Wow~ This guy's a serious freak show..and that he gets the support that he does is just a bit scary! I imagine he has quite the fan club here eh?
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee to be Pennsylvania’s next governor, wants everyone to know he is fighting a holy battle. A holy battle to wrest government control away from the forces of evil. A holy battle against “election fraud” and the agents of the devil who are scheming against God’s anointed heroes. A holy battle to make the United States into a good, righteous, Christian nation.
That’s far from the most eyebrow-raising part of his campaign.
Mastriano came to national prominence by leading protests against COVID protocols, and became one of the leading voices in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He literally brought bus-loads of supporters to the Jan. 6 insurrection and appeared to cross police barricades during the riot. He has spread Islamophobic conspiracy theories and tweeted out QAnon content. He pals around with white militias and prays to God to protect Confederate monuments. He once said women who have abortions should be charged with murder.
If he becomes Pennsylvania’s next governor, he will almost certainly pressure lawmakers to change the state’s election laws, attempt to give the Republican legislature the power to pick electors in a “contested” election, and appoint a Secretary of State who would refuse to certify the next presidential election, if won by a Democrat. (He has also already said he would not sign off on the certification, should it get that far.)
But it’s his claim to a holy mission that is central to understanding Mastriano and the movement he represents.
If Mastriano wins, he will arguably become the most important politician in modern memory to win major office while running as a full-fledged Christian nationalist. Though he is currently trailing in the polls, he has not attempted to move to the center at all, as many of the Republican party’s MAGA-heavy primary winners did.
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee to be Pennsylvania’s next governor, wants everyone to know he is fighting a holy battle. A holy battle to wrest government control away from the forces of evil. A holy battle against “election fraud” and the agents of the devil who are scheming against God’s anointed heroes. A holy battle to make the United States into a good, righteous, Christian nation.
That’s far from the most eyebrow-raising part of his campaign.
Mastriano came to national prominence by leading protests against COVID protocols, and became one of the leading voices in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He literally brought bus-loads of supporters to the Jan. 6 insurrection and appeared to cross police barricades during the riot. He has spread Islamophobic conspiracy theories and tweeted out QAnon content. He pals around with white militias and prays to God to protect Confederate monuments. He once said women who have abortions should be charged with murder.
If he becomes Pennsylvania’s next governor, he will almost certainly pressure lawmakers to change the state’s election laws, attempt to give the Republican legislature the power to pick electors in a “contested” election, and appoint a Secretary of State who would refuse to certify the next presidential election, if won by a Democrat. (He has also already said he would not sign off on the certification, should it get that far.)
But it’s his claim to a holy mission that is central to understanding Mastriano and the movement he represents.
If Mastriano wins, he will arguably become the most important politician in modern memory to win major office while running as a full-fledged Christian nationalist. Though he is currently trailing in the polls, he has not attempted to move to the center at all, as many of the Republican party’s MAGA-heavy primary winners did.
