When the jury reached the decision to find former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll, it was no surprise that GOP politicians came to the defense of a sexual abuser.
In the movie Omen 3 the Final Conflict, we find an adult Damien Thorne, a CEO, who now has in his sphere of influence politicians, priests, children and ordinary citizens willing to do his will no matter the cost. Like Thorne, Donald Trump seems to have cast his net of influence over an array of characters including priests, children, politicians and ordinary people.
Given this reality it was not a surprise to hear people like the Roman Catholic, then Mormon, Southern Baptist back to Roman Catholic Senator Marco Rubio denigrate the jury. Nonetheless, it should be of concern to those of his constituents who are not caught up in cult like behavior that their Senator, who found political profit in lying about why and when his mother came to Florida from Cuba in order to ingratiate himself with the Cuban community, seems to have fallen prey to.
At some point it is fair to question the moral compass of people like Rubio as well as Senators Lindsay Graham and Tommy Tubervile by asking which god do they actually follow. Given their behavior it would not be a stretch to suggest they don’t follow the God who so loved the world but rather the one who is like a lion seeking who they shall devour. Sadly, even within the world of so-called evangelical Christianity, people like Robert Jeffress pastor of a 14000 member congregation in Texas and his perceived innocuous smile is solidly behind Donald Trump.
It is clear that Trump has devoured what integrity people like Rubio, Graham and dozens of evangelical pastors might have had at one time in their lives. Perhaps they feel that the God they profess to worship on Sunday is impotent in the face of the “god” they must face on Monday.
It is hard to tell if people like Rubio, Tuberville, Graham and many evangelicals including the Pastors for Trump organization which claims to represent 7000 pastors, have crossed the rubicon of sanity or are mere opportunists who have become so enthralled with power and influence that they have made a Faustian bargain with a man who demands complete fealty similar to the man they profess to worship on Sunday.
In Omen 3, there are people who know who and what Damien Thorne is. Unfortunately, they prove to be powerless in their attempts to stop him. While some on the GOP side such as former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Congresswoman Lynn Cheney and Senator Mitt Romney have condemned Trump, their voices within the Republican Party are like trees that fall in the forrest when no-one is around.
It is hard to predict how the political story of Trump will end but the recent verdict in New York portends several potential scenarios.
The first is that an awakening will occur within the GOP that will lead them to reject a man who has displayed a spirit of misogyny, corruption, racism and narcissism not previously seen in the guise of a political figure. While this is a possibility, unfortunately, it is highly improbable.
The second scenario is a doubling down by Trump’s acolytes to promote him as being sent from God to smote the enemies of the GOP.
In the Omen the Final Conflict, it is a woman who finally brings Damien Thorne down which brings us to a third scenario. In the 2020 election, it was women of color who came out in droves to defeat Trump while the majority of white women acting like progeny of Phyllis Schlafly stood by Trump.
In 2024, women will once again be the predominant arbiters of the election. They hold the power that can lead to the ultimate defeat of Donald Trump.
What is at stake is not merely a political platform voted on at a nominating convention. What is at stake is a greater suppression of speech, curtailing of rights and opportunities and a form of governance that men and women have fought and died for. That is at stake.
Omen 3 the Final Conflict was a movie where the good guys win at the end. Unfortunately, that is not a foregone conclusion in 2024.