CPAC's "Golden Calf" Trump statue is a perfect metaphor for the state of the Republican Party - Vox
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Apparently CPAC attendees missed the part of the Bible about the Golden Calf.
By Zack Beauchamp@zackbeauchamp Feb 26, 2021, 10:50am EST /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68880055/Screen_Shot_2021_02_26_at_9.55.06_AM.0.png)
I imagine this is how Trump sees himself when he looks in the mirror.Screengrab of a video by William Turton
The Golden Calf is one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament. The Israelites, newly freed from Egyptian slavery, have a crisis of faith while God is speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai. They melt down the golden jewelry to construct a physical god — a statue in the shape of a calf — to worship in place of their abstract, invisible deity. It's a story about the allure of idolatry, how easy it is to abandon one's commitments to principle in favor of shiny, easy falsehoods.
This biblical tale trended on Twitter in the US Friday morning because of the following video, filmed on the first day of the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Someone involved in the conference constructed a golden statue — not of a calf, but of Trump — and wheeled it out to cheers from conference attendees. "That is so cool," one of the onlookers says.
#CPAC#AmericaUncancelledpic.twitter.com/mVqBuF2blY
— William Turton (@WilliamTurton) February 26, 2021
There are so many reasons why this is a perfect metaphor for the state of the GOP after the Trump presidency.
The party sacrificed its commitment to political principles, including previously cherished ideals like free trade, on the altar of Trumpism. White evangelicals abandoned their alleged commitments to godliness in public servants and embraced a man accused of serial sexual assault who had an affair with a porn star and paid her hush money to cover it up. Conservatism, once seen as a high-minded intellectual tradition, became undeniably base and degraded in the Trump years.
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But above all else, the statue points to the way in which the GOP remains the party of Trump even after his presidency — gaudy golden aesthetic and all. The party's base is so committed to the former president that they construct idols of him, literally, to stand up at their premier political conference.
The party leadership understands that, of course. It's why the vast bulk of the GOP Senate caucus embraced flimsy constitutional rationales for acquitting Trump in the most recent impeachment trial, despite clear evidence that he incited the January 6 riot at the US Capitol that threatened their lives. They are too afraid of their own voters to turn on Trump, and so have no choice but to embrace him — despite knowing how much of a threat he poses to their party and American democracy.
Trump's hold is so powerful, in fact, that even his children are now considered leading possibilities for the 2024 GOP nomination — despite the complete lack of relevant qualifications.
A recent poll found that Donald Trump Jr. was one of the most popular choices for the 2024 nomination, doing better than Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley combined. On Fox News Thursday night, former GOP House member and Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows openly proclaimed that it's still Trump's party — either Donald, Donald Jr.'s, or Ivanka's. "We will see the start of planning for the next administration and I can tell you — the people that are at the top of that list, all of them have Trump as their last name," he says.
Meadows: We will see the start of planning for the next administration and I can tell you, the people that are at the top of that list, all of them have Trump as their last name pic.twitter.com/69DMdyFSOO
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 26, 2021
In the Bible, the Golden Calf story ends with a furious Moses destroying the idol — dumping its ashes into water and forcing the Israelites to drink it as punishment. In theory, the voters in 2020 could have been the party's Moses, the loss of the White House and the Senate their bitter ashwater.
And yet, here they are, still building idols of a false god.
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Is it any wonder that the once Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln is now known merely as the gop?
Thou Shalt Not Worship Golden Piles Of Bullshit!
Clever!
looks like trump, a cartoon character.
Sad that less that two months after this want-ta-be dictator tried but was unsuccessful in taking over the United States Government by force that anyone would want anything to do with this traitor today.
trumperica just doesn't sound worth fighting for like America does.
trump isn't the first dictator style ruler to appear in Gold.
Craziest Dictator Ever
In 1993, Niyazov also known as Türkmenbaşy took it upon himself to create the country in a new image: his own.
Niyazov gradually accumulated the power to make almost all decisions in the country; his decrees had the force of law.
January 2003 he decreed that anyone questioning his policies was a traitor.
Sound familiar ?
neatorama.com/2007/06/11/craziest-dictator-ever-turkmenbashi/
I am confused by the board shorts and flip flops. As if Donald Trump would ever wear such plebeian attire. On a side note, you just know that under those shorts is a tiny penis.
I remember when John Kerry got into a bicycle accident while running for POTUS, and Donald Trump’s attempt at a derogatory comment at the time was “I can promise you one thing, if I ever run for President you will never see me on a bicycle.” I thought that was one of the most stupidly elitist and myopic comments I’d ever heard.
I don't know, I've never seen that particular look on his face.... Must have just grabbed some pussy.....
I believe that 'particular look on his face' was a familiar one. He's done it before, numerous times.
CPAC = Cartoon Personalities And Caricatures
Kidding aside, I'm sad to see what the GOP has morphed into. The true conservatives need to make a decision about what their party supports and who their members are. Some times something incredible rises from the ashes. The GOP is completed inflamed and those who love their country and understand how important the republic and our democratic principles are need to separate themselves from the instability of the current party.
Doing the right thing is hard but necessary.
I feel like that giant head should bobble. If that's not a big gold bobblehead, this is a missed opportunity.
So, does the 'golden image' prove that the so called dead conservatives have finally found their religion?