religious right
Mike Lindell’s conspiracy-fueled pillow company fights to survive his election obsession
Pillow mogul Mike Lindell calls up former Michigan state senator Patrick Colbeck, who works for something Lindell made up called the Election Crime Bureau, to talk about press strategy. Lindell tells Colbeck a press release needs to mention his “offense fund,” to which people can give donations so Lindell can keep funding his election fraud […]
Who is Mike Johnson? New U.S. House speaker belongs to GOP’s religious conservative wing
Before a relatively short time in elected office, new U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana was a constitutional lawyer deeply involved in religious causes. Prior to a short stint in the Louisiana Legislature, Johnson spent two decades as a public interest lawyer mainly representing clients in so-called religious liberty litigation, he said in an […]
A men’s movement takes reins in a nationwide quest to end abortion
Wendell Shrock doesn’t believe in condoms. “We should leave the uterus to God,” the street preacher from Tennessee tells States Newsroom, in front of an abortion clinic outside of Atlanta, mid-morning in late July. Sweat drips from his cowboy hat into his salt-and-pepper beard that stretches halfway down his red-plaid shirt. The retired police officer […]
National abortion ban eyed as group marks ‘Siege of Atlanta’ protests 35 years ago
Members of a national anti-abortion religious organization called Operation Save America are in Atlanta this week to protest at a local abortion clinic and to discuss new strategies for achieving a national prohibition on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Operation Save America began as Operation Rescue in 1986 and became more well known in […]
Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: Disciple DeSantis? Its easier than he thinks
Is anyone surprised Ron DeSantis said recently he wished he could have been one of the Apostles? Here’s the Good News, Ron. You don’t have to sigh moonily in a TV interview about what could’ve been. No! Real discipleship is as close as your nearest food pantry and soup kitchen. It’s as close as the […]
‘Resolved’ but still relevant? Tim Moore appears to sidestep another potential scandal
This week North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) quietly resolved a lawsuit over his relationship with another man’s wife, making it the latest in a long series of personal and political scandals Moore has managed to sidestep. The suit, filed last month, reignited questions about the Cleveland County Republican’s ethics history, his larger political […]
Where the GOP presidential candidates stand on national abortion bans, restrictions
WASHINGTON — The 2024 Republican presidential primary marks the first time in half a century that candidates will debate whether abortion should be restricted or banned at the federal level without the Roe v. Wade ruling making most of their proposals moot. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to overturn the nationwide, constitutional right […]
U.S. judge rules insurers don’t have to cover many free preventive health services
[This story has been updated.] WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies may no longer need to cover a wide swath of preventive health care services that were required by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, under a federal judge’s ruling issued Thursday in Texas. The decision could affect millions of Americans’ access to no-cost preventive health care […]
How the judge who could ban the abortion pill won confirmation in the U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. District Court judge who could end more than two decades of legal access to medication abortion underwent extensive questioning about LGBTQ equality at his December 2017 confirmation hearing — and very little about his views on abortion. Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk, appointed by former President Donald Trump earlier in 2017, spent much […]
North Carolina House Republicans advance a new kind of bathroom bill
It’s been almost seven years since North Carolina Republican lawmakers and then-Gov. Pat McCrory hastily concocted and enacted House Bill 2 – the infamous “bathroom bill” that targeted transgender people for ignorant, mean-spirited, and altogether absurd discrimination, while simultaneously making the state the target of numerous boycotts and countless late-night TV one-liners. The bill was later repealed, of course, but its legacy – as an embarrassment to be forgotten as quickly as possible...
North Carolina Republican leaders embrace Christian nationalism
Conservative pastors, political allies aim to tear down any wall between church and state When Pastor Ken Graves took the podium at Calvary Chapel Lake Norman in Statesville last month, he cut an imposing figure. Dressed in jeans and heavy boots, the sleeves of his work shirt rolled up to reveal the large tattoos on his massive forearms, he wore a leather holster on his belt.
The GOP and the religious right; Blood tests for PFAS; Raleigh’s mass shooting; an NC case heads to the Supreme Court: The week’s top stories on NC Policy Watch
1. PW special report: Religious conservatives showcase close bond with NC Republican leaders Recent church-based events test IRS rules, court allegations of Christian nationalism Gary Miller has a little story he likes to tell about religion and politics. While serving as pastor at a church years ago, he was frustrated by how long it took […]