Grab your 20-siders. We're going in.

Election 2016: The Cult of Ideological Purity, Backfiring.

The whole reason that Trump came to power was that he tapped into the roaring, blazing rage of the Religious Right, and now the whole reason he is falling is that the Religious Right simply doesn’t hold the power that it once claimed. But the kind of people who still support him are also the kind of people who take a little longer to see the writing on the wall when there’s been a massive sea change in circumstances. Weirdly enough, the same attempted justification is being used by both his supporters and the defectors from his banner. It backfires both times.

By Captain Cassidy, ago

Election 2016: Why Billy Bush’s Dog Won’t Hunt.

Fundagelicals and Republicans alike went into full damage-control mode the second this tape surfaced. They rightly sensed what a complete, unmitigated disaster it represented for their standard-bearer–and their own image. And as they panicked, so did Billy Bush. Remember, though he comes from a very religious family, he’s not terribly fervent. But Donald Trump’s supporters sure are. So both his and their responses are going to look very familiar.

By Captain Cassidy, ago

Thom Rainer and His Boxes of Air

Certainly, we shouldn’t be surprised that Christians, having finally figured out just how bad the situation is for them, are finally swinging around to trying to fix things. But a funny thing happens when very criticism-averse people try to solve big, sweeping, systemic problems with their group: they start coming up with reasons for those problems that bear no resemblance to reality.

By Captain Cassidy, ago

Leaving the Ring.

Christian leaders themselves can spin-doctor the latest bad news as much as they like (and oh, they have been!), but reality is unfolding in their ranks whether they like it or not. Their flocks don’t have the luxury of denial. They’ve had to come up with strategies for dealing with the new reality of Christianity’s demographic shift, most of it in direct defiance of their leaders’ demands.

By Captain Cassidy, ago

Leaving the Ring

Christian leaders themselves can spin-doctor the latest bad news as much as they like (and oh, they have been!), but reality is unfolding in their ranks whether they like it or not. Their flocks don’t have the luxury of denial. They’ve had to come up with strategies for dealing with the new reality of Christianity’s demographic shift, most of it in direct defiance of their leaders’ demands.

By Captain Cassidy, ago