not lament when states intervene and suppress perversion but I wince when it is associated with the Church and its mission. This corruption of the gospel and Kingdom is far more problematic than the fact that I can't watch the Times Square ball drop anymore because it's immediately followed by sodomites kissing in the square. What is a modicum of sentimentality and relived childhood for me is in the grand scheme of things meaningless. And while I find those men to be abominable, I would hate to see a billy club smashing in their skulls – in the name of Christ. He will judge this world when He comes and not before. It is not our task as the Church to do so. Now if some pagan state wants to smash the skulls of deviants – so be it, but I can't support it.

But be careful what you wish for because a state engaged in that kind of ethical policing is only a hair's breadth away from smashing in my skull too – when I refuse to give them my sons to kill and be killed or when I refuse to bow to the idol of the state by failing to vote, participate in its judiciary, or pledge allegiance.

The Mexican setting acknowledges the resurgent Pink Tide in Latin America – the phenomena of Left-wing electoral victories in the aftermath of the Cold War and in light of the policies of Clinton and Bush. This was largely rolled back by means of US efforts during the   Obama and Trump years and yet now Left-wing parties are in the process of returning. This is coupled with and in opposition to the growing influence of Evangelical politics in the region. Though the Right is sounding the alarm, if one bothers to examine some of the analysis by the Left, one finds a great deal of triangulation taking place within these so-called Leftist political movements. Hardly radical, they have in many respects shifted to the centre and in some cases to the Right. But as the global Right has shifted to the Far-Right, these parties can still be used as a foil.

As mentioned in other recent pieces, this linked article also fails to demarcate the tension between Right-wing authoritarian trends and movements and that of Right-wing libertarianism. The libertarians are wont to express nationalist sentiment but they mean something different than would a hard-nationalist. Also, they tend to have rather different views of everything from economics to free speech. Obviously there's a lot of inconsistency and conflated ideologies at work – the point being that these Right-wing elements bear watching but there are real fissures just beneath the surface. They can rally around certain points but they're not always in full agreement. I don't think a great deal of comfort can be taken from this but it's worth mentioning as we watch these players and movements coalesce and at times break apart and turn on one another.

And once again as I've watched this latest wave of Right-wing movements become manifest in Latin America, they are cut from a different cloth than the fascist juntas of yesteryear. Many perpetuate elements of fascism but the salient point for me is the lack of actual social conservatism. And here's where it gets confusing. Like their counterparts in the American Right they attack feminism from a feminist platform. We see female pastors and politicians denouncing feminism – a patent absurdity but it's nothing new. Nevertheless people fall for it and listen to them uncritically not understanding what ideologies they actually represent and how this rhetoric is being used as a form of manipulation. Christians should condemn feminism and for that reason many of the most popular figures in the American Right also need to be condemned for that reason alone. Much more could be said about the economic system the movement champions that has pushed people to the feminist-pragmatic point of seeking two-incomes, but at this point that ship has largely sailed.

As I argued in another recent piece, if Churches actually make a stand on some of these issues they're not just going to lose numbers, the larger Right-wing movement will also abandon them – relegating them to the category of irrelevant sectarians. Such is the wisdom of this world.

The commentator is obviously a lost person but not all the comments are devoid of value or insight. As with all things they must be read critically.

Bannon is an evil guy and his influence is fairly pervasive. In many ways I don't really care about what he is or what he does but as I read the article, I keep thinking about how all of this is trickling down to the churches and how many 'ministries' partner with some of this filth – not to mention the money trails and cross-fertilisation. It all bears watching and we must warn even if no one listens. And I think there's some value in documenting concerns because down the road it may grant a modicum of credibility in the eyes of some when one can say – I saw this for what it is was long before x,y, or z happened. Just what those variables are, I cringe to think of. January 6 may have only been the beginning.

I recall how in the aftermath of the Iraq War many statements were made in Right-wing and Christian circles – 'We all fell for it', or 'We all believed that there were WMD', and so forth. No 'we' didn't. Some of us knew that it was all rubbish from the get-go. And some of us can see what's happening right before our eyes and this time I want the opposition documented.

See also:

https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-meloni-problem-i.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2021/11/vox-global-right-and-condor-20.html