Conservatives are equal parts incensed and mystified by the changes in Rep. Mike Johnson’s policy positions since he became Speaker of the US House. There are some plausible explanations out there, like this one from Revolver:
Speaker Johnson might as well go by “Flip Flop,” given his recent track record. He’s been switching his positions on major issues, directly going against what his base stands for. First, it was the funding for Ukraine; now, he’s in the thick of the FISA 702 battle and taking the wrong side yet again. What gives? Johnson’s speakership is becoming a series of flip-flops that’s leaving everyone wondering if he’s been bribed, blackmailed, or both.
. . . Edward Snowden thinks he’s figured out what’s really going on with Speaker Johnson. It’s a “textbook case” of “Congressional capture.”
. . . So, what exactly is “Congressional capture” that Snowden speaks of, and how does it work? Well, it’s simple in theory but can be quite complex in practice, shaping itself around each politician.
In short, “Congressional capture” is when lawmakers or legislative bodies fall under the heavy influence of outside interests, like big corporations, special interest groups, or US intel. These influences ensure that their agendas take precedence over the public’s needs. In simple terms, this means certain policies or laws that favor these groups are advanced, while criticism or resistance is quietly suppressed. Suddenly, their most ferocious critics become their biggest cheerleaders [To see some of the frightening consequences of the Speaker’s sellout on FISA, read this—W.G.].
Because of the continual failure of conservatives in DC to break the power of the Deep State (from the Reagan Revolution to the Gingrich Revolution; from the Tea Party to Trump), conservatives/revivalists need to make a deeper examination of the US political system to see why this has come about, and to figure out how the oppressive oligarchs can be dislodged from their perches of power.
Theological Aspects
Since theology is at the heart of any issue that man may consider, it is best to begin our examination here. The Spanish arch-conservative, Juan Donoso Cortes (1809-53), is a helpful friend in this, he who fought so heroically to save Spain from her disastrous fall away from Christianity into Revolution. He observes that political systems correspond to people’s religious beliefs: democracy/socialism to atheism, republics to pantheism, and monarchy with monotheism (‘Discourse on the General Situation of Europe,’ in Donoso Cortes: Readings in Political Theory, Herrera, editor, McNamara & Schwartz, translators, Sapientia Press, Ave Maria, Fl., 2007, pgs. 74-5).
That is something quite profound to dwell upon, and St. Seraphim Rose (+1982) helps us to do so by taking us deeper into the ocean of theology. He quotes Donoso Cortes in his Orthodox Survival Course (‘Lecture 8: Meaning of Revolution’), showing us how classical liberalism (i.e., the system we currently live under, in which rulers are chosen by elections, a sort of middle ground between democracy and monarchy) does not rest on firm, stable ground:
“The liberal school,” he said, “...is placed between two seas, whose constantly advancing waves will finally overwhelm it, between socialism and Catholicism.... It cannot admit the constituent sovereignty of the people without becoming democratic, socialistic, and atheistic, nor admit the actual sovereignty of God without becoming monarchical and Catholic....”xxxix
“This school is only dominant when society is threatened with dissolution, and the moment of its authority is that transitory and fugitive one, in which the world stands doubting between Barabbas and Jesus, and hesitates between a dogmatical affirmation and a supreme negation. At such a time society willingly allows itself to be governed by a school which never affirms nor denies, [italics in original] but is always making distinctions.... xl“Such periods of agonizing doubt can never last any great length of time. Man was born to act, and will resolutely declare either for Barabbas or Jesus and overturn all that the sophists have attempted to establish....”
Republics, warns Cortes, will either fall into atheism and democratic socialism (i.e., communism) or they will rise to Christian belief and monarchy.
There are a bevy of verses in the Bible that confirm what Donoso Cortes and St. Seraphim have said above, as well as many statements by writers and saints of the Church. Here are a couple from a long list compiled by a Christian who has lived in the chief swamp city itself:
St Gregory the Theologian [+4th century] says in his Third Theological Oration:
“The three most ancient opinions concerning God are Anarchia, Polyarchia, and Monarchia. The first two are the sport of the children of Hellas, and may they continue to be so. For Anarchy is a thing without order; and the Rule of Many is factious, and thus anarchical, and thus disorderly. For both these tend to the same thing, namely disorder; and this to dissolution, for disorder is the first step to dissolution. But Monarchy is that which we hold in honour.”
“A priest who is not a monarchist is not worthy to stand at the altar table. The priest who is a republican is always a man of poor faith. God himself anoints the monarch to be head of the kingdom, while the president is elected by the pride of the people. The king stays in power by implementing God’s commandments, while the president does so by pleasing those who rule. The king brings his faithful subjects to God, while the president takes them away from God.” –Metropolitan and New-Martyr St. Vladimir of Kiev (+1918)
In summary, the weak, wandering religious faith and the clashing wills of the multitudes of republics and democracies make such people much less likely to organize and overcome the machinations of a focused, powerful oligarchy. A country united in the Christian Faith, and united even further under the leadership of a Christian monarch, stand a much greater chance of thwarting a Deep State like the one in the US.
Mundane Aspects
We are now ready to take a closer look at how the ‘American experiment’ has unfolded in history. Rugged individualism has been a central tenet of life in the US. In one sense, it is a virtue, as every person needs a certain amount of toughness to survive and flourish in a fallen world. On the other hand, this principle has also been key to the ascent of the Deep State oligarchy over the plain folk of the States.
. . .
The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2024/04/garlington-what-can-we-learn-from-mike-johnsons-troubles/.
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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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