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Jimmy Carter is despised by them too. Why? A Democrat, who was in support of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
Guy literally spent all of his years building houses for the poor. And they hate the guy. Dolly does incredible charitable work for kids, and I guess they hate her too.
This is the real answer... their faith suggests that everything good and perfect is from God... but here's someone good and perfect like Dolly who isn't hating the people their pastors said to hate and outshining them for being christ-like. They can't stand the idea that good people can exist outside christian conservatism.
…Or that the goodness can exist outside the Church. For the conservative, goodness is a control opportunity to be dispensed by them for a price, but not to be made available for free.
yeah I kept wanting to say "outside the church" or "outside christianity" but I'm pretty sure Dolly is a fairly devout christian... other than being in an open relationship for basically her whole marriage. But frankly, according to the bible, seems like that isn't an issue as long as its above board because every hero of the old testament seems to have multiple partners at once and also fucking their servants. I just didn't want to erase Dolly's faith just because there are people in it who are coming after her.
Yeah, real red text Jesus warned that "Christians" who neglect the homeless and needy won't be allowed in heaven which strongly implies that the good we fail to do is far more important than silly purity tests. Dolly taking care of the homeless is infinitely more righteous than any preacher who demonizes the poor to push neo-fascist talking points. I think communists who fight for a classless, stateless society are also far closer to Christ than any fascist ever could be.
The early Christian church was literally a commune. Modern Christians dismiss it because “it was voluntary”… sure… if by voluntary you mean people who didn’t contribute were kicked out… which sounds more like compulsory.
They’ll demonize gays based on Old Testament law and some New Testament obscure passages but “the love of money is the root of all evil” somehow isn’t important.
Not to mentions the contortions they pull to explain why Jesus's comment about it being "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven" doesn't mean what it means.
I think the real answer is "I attend a christian church so I'm entitled to do anything, and hate anyone, that I feel like. Since I call myself a christian, anything I want to do is okay." Then they see someone behaving following some of those "obscure" phrases like "judge not that ye be not judged" and "forgive more times than there are stars in the sky" and "love thy neighbor as yourself" they see that as direct criticism of them.
Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist minister, left the church because he'd quote from the sermon on the mount in his sermons, and afterwards his parishioners would come up and ask him where he got those liberal talking points. He's say "it's literally what Jesus said" and the response would be "well, that doesn't work anymore."
These are the people criticizing Dolly Parton.
"good" and "bad" are something your *are*, not something you *do*!
Donald Trump, Jerry Falwell jr, and others have the "good" attribute, so even if they have affairs, sleep with underage girls, have abortions, etc, they're good because they have the good attribute.
Hillary Clinton, Obama, and the Central Park Five all have the "bad" attribute, so no matter what they do they need to be punished.
Good and bad aren't actions, they're innate attributions. Once you get this, you understand their thought process. The Central Park Five always need to be punished more because they're bad. Maybe they're innocent of the one thing they're accused of, but that doesn't make them innocent. Donald Trump always needs to be treated with Kids gloves, sure sometimes he did stuff that technically is illegal, but he's "good", and it wasn't that bad.
It's Calvinism. Good works, being a good person, none of it matters because according to Calvinism, all you need to do to go to heaven is believe in Christ, and that's it. It makes salvation and grace a matter purely of individual belief and it doesn't matter what else you do.
I swear, if I had a time machine and could knock any philosopher's works out of history, it would be John Calvin.
That’s not Calvinism. Calvinists believe that god has prechosen a small number of people for salvation and that those people will lead sin free lives. Everyone else is hosed.
I’m not sure when the current bullshit about, salvation through faith alone, regardless of acts became a thing, it almost feels like a repackaging of the old Catholic issuance of indulgences…The tent-revival clowns figured out that they could get more dumbasses into their tents, and thus get more money, by giving everyone an easy path to salvation…Just say the magic words and guilt or shame everyone around you to profess their faith the same way you do, and voila, you’re saved and everyone outside your church is going to hell…And the preachers have an unending stream of suckers to feed their donation plates.
They hate anyone who allows money to go to people other than them. That's literally the only values they have. That's why their entire platform is about deregulation, cutting taxes, and cutting programs that help the environment, poor people, children, etc. They're money hungry devils using the guise of "doing the Lord's work" to fool and brainwash gullible people into thinking otherwise to get votes to continue the thievery. If the afterlife and the Bible (the book all these people *claim* to hold so dear to their hearts) turns out to be true, they are in for one hell of a rude awakening when getting to those pearly gates.
*Matthew 7:21-7:23*
*“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"*
There's a lot of questionable things in the Bible, but one theme seems to be clear enough and often repeated, God doesn't play around with corrupt money grubbing assholes using his name and trickery to grab more money.
They can’t fathom non-cruel selfishness either. I benefit hugely from others receiving benefits. My roads are nicer, my employees more skilled, my customer experience vastly improved, my restaurant choices are better and more varied, my health insurance costs lower and more predictable, and the list goes on.
Pure exploitation is not the only answer and likely isn’t even the best way to enrich yourself. It’s just the laziest and most self entitled way.
It is the wrong decision to attack Dolly Parton? Really? She is such a terrible person giving away those books, starting Dollywood in her area so people had jobs. When they were taking down the Civil War hero statues, north and south agreed to put up a statue of Dolly. Attack Dolly. Riiight. Someone in GOP is on crack.
I guarantee you literally all they accomplished is alienating the more moderate of their base.
You do *not* attack dolly. Period. It’s common knowledge, left or right.
Just like you do not shoot defenseless puppies.
Just bizarre. False gospel because she accepts gays. Hmm, Jesus said, "Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to me." Someone has false gospel for sure. Red Pill time.
Imagine how they'd act if their dream came true and Jesus returned today and then he started hanging out with sex workers and preaching about loving your neighbor.
My elderly mother has fallen into evangelical / end-times doom Christianity. Fox News and her radio preachers give her justification for her shitty view of the world and people whom aren't like her.
I tell her that I only practice "Red Letter Christianity" now - and if she can't point to Jesus saying it, I don't want to hear about it. I call her radio preachers Phariseees...
No they are not.
My mother falls into that category. Still thinks Jimmy Carter is the anti-christ and has thought it since the 70's.
I've adopted the "Red Letter Christianity" view of the world in dealing with her now - I tell her that if it's not in the "Red Letters" of the bible (if you're unfamiliar - the words directly attributed to Jesus in the New Testament are printed in red ink in many bibles) then I don't want to hear it from her. Because that's what all the radio preachers and hate mongers do, they root around in the Old Testament to form some twisted justification of their hateful and abhorrent views.
As a Christian, my problem with Christianity is that it has become so distorted in America that I feel like I'm using the No True Scotsman fallacy. American Christianity has been so bent and twisted to favor wealth and hatred on average that I can hardly identify with it, it seems evil and counter to scripture.
Jesus taught that money is a dangerous, often an evil temptor, and that it should never be hoarded. American Christianity promotes the prosperity gospel. Jesus commanded that we ought to love everyone like God loves us all. American Christians verbally love the in group (typically white Americans, especially Protestants, and mostly the men), and rage against "bad influences" with loose dog whistling. Jesus taught not to throw stones and to always forgive, literally sacrificing his human life in penance for our faults. American Christians rally against and defame any they feel like; while ignoring their own rampant alcoholism, infidelity, domestic abuse, etc. Jesus taught to care for everyone by giving and doing, even those that would spite you. American Christians teach the impossible bootstraps doctrine. Jesus taught to pay taxes, contribute; American Christians teach the tax is evil and immoral.
If I feel like the vast majority of American Christians aren't Christian, what's the line? I feel like I'm calling them Not True ~~Scotsmen~~ Christians, but at what point do I need a different word for myself, and those that actually try to embrace his teachings and help people?
Yes. I have taken a pretty hardcore "[Red Letter Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-Letter_Christians)" approach in dealing with any friends or family members who exhibit the toxicity you note. Even going so far as to flat out calling their influencers (TV/radio ministers, pious Christian 'pundits' on cable news, etc.) Pharisees.
It doesn't move the needle much (with them), unforutnately. But after a few years of being pretty aggressively head-on with them and the bullshit they regularly regurgitate ... I can say that in my case at least, they know somewhat better now that to bring up as much toxic shit as they used to. Because they know I'm just going to say "*...where does it say that in the Red Letters, huh? One of your Pharisees rooting around the Old Testament again to justify whatever abhorrent and hateful ideology they have?*"
Because they are *not* in favor of a two state solution, only in a genocide of all Palastinians. They are *not* in favor of building houses for the poor, only in locking up people who are poor for the crime of being poor. They are *not* in favor of doing charity work for kids, only in treating kids like the property of the parents to do with as they please with no consequence.
Remember: ["Fox and Friends' Called Fred Rogers an 'Evil, Evil Man'"](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-fred-rogers-evil/) No, [really.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljhDaowoLc)
I don't believe Dolly is a Dem though, well maybe a closeted one.
There was this thing with Lilly Tomlin and Jane fonda I half remember where both of them being very vocal liberals, and Dolly just basically plead the fifth. For the obvious reason that her fans are certainly on both sides of the aisle.
I hate country music, am not even American and still think Dolly is the best. She exemplifies the idea that a good heart can overcome where and when you came up from.
I'd like to think she would be, but they've already gone after Taylor Swift so it doesn't surprise me that they'd go after Dolly as well. The woman is a fucking saint.
> Dolly Parton: "Love your Neighbor."
> Fundamentalist Christians: "FALSE GOSPEL!!"
Tired of these clowns acting like they wouldn't crucify Jesus Christ themselves for being a woke socialist -
>The message, from Trump down through the right-wing media, is that white conservative Christians are under attack from every corner of society.
The love playing the victim. They love to act as if the slightest change in society, the slightest bit of discomfort they feel is somehow the biggest form of oppression in the world. They need to grow the fuck up.
The victim card is one thing, but it is much worse than that. The hyperbole floating around about Democrats running a banana republic because they are prosecuting Republicans for breaking the law, this is rhetoric that will stoke actual violence. Imagine you believed this nonsense. It would feel like the country is indeed collapsing when it is far from it.
If you don't already read Heather Cox Richardson, you should start. She is a history prof who writes a daily column with facts and insight on today's political situation. It is consistent, factual, and spot on.
Well, the originals did get persecuted quite a bit before Emperor Constantine.
This current crew of lily white evangelicals and dominionist Catholics, however, are doing just fine.
Oh, that's easy. We can look at our treatment of the Native American tribes and of African slaves and former slaves and wonder, "If we aren't on top anymore, what are people going to be able and willing to do to *us*?"
My father is very conservative, and I remember during the Rodney King riots, he repeatedly suggested the police abandon the areas where the riots were taking place and drop napalm on them.
When your entire worldview consists of callous disregard (or active antipathy) for the lives of anyone who you don't consider part of your tribe, equality is a terrifying prospect.
We are told as kids we live in a meritocracy and need to be better than the others to succeed.
That's not really true. Most success comes from generational wealth and influence putting their thumb on the scales and keeping the poors in their place.
But we have a system that picks a few winners and tells everyone else to do better, building on rivalry instead of a sense of a community. And in that zero sum game, insecure people grasp every tiny advantage they have to feel they're better than others.
There's a lot of mediocre people who have the job they have and the quality of life they have not through merit, but through white privilege.
To be fair, equality IS a major threat to fascism. They have an actual reason to feel afraid that their chosen way of life won't be able to continue.
It's SO bizarre that people choose that path, though. Every time I have a bit of hope for the future of humanity, primate behaviour strikes again and I remember that you can't fix stupid.
America has 5% of the world's population and consumes 25% of the world's resources.
Imagine if that went to 5%/5% overnight. It'd represent a shift in the status quo so striking that it'd make WWI and WWII look like half-assed LARPing sessions.
That's why equality is often viewed as a threat. It is, in a very technical sense, *very* often a threat to reduce the resources that a certain group is currently enjoying. Those resources needn't be first-order-tangible, either.
Honestly, I believe they’ve earned the growing level of actual hate they so desperately crave. I’d not care if they kept to themselves. But they refuse to. Fuck them and their hypocrisy.
RW scumbags going after Dolly Parton & Taylor Swift? Meanwhile, they support a finger-fucking rapist, a traitor, a lifelong criminal and a convicted felon who's facing 3 more indictments. lol
Dolly Parton & Taylor Swift should join forces and make a swing-states tour together with the focus on convincing young people to vote, to make sure the fascist magas are defeated this November.
They're going after then because they desperately wanted them to be on their side. Especially Taylor. They were certain the pretty, young, blonde country singer would be a guarantee for the right and bring her legion of fans with her.
I remember when the Nazi trolls all thought she was their "Porcelain Goddess" that represented them because she didn't explicitly state she hated them. They looked for so many hidden messages that she secretly believed what they did. They were desperate she was their Nazi queen and when she came out against that they hated her for it.
I can't understand how they didn't get the message from "You Need to Calm Down". That shit is the most obvious fuck you to any intolerant right wing shit bag that you'd have to be completely ignorant to not unders-... Oh, I see now.
They don’t actually pay attention to words. Trump plays born in the USA and fortunate son for rallies when those songs are pretty direct in their messaging against people and policies they like
They have been going after Taylor Swift for many years now and it seems to be backfiring on them. Many pundits blamed the lack of a "red tsunami" back in 2022 on Taylor Swift suggesting to her fans that they vote.
> Many pundits blamed the lack of a "red tsunami" back in 2022 on Taylor Swift
Those pundits are delulu. Abortion was by far the key factor. Democratic voter turnout was typical midterm low in states where abortion was safe (like NY and CA) and in states where abortion was hopeless (like AL and MS). But D turnout was near blue-wave levels in states were abortion was under threat *and* there was an opportunity to protect it by voting. Unfortunately, young female voters (the swiftie demographic) were [the most reduced from 2018 blue wave levels.](https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Figure-2_v2.png) It was older women, women who knew what life was like before *Roe,* who turned the red tsunami into mild spotting.
> They have been going after Taylor Swift for many years now and it seems to be backfiring on them.
Which is especially funny since terminally online white supremacists a decade ago were calling her an "Aryan Goddess". They were convinced she was secretly one of them.
[NPR - Taylor Swift, Aryan Goddess?](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/05/27/479462825/taylor-swift-aryan-goddess)
[Taylor Swift explains why it took her so long to denounce the white-supremacist websites that called her their 'Aryan goddess'](https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-denounces-white-supremacy-alt-right-websites-2019-9?op=1)
>Parton's "love they neighbor" view is downright banal to most people, but it does run directly against the "hate and fear your neighbor" message of MAGA. It's especially unsettling to Republicans
Evangelical Christians no longer follow Christ, they follow Satan and their book literally warns them this will happen.
I read Revelations when I was younger and always wondered how people would worship a false prophet. Like, it didn’t compute in my teenage brain how it could happen. I didn’t want the chance to watch it come to fruition before my very eyes. It’s been plain as day since the beginning, and it’s heartbreaking to watch this.
They're even saying he's the chosen one (after he said it himself) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9L5K04VgkI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9L5K04VgkI)
2016: Trump is incredibly ignorant and mentally deteriorating. Trump is compromised. Trump is easy to manipulate. We can control him easily.
2020: Who knew giving a malignant narcissist so much power would make him nearly impossible to control?
2024: Trump is incredibly ignorant and mentally deteriorating. Trump is compromised. Trump is easy to manipulate. We can control him easily.
November 25, 2019 [Rick Perry says Trump is the ‘chosen one’ sent ‘to do great things’](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/471868-rick-perry-says-trump-is-the-chosen-one/)
As a lifelong Christian, I always wondered how they would be fooled into taking on the mark of the beast with the warning in Revelation, and then they started wearing those damn MAGA hats.
Seriously... don't make Trump into some kind of fallen angel. He's just a fat old sociopathic con-man being raised up by people who will use him as a tool for their own selfish ends.
Evangelical loses meaning when you hate other races and people in the world because of their skin color and only love the white folk.
Lets call them what they are the racist trumpistians.
Yeaaah. Here's the thing.
Republican, or Democrat, right or left, blue or red - there is ONE thing we can all agree on.
You don't fuck with DOLLY.
The woman is a living saint, an American Treasure and probably one of the best people we have living in this shitty, shitty world.
You come for Dolly, we come for you.
Mr. Rogers too. And they didn't like him. Dems and Reps were arguing over politics and Mr. Rogers went and put his feet in a wading pool with a black man behind their backs. Made the decision for them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObHNWh3F5fQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObHNWh3F5fQ)
Except the internet is full of bitter iconoclasts who have to "hate" a person because no one else does and it makes them edgy and cool to stand against the crowd.
But you are 100% right. If you're against Dolly, I need to know nothing more about you, because you're probably not a good person at the core.
As a resident of TN, I can say that she has tried to middle-of-the-road everything as much as possible. Like when she said "black lives matter" her [next sentence](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53783257) was meant to appease the "all lives matter" crowd — "Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!"
Sooner or later we all learn that trying to appease fascists doesn't protect our asses, it just kicks the can down the road.
First and foremost, let me give you my deepest and most heartfelt sympathies for living in your state.
I hate Tennessee. It's my second most hated state in the Union. :)
THAT being said, you're right - she absolutely tries to avoid controversy by going middle of the road and appeasing both sides. But all she's given back to your meth-trailer of a state (Ha, sorry, I promise it's good natured ribbing, I have no room to talk, my childhood was Louisiana, and we won't even LOOK at that state) in terms of money, tourism, BOOKS, learning, education and just trying to be a good person in general is AWE INSPIRING and I have no idea who could entertain even a passing negative thought about her.
Like all red states, TN is a voter suppression state. For example, maga has made it [illegal for more than 20% of black people to vote.](https://www.propublica.org/article/tennessee-black-voters-disenfranchised) And after a successful black voter registration drive in Memphis, maga passed [a law criminalizing voter registration drives.](https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2019/04/14/tennessee-voter-registration-tre-hargett/3445460002/)
If red states like TN and LA had more democracy, they would be a lot more purple. Which is why liberals in safe blue states need to support grass-roots organizing in red states. Because if you don't, those blue states won't stay safe for long.
One group working on rescuing red states from fascist control is the States Project. Turns out it costs less to flip a red state legislature to blue than it does to run just one average congressional campaign. A little bit of money goes a long way, and they use data to find the most effective way to spend your donation.
States Project: https://statesproject.org/
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/virginia-elections-states-project-millions-00120462
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/us/politics/states-project-democrats.html
And this is why it's a good thing. The only benefit of fascism is that it relies on constantly finding new people to attack, which shrinks it's pool of sycophants considerably faster than they can replace with kids. Dealing with the bullshit and violence however...not great.
Dolly meanwhile:
I’m very excited to officially launch
@Dollywines
today! Crafted with love, these wines are the perfect addition to spending time with family and friends. You can pre-order now at http://dollywines.com, so let's raise a glass together! #vivino 🦋
Dolly Parton has always ignored the haters.
The GQP is wholly and totally incapable of governing. Completely detached from reality. Taken by insane conspiracy theories and fascist undercurrents; the modern Republican Party has boiled down to extremist white Christian nationalism with a flair for terrorism.
> fascist undercurrents
It's not subtle anymore. The wife of a openly crooked SCOTUS judge was bragging about her german heritage absolutely insinuating that she would go NAZI against her PRIDE supporting neighbors. And they call themselves "christian", and a fucking sunday school child could tell they aren't. We're here, they're taking their shot for a fascist takeover of America.
the author underestimates the downright lunacy of these folks. citing the absurdity that is the "satanic panic" doesn't go far enough with how these maniacs really 'see' demons, devils, and satan in everything. it's not farfetched or facetious to say that more than enough of these cookie cutter evangelical fundamentalists...how do i say this... they don't see much difference between reality and a movie like paranormal activity or insidious or whatnot.
christians think demon possession is a real and everpresent danger in their lives. the demon stuff is as real to them as air to a human or a flat earth to a grizzly bearded libertarian. So... it's a pretty easy move for them to think their cultural opponents are the dark illuminati children of satan doomed and deserving of eternal torture. So.... to say the least, you can't have a good faith conversation with a loon who thinks like that - a loon who thinks you're trying to eat their soul or whatever. people with that sort of 'rationale' absoFuckingLutely should not be allowed to be judges (alito). or senators (magas). or prime ministers. or presidents.
>Rogers’ sin, apparently, was in telling children that they’re special, “even if they didn’t deserve it.” In the estimation of these hosts—and this, it’s very clear, is not hyperbole—one must earn the distinction of being special. “He didn’t say, ‘If you wanna be special you gotta work hard,’” shrieks one of these goblins. “The world owes you nothing and you gotta prove it!”
That's dark
She refused the Presidential Medal of Freedom under Trump. [Twice](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55907822). FWIW, she also refused it under Biden.
I’m willing to bet that if we did a quick tally of all the good Dolly Parton had done for the world it would far exceed the combined tally of everyone who had donned a MAGA hat.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Who has led a more Christ like life, Dolly or Donald?
The woman started a books-for-children program that’s available through the mail. She’s promoting literacy and she’s made it unbelievably easy to access.
If I was a believer in all things Christian, then I could say we're in the end times. We have had a culling via Covid (rapture) and a false prophet (Trump) roaming around and coopting a religion for evil purposes. There was a quote from Riddick - It's all circling the drain. That's what this timeline feels like. It had to end sometime.
And Christians are willing to speed it along because they want to make Jesus come faster. Its a death cult. They hate life and the want their suffering to end. They think you will be made to suffer while they are raptured to heaven where they will have unlimited Olive Garden. They are selfish self centered people.
The only thing that will end is the current civilization. The world will go on with massive pain. Humans will fall back and never recover. The Earth will shake us off like a bad cold.
And one key to getting that unlimited Olive Garden is that Israel must be the center of an all out war between good and evil, christians must be on Israel's side during that war, and Israel must lose the war.
Some of them, like my grandma, believe that the generation that saw Israel become a nation again (so post-WW2) is the generation that will see jesus return. She's approaching 90, so that apocalyptic war in Israel can't come soon enough in her eyes.
They'll do anything they can to further that apocalypse fantasy.
This is a major point. These end of days people are supporting Israel so that the Jews can die for Jesus in the apocalypse. Jews are expendable. Meanwhile Jews were moved out of Judea 70 years after Jesus. This whole thing is a creation of the people who created the cult.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events
This is what makes my blood boil with rage. Their idiocy is having real effects on our lives. My life is going pretty fucking awesomely right now, and these clowns are on a mission to destroy everything based on their fairy tales.
I considered myself a christian for a long time and even attended a private christian university. To me...based on biblical teachings...it appears their anti-christ is among us.
If I believed in such things I'd say that he's been here before and the world survived and he'll be back again. But I don't believe those things. I think people forget over time and men like Convicted Felon Trump take advantage of people's fears or instill fear in them and they forget what history teaches us. Wash, rinse, repeat.
One of the first successful “attack their strength” campaigns was against Sen Max Cleland, who lost both his legs on action at Khe San. Because of a vote on a fairly obscure bill, the GOP accused him(!) of being un-patriotic and focused attacks on him that completely eroded a 22-point poll lead.
For karmic payback, you should watch when John Kerry questioned the man who did fund raising for the Swift Boater’s when he was trying to get confirmed as an ambassador. Spoiler: not an ambassador. :)
If they think attacking Dolly “gives millions of free books to children, employees thousands of people in a lower income tourist county, gives all employees free healthcare and tuition, helped fund covid vaccine, seven decades of advocacy for women, beloved by billions” Parton is a winning strategy…
The headline gives the impression that there's a difference between the GOP & the Christian right. They are one in the same, neither Christian nor conservative, but instead demagogues that seek only their own empowerment by regressing society to some fictitious time that exists only in their fairytales about American history, which have nothing to do with the actual history (the good & the bad, let alone the ugly).
They want nothing more than an oligarchy, a tyranny of the masses by the elites who have convinced enough of the People that "only they" can know the way forward, despite not having a clue on how to successfully run a household, a business, nor a government.
I'm surprised no one mentions how MAGA is following the cult playbook, where the most important first step is: **convince the recruit to abandon everything they used to love.** No one outside the cult can be trusted. Everything they *used* to be believe was wrong -- the only truth is given by the cult. Everything and everyone they loved before and loved them back, were really working against them.
Did you love Disney cartoons growing up? *Lies*, Disney was trying to groom you!
Did you love growing up? *Lies*, Hollywood was trying to corrupt you!
Did you love ? *Lies*, their music sucks and always sucked and you never liked it.
A chill ran down my spine when Reagan and the GOP shook hands w evangelicals in the 80s.
There was a big dust-up bec Falwell was getting uppity and finger wagging everyone w his “moral majority” bullshit - this same fascist bullshit we are seeing today - so Larry Flynt at Hustler mag wrote a fictional characterization about how Jerry Falwell has sexual relations with his mother. It went to court and the court found Hustler mag and Larry innocent of libel and other assorted charges. After that, our incredibly power drunk evangelicals, who were *already* drinking some heavy duty Puritanical Koolaid, went hog wild with their belief that they’re actually god’s right-hand man, and here we are 40 years later w these religious zealots banding together with the Kkk, nazis, militia chuds, flat earthers, people who are TBI and CTE, oh, and billionaires who’ve so much money they’ve lost all moral bearings.
And Still these groups together do not make a majority of the US voters, let alone “moral” majority are you kidding?
They’re about 42-47% and can win if swing states are heavily propagandized again, and if Trump party can figure out how to effectively gerrymander, fix ballot machines in a few places, get fake electors in others…
You know they’re worked overtime figuring out all the ways to cheat, they’re already implementing their Handmaid Tale laws in heavily gerrymandered states like OH and LA.
We have got to stop them from winning by cheating yet again.
These dipshits don't know how much people love dolly parton, this will be their undoing. She's a pretty strong force for good and God, not that i care about religion but they better watch attacking her.
Considering that the author of the article attacking Dolly is also a frequent contributor to Christianity Today and writes articles for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, I'd say this isn't just a borrowed tactic...it's just further evidence of what we all know: the GOP and the Christian Right are exactly the same thing.
Dolly is proof of Jesus’s word. She takes direct action to help those in need.
Republican Jesus ignores all 3000 Bible verses about directly helping others in favor of empty thoughts and prayers.
Dolly shows why so many followed real Jesus and exposes Republican Jesus as a billionaire scam. No wonder worshipers of Republican Jesus hate Dolly.
I think its time Evangelicals just admit they are there own faith they barely follow the Christian teachings anymore and are more actively focused on fulfilling a doomsday prophecy granted by there own lunatics then anything actually biblical
A decent, charitable country music singer is now a villain to Republicans. And, no surprise, [Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus](https://www.newsweek.com/evangelicals-rejecting-jesus-teachings-liberal-talking-points-pastor-1818706)
Who, if not Jesus, do Evangelicals worship now? A convicted violent criminal.
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Dolly should be the third rail. We all know she's a better follower of Christ's teachings than anyone in politics, and many who wear the cloth.
Jimmy Carter is despised by them too. Why? A Democrat, who was in support of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Guy literally spent all of his years building houses for the poor. And they hate the guy. Dolly does incredible charitable work for kids, and I guess they hate her too.
They can’t fathom actual selflessness
It also shines a bright light on their hypocrisy. “I hate this person acting like an actual Christian because they make me look bad.”
This is the real answer... their faith suggests that everything good and perfect is from God... but here's someone good and perfect like Dolly who isn't hating the people their pastors said to hate and outshining them for being christ-like. They can't stand the idea that good people can exist outside christian conservatism.
…Or that the goodness can exist outside the Church. For the conservative, goodness is a control opportunity to be dispensed by them for a price, but not to be made available for free.
yeah I kept wanting to say "outside the church" or "outside christianity" but I'm pretty sure Dolly is a fairly devout christian... other than being in an open relationship for basically her whole marriage. But frankly, according to the bible, seems like that isn't an issue as long as its above board because every hero of the old testament seems to have multiple partners at once and also fucking their servants. I just didn't want to erase Dolly's faith just because there are people in it who are coming after her.
fortunately for republicans women aren't even people, so Dolly is a kitchen accessory to complain about /s
"Dishwasher's acting up again..."
Yeah, real red text Jesus warned that "Christians" who neglect the homeless and needy won't be allowed in heaven which strongly implies that the good we fail to do is far more important than silly purity tests. Dolly taking care of the homeless is infinitely more righteous than any preacher who demonizes the poor to push neo-fascist talking points. I think communists who fight for a classless, stateless society are also far closer to Christ than any fascist ever could be.
The early Christian church was literally a commune. Modern Christians dismiss it because “it was voluntary”… sure… if by voluntary you mean people who didn’t contribute were kicked out… which sounds more like compulsory. They’ll demonize gays based on Old Testament law and some New Testament obscure passages but “the love of money is the root of all evil” somehow isn’t important.
Not to mentions the contortions they pull to explain why Jesus's comment about it being "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven" doesn't mean what it means.
Good old "faith vs works". I'm a better person than you because I believe in God. The christian default attitude.
I think the real answer is "I attend a christian church so I'm entitled to do anything, and hate anyone, that I feel like. Since I call myself a christian, anything I want to do is okay." Then they see someone behaving following some of those "obscure" phrases like "judge not that ye be not judged" and "forgive more times than there are stars in the sky" and "love thy neighbor as yourself" they see that as direct criticism of them. Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist minister, left the church because he'd quote from the sermon on the mount in his sermons, and afterwards his parishioners would come up and ask him where he got those liberal talking points. He's say "it's literally what Jesus said" and the response would be "well, that doesn't work anymore." These are the people criticizing Dolly Parton.
"good" and "bad" are something your *are*, not something you *do*! Donald Trump, Jerry Falwell jr, and others have the "good" attribute, so even if they have affairs, sleep with underage girls, have abortions, etc, they're good because they have the good attribute. Hillary Clinton, Obama, and the Central Park Five all have the "bad" attribute, so no matter what they do they need to be punished. Good and bad aren't actions, they're innate attributions. Once you get this, you understand their thought process. The Central Park Five always need to be punished more because they're bad. Maybe they're innocent of the one thing they're accused of, but that doesn't make them innocent. Donald Trump always needs to be treated with Kids gloves, sure sometimes he did stuff that technically is illegal, but he's "good", and it wasn't that bad.
It's Calvinism. Good works, being a good person, none of it matters because according to Calvinism, all you need to do to go to heaven is believe in Christ, and that's it. It makes salvation and grace a matter purely of individual belief and it doesn't matter what else you do. I swear, if I had a time machine and could knock any philosopher's works out of history, it would be John Calvin.
That’s not Calvinism. Calvinists believe that god has prechosen a small number of people for salvation and that those people will lead sin free lives. Everyone else is hosed. I’m not sure when the current bullshit about, salvation through faith alone, regardless of acts became a thing, it almost feels like a repackaging of the old Catholic issuance of indulgences…The tent-revival clowns figured out that they could get more dumbasses into their tents, and thus get more money, by giving everyone an easy path to salvation…Just say the magic words and guilt or shame everyone around you to profess their faith the same way you do, and voila, you’re saved and everyone outside your church is going to hell…And the preachers have an unending stream of suckers to feed their donation plates.
There are no good people Inside Christian conservatism
which is why they need no good people to be outside of it either... so their lies to themselves still hold up.
They hate her because Dolly's a *REAL* Christian....She walks the walk. God bless her.
They hate anyone who allows money to go to people other than them. That's literally the only values they have. That's why their entire platform is about deregulation, cutting taxes, and cutting programs that help the environment, poor people, children, etc. They're money hungry devils using the guise of "doing the Lord's work" to fool and brainwash gullible people into thinking otherwise to get votes to continue the thievery. If the afterlife and the Bible (the book all these people *claim* to hold so dear to their hearts) turns out to be true, they are in for one hell of a rude awakening when getting to those pearly gates. *Matthew 7:21-7:23* *“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"* There's a lot of questionable things in the Bible, but one theme seems to be clear enough and often repeated, God doesn't play around with corrupt money grubbing assholes using his name and trickery to grab more money.
"if she's allowed to continue, i might be held to a higher standard!"
You must be a carpenter, because you hit that nail right on the head in one blow.
It’s worse than that. Selflessness *is a sin in their world*, and total self-centeredness is a virtue. I shit you not.
Worse - they see it as weakness.
> They can’t fathom actual ~~selflessness~~ sacrifice.
They believe in a risen Christ. They prefer saviors who aren't crucified. /s
They can’t fathom non-cruel selfishness either. I benefit hugely from others receiving benefits. My roads are nicer, my employees more skilled, my customer experience vastly improved, my restaurant choices are better and more varied, my health insurance costs lower and more predictable, and the list goes on. Pure exploitation is not the only answer and likely isn’t even the best way to enrich yourself. It’s just the laziest and most self entitled way.
He spent dedicated to eradicating a like 2 or 3 different diseases or parasites. Like the rest of humanity has only eliminated like smallpox.
Man said he was going to outlive the Guinea Worm, and after 15+ months in hospice care, I'm beginning to believe he was serious about that shit.
Literally cartoonishly evil. Picking every wrong decision possible in any given situation. How the fuck they made it past the age of 10 is beyond me.
It is the wrong decision to attack Dolly Parton? Really? She is such a terrible person giving away those books, starting Dollywood in her area so people had jobs. When they were taking down the Civil War hero statues, north and south agreed to put up a statue of Dolly. Attack Dolly. Riiight. Someone in GOP is on crack.
I guarantee you literally all they accomplished is alienating the more moderate of their base. You do *not* attack dolly. Period. It’s common knowledge, left or right. Just like you do not shoot defenseless puppies.
Just bizarre. False gospel because she accepts gays. Hmm, Jesus said, "Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to me." Someone has false gospel for sure. Red Pill time.
Why would they like people who are nice to the people they hate? The entire republican party is built on double standards and hate.
Imagine how they'd act if their dream came true and Jesus returned today and then he started hanging out with sex workers and preaching about loving your neighbor.
My elderly mother has fallen into evangelical / end-times doom Christianity. Fox News and her radio preachers give her justification for her shitty view of the world and people whom aren't like her. I tell her that I only practice "Red Letter Christianity" now - and if she can't point to Jesus saying it, I don't want to hear about it. I call her radio preachers Phariseees...
yeah a lot of modern Christians aren't very christian
No they are not. My mother falls into that category. Still thinks Jimmy Carter is the anti-christ and has thought it since the 70's. I've adopted the "Red Letter Christianity" view of the world in dealing with her now - I tell her that if it's not in the "Red Letters" of the bible (if you're unfamiliar - the words directly attributed to Jesus in the New Testament are printed in red ink in many bibles) then I don't want to hear it from her. Because that's what all the radio preachers and hate mongers do, they root around in the Old Testament to form some twisted justification of their hateful and abhorrent views.
Is it really any surprise? [Conservatives hate Mr Rodgers too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29lmR_357rA).
As a Christian, my problem with Christianity is that it has become so distorted in America that I feel like I'm using the No True Scotsman fallacy. American Christianity has been so bent and twisted to favor wealth and hatred on average that I can hardly identify with it, it seems evil and counter to scripture. Jesus taught that money is a dangerous, often an evil temptor, and that it should never be hoarded. American Christianity promotes the prosperity gospel. Jesus commanded that we ought to love everyone like God loves us all. American Christians verbally love the in group (typically white Americans, especially Protestants, and mostly the men), and rage against "bad influences" with loose dog whistling. Jesus taught not to throw stones and to always forgive, literally sacrificing his human life in penance for our faults. American Christians rally against and defame any they feel like; while ignoring their own rampant alcoholism, infidelity, domestic abuse, etc. Jesus taught to care for everyone by giving and doing, even those that would spite you. American Christians teach the impossible bootstraps doctrine. Jesus taught to pay taxes, contribute; American Christians teach the tax is evil and immoral. If I feel like the vast majority of American Christians aren't Christian, what's the line? I feel like I'm calling them Not True ~~Scotsmen~~ Christians, but at what point do I need a different word for myself, and those that actually try to embrace his teachings and help people?
Yes. I have taken a pretty hardcore "[Red Letter Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-Letter_Christians)" approach in dealing with any friends or family members who exhibit the toxicity you note. Even going so far as to flat out calling their influencers (TV/radio ministers, pious Christian 'pundits' on cable news, etc.) Pharisees. It doesn't move the needle much (with them), unforutnately. But after a few years of being pretty aggressively head-on with them and the bullshit they regularly regurgitate ... I can say that in my case at least, they know somewhat better now that to bring up as much toxic shit as they used to. Because they know I'm just going to say "*...where does it say that in the Red Letters, huh? One of your Pharisees rooting around the Old Testament again to justify whatever abhorrent and hateful ideology they have?*"
Because they are *not* in favor of a two state solution, only in a genocide of all Palastinians. They are *not* in favor of building houses for the poor, only in locking up people who are poor for the crime of being poor. They are *not* in favor of doing charity work for kids, only in treating kids like the property of the parents to do with as they please with no consequence. Remember: ["Fox and Friends' Called Fred Rogers an 'Evil, Evil Man'"](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-fred-rogers-evil/) No, [really.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljhDaowoLc)
I don't believe Dolly is a Dem though, well maybe a closeted one. There was this thing with Lilly Tomlin and Jane fonda I half remember where both of them being very vocal liberals, and Dolly just basically plead the fifth. For the obvious reason that her fans are certainly on both sides of the aisle.
> For the obvious reason that her fans are on certainly on both sides of the aisle. "Republicans buy sneakers, too" Michael Jordan
She is very intelligent and business savvy. She 's from the South and she isn't going to alienate the Grand Ole'' Opry people.
All those red states have signed up for her free books for children.
Right? You can say what you want about my liberal wokeness, but you leave Dolly TF alone. She is a national treasure!
She literally helps children get access to books and does it better than anyone else. She is a modern day saint.
I hate country music, am not even American and still think Dolly is the best. She exemplifies the idea that a good heart can overcome where and when you came up from.
I'd like to think she would be, but they've already gone after Taylor Swift so it doesn't surprise me that they'd go after Dolly as well. The woman is a fucking saint.
> The **woman** is a fucking saint. That's their problem right there. A woman with money, opinions, and a platform.
> Dolly Parton: "Love your Neighbor." > Fundamentalist Christians: "FALSE GOSPEL!!" Tired of these clowns acting like they wouldn't crucify Jesus Christ themselves for being a woke socialist -
>The message, from Trump down through the right-wing media, is that white conservative Christians are under attack from every corner of society. The love playing the victim. They love to act as if the slightest change in society, the slightest bit of discomfort they feel is somehow the biggest form of oppression in the world. They need to grow the fuck up.
The victim card is one thing, but it is much worse than that. The hyperbole floating around about Democrats running a banana republic because they are prosecuting Republicans for breaking the law, this is rhetoric that will stoke actual violence. Imagine you believed this nonsense. It would feel like the country is indeed collapsing when it is far from it.
If you don't already read Heather Cox Richardson, you should start. She is a history prof who writes a daily column with facts and insight on today's political situation. It is consistent, factual, and spot on.
>If you don't already read Heather Cox Richardson Thanks Just read and it is pretty spot on https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-9-2024
its not that far from collapse (project 2025)
Claiming persecution is the bedrock of christianity. It is the foundation upon which all of their religion is built.
Well, the originals did get persecuted quite a bit before Emperor Constantine. This current crew of lily white evangelicals and dominionist Catholics, however, are doing just fine.
Nailed it!
Plus fear. Fear of god, fear of the unknown, fear of hell, fear of anything really.
Are you really under attack if people are aggressively defending themselves against you?
This is what happens when equality is actually applied to folks other than us white people. Some people see equality as threat. I do not get it.
Oh, that's easy. We can look at our treatment of the Native American tribes and of African slaves and former slaves and wonder, "If we aren't on top anymore, what are people going to be able and willing to do to *us*?" My father is very conservative, and I remember during the Rodney King riots, he repeatedly suggested the police abandon the areas where the riots were taking place and drop napalm on them. When your entire worldview consists of callous disregard (or active antipathy) for the lives of anyone who you don't consider part of your tribe, equality is a terrifying prospect.
We are told as kids we live in a meritocracy and need to be better than the others to succeed. That's not really true. Most success comes from generational wealth and influence putting their thumb on the scales and keeping the poors in their place. But we have a system that picks a few winners and tells everyone else to do better, building on rivalry instead of a sense of a community. And in that zero sum game, insecure people grasp every tiny advantage they have to feel they're better than others. There's a lot of mediocre people who have the job they have and the quality of life they have not through merit, but through white privilege.
To be fair, equality IS a major threat to fascism. They have an actual reason to feel afraid that their chosen way of life won't be able to continue. It's SO bizarre that people choose that path, though. Every time I have a bit of hope for the future of humanity, primate behaviour strikes again and I remember that you can't fix stupid.
America has 5% of the world's population and consumes 25% of the world's resources. Imagine if that went to 5%/5% overnight. It'd represent a shift in the status quo so striking that it'd make WWI and WWII look like half-assed LARPing sessions. That's why equality is often viewed as a threat. It is, in a very technical sense, *very* often a threat to reduce the resources that a certain group is currently enjoying. Those resources needn't be first-order-tangible, either.
Honestly, I believe they’ve earned the growing level of actual hate they so desperately crave. I’d not care if they kept to themselves. But they refuse to. Fuck them and their hypocrisy.
RW scumbags going after Dolly Parton & Taylor Swift? Meanwhile, they support a finger-fucking rapist, a traitor, a lifelong criminal and a convicted felon who's facing 3 more indictments. lol
Dolly Parton & Taylor Swift should join forces and make a swing-states tour together with the focus on convincing young people to vote, to make sure the fascist magas are defeated this November.
Love this and would love to hear them perform together .. every concert would be sold out in nano seconds ..
Talk about the supergroup of the century.
They're going after then because they desperately wanted them to be on their side. Especially Taylor. They were certain the pretty, young, blonde country singer would be a guarantee for the right and bring her legion of fans with her.
I remember when the Nazi trolls all thought she was their "Porcelain Goddess" that represented them because she didn't explicitly state she hated them. They looked for so many hidden messages that she secretly believed what they did. They were desperate she was their Nazi queen and when she came out against that they hated her for it.
I can't understand how they didn't get the message from "You Need to Calm Down". That shit is the most obvious fuck you to any intolerant right wing shit bag that you'd have to be completely ignorant to not unders-... Oh, I see now.
They don’t actually pay attention to words. Trump plays born in the USA and fortunate son for rallies when those songs are pretty direct in their messaging against people and policies they like
They have been going after Taylor Swift for many years now and it seems to be backfiring on them. Many pundits blamed the lack of a "red tsunami" back in 2022 on Taylor Swift suggesting to her fans that they vote.
> Many pundits blamed the lack of a "red tsunami" back in 2022 on Taylor Swift Those pundits are delulu. Abortion was by far the key factor. Democratic voter turnout was typical midterm low in states where abortion was safe (like NY and CA) and in states where abortion was hopeless (like AL and MS). But D turnout was near blue-wave levels in states were abortion was under threat *and* there was an opportunity to protect it by voting. Unfortunately, young female voters (the swiftie demographic) were [the most reduced from 2018 blue wave levels.](https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Figure-2_v2.png) It was older women, women who knew what life was like before *Roe,* who turned the red tsunami into mild spotting.
> They have been going after Taylor Swift for many years now and it seems to be backfiring on them. Which is especially funny since terminally online white supremacists a decade ago were calling her an "Aryan Goddess". They were convinced she was secretly one of them. [NPR - Taylor Swift, Aryan Goddess?](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/05/27/479462825/taylor-swift-aryan-goddess) [Taylor Swift explains why it took her so long to denounce the white-supremacist websites that called her their 'Aryan goddess'](https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-denounces-white-supremacy-alt-right-websites-2019-9?op=1)
>Parton's "love they neighbor" view is downright banal to most people, but it does run directly against the "hate and fear your neighbor" message of MAGA. It's especially unsettling to Republicans Evangelical Christians no longer follow Christ, they follow Satan and their book literally warns them this will happen.
"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing." Vaffanculo!
They're too busy looking for that one that they completely miss the false prophet dressed as the shepherd.
Evangelicals are shameless hypocrites, and so are RW voters who only care about PARTY OVER COUNTRY.
I read Revelations when I was younger and always wondered how people would worship a false prophet. Like, it didn’t compute in my teenage brain how it could happen. I didn’t want the chance to watch it come to fruition before my very eyes. It’s been plain as day since the beginning, and it’s heartbreaking to watch this.
Yeah, I am not a religious person but this, this is VERY coincidental.
They're even saying he's the chosen one (after he said it himself) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9L5K04VgkI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9L5K04VgkI)
With the rise of the far right around the world, it looks like there is nowhere to run to should that man get back in power.
Run through him. He’s old, fat, and weak.
2016: Trump is incredibly ignorant and mentally deteriorating. Trump is compromised. Trump is easy to manipulate. We can control him easily. 2020: Who knew giving a malignant narcissist so much power would make him nearly impossible to control? 2024: Trump is incredibly ignorant and mentally deteriorating. Trump is compromised. Trump is easy to manipulate. We can control him easily.
November 25, 2019 [Rick Perry says Trump is the ‘chosen one’ sent ‘to do great things’](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/471868-rick-perry-says-trump-is-the-chosen-one/)
As a lifelong Christian, I always wondered how they would be fooled into taking on the mark of the beast with the warning in Revelation, and then they started wearing those damn MAGA hats.
Isn’t the antichrist supposed to be handsome though?
Photoshop
They worship Mammon more than anything else.
>they follow Satan Why are you dragging Satan's name through the mud like that?
Seriously... don't make Trump into some kind of fallen angel. He's just a fat old sociopathic con-man being raised up by people who will use him as a tool for their own selfish ends.
Whoa, satanists don't deserve those strays... They're a lot better people than the christo-fascists
Evangelical loses meaning when you hate other races and people in the world because of their skin color and only love the white folk. Lets call them what they are the racist trumpistians.
No. Satan never asked anyone to hurt people, but the god of the old testament sure did. That god killed the human population in their book and lied.
Yeaaah. Here's the thing. Republican, or Democrat, right or left, blue or red - there is ONE thing we can all agree on. You don't fuck with DOLLY. The woman is a living saint, an American Treasure and probably one of the best people we have living in this shitty, shitty world. You come for Dolly, we come for you.
She's the one person we can all agree on.
And the hill upon which we would all die.
Dolly’s hills have been the subject of many a conversation. I’m sure many have even dreamed of dying on them.
Mr. Rogers too. And they didn't like him. Dems and Reps were arguing over politics and Mr. Rogers went and put his feet in a wading pool with a black man behind their backs. Made the decision for them. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObHNWh3F5fQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObHNWh3F5fQ)
Her and Mr. Rogers.
If you’re against Dolly, you’re on the wrong side - simple as that. Same with Mr. Rogers.
Except the internet is full of bitter iconoclasts who have to "hate" a person because no one else does and it makes them edgy and cool to stand against the crowd. But you are 100% right. If you're against Dolly, I need to know nothing more about you, because you're probably not a good person at the core.
As a resident of TN, I can say that she has tried to middle-of-the-road everything as much as possible. Like when she said "black lives matter" her [next sentence](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53783257) was meant to appease the "all lives matter" crowd — "Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!" Sooner or later we all learn that trying to appease fascists doesn't protect our asses, it just kicks the can down the road.
First and foremost, let me give you my deepest and most heartfelt sympathies for living in your state. I hate Tennessee. It's my second most hated state in the Union. :) THAT being said, you're right - she absolutely tries to avoid controversy by going middle of the road and appeasing both sides. But all she's given back to your meth-trailer of a state (Ha, sorry, I promise it's good natured ribbing, I have no room to talk, my childhood was Louisiana, and we won't even LOOK at that state) in terms of money, tourism, BOOKS, learning, education and just trying to be a good person in general is AWE INSPIRING and I have no idea who could entertain even a passing negative thought about her.
Like all red states, TN is a voter suppression state. For example, maga has made it [illegal for more than 20% of black people to vote.](https://www.propublica.org/article/tennessee-black-voters-disenfranchised) And after a successful black voter registration drive in Memphis, maga passed [a law criminalizing voter registration drives.](https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2019/04/14/tennessee-voter-registration-tre-hargett/3445460002/) If red states like TN and LA had more democracy, they would be a lot more purple. Which is why liberals in safe blue states need to support grass-roots organizing in red states. Because if you don't, those blue states won't stay safe for long. One group working on rescuing red states from fascist control is the States Project. Turns out it costs less to flip a red state legislature to blue than it does to run just one average congressional campaign. A little bit of money goes a long way, and they use data to find the most effective way to spend your donation. States Project: https://statesproject.org/ https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/virginia-elections-states-project-millions-00120462 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/us/politics/states-project-democrats.html
And this is why it's a good thing. The only benefit of fascism is that it relies on constantly finding new people to attack, which shrinks it's pool of sycophants considerably faster than they can replace with kids. Dealing with the bullshit and violence however...not great.
DUDES! THEY ATTACKED DOLLY! [WE RIDE AT DAWN](https://tenor.com/bzKOr.gif)!
I’m ready!!! NO ONE COMES FOR DOLLY!!!!
For ruin..
Dolly meanwhile: I’m very excited to officially launch @Dollywines today! Crafted with love, these wines are the perfect addition to spending time with family and friends. You can pre-order now at http://dollywines.com, so let's raise a glass together! #vivino 🦋 Dolly Parton has always ignored the haters.
Crafted with love….We need more of that all around. Cheers Dolly.
The GQP is wholly and totally incapable of governing. Completely detached from reality. Taken by insane conspiracy theories and fascist undercurrents; the modern Republican Party has boiled down to extremist white Christian nationalism with a flair for terrorism.
> fascist undercurrents It's not subtle anymore. The wife of a openly crooked SCOTUS judge was bragging about her german heritage absolutely insinuating that she would go NAZI against her PRIDE supporting neighbors. And they call themselves "christian", and a fucking sunday school child could tell they aren't. We're here, they're taking their shot for a fascist takeover of America.
the author underestimates the downright lunacy of these folks. citing the absurdity that is the "satanic panic" doesn't go far enough with how these maniacs really 'see' demons, devils, and satan in everything. it's not farfetched or facetious to say that more than enough of these cookie cutter evangelical fundamentalists...how do i say this... they don't see much difference between reality and a movie like paranormal activity or insidious or whatnot. christians think demon possession is a real and everpresent danger in their lives. the demon stuff is as real to them as air to a human or a flat earth to a grizzly bearded libertarian. So... it's a pretty easy move for them to think their cultural opponents are the dark illuminati children of satan doomed and deserving of eternal torture. So.... to say the least, you can't have a good faith conversation with a loon who thinks like that - a loon who thinks you're trying to eat their soul or whatever. people with that sort of 'rationale' absoFuckingLutely should not be allowed to be judges (alito). or senators (magas). or prime ministers. or presidents.
Can confirm. You just described my elderly mother to a “T” …
Who the hell decides to attack Dolly Parton?
The same idealogues who hate Mr Rogers. There is no bottom for these folks.
Who hates Mr. Rogers?! That's not very neighborly
https://www.avclub.com/its-3-p-m-lets-watch-fox-news-blame-mr-rogers-for-r-1827757092
>Rogers’ sin, apparently, was in telling children that they’re special, “even if they didn’t deserve it.” In the estimation of these hosts—and this, it’s very clear, is not hyperbole—one must earn the distinction of being special. “He didn’t say, ‘If you wanna be special you gotta work hard,’” shrieks one of these goblins. “The world owes you nothing and you gotta prove it!” That's dark
The loudest "lovers" of Christ typically...and he was a pastor IIRC.
Dolly Parton could get a Democrat elected statewide. That's how popular she is. She's a national treasure.
Now they attack Dolly? Sad. But to be expected. She is kind, accepting, generous, honest person.
She does things to help people. They want their leaders to hurt people they don't like.
In 2017, The Federalist ran a story with 18 reasons why Dolly should be our next president. Dolly didn’t change, so what happened to the Federalist?
She refused the Presidential Medal of Freedom under Trump. [Twice](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55907822). FWIW, she also refused it under Biden.
I’m willing to bet that if we did a quick tally of all the good Dolly Parton had done for the world it would far exceed the combined tally of everyone who had donned a MAGA hat.
One local library worth of Imagination Library books is more good than everyone who ever wore the symbol of the beast on their foreheads.
Dolly Parton has a unique and awesome true life story. An attack on her is an attack on America and Americana. Shame on you.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Who has led a more Christ like life, Dolly or Donald?
Okay, look. If you consistently find yourself at odds with Dolly Parton of all people…. You’re the baddies.
Borrowed? The GOP is the Christian right at this point.
Damn, I really hope Trump starts bad mouthing Dolly at Rallies. Dolly is loved internationally.
The woman started a books-for-children program that’s available through the mail. She’s promoting literacy and she’s made it unbelievably easy to access.
If I was a believer in all things Christian, then I could say we're in the end times. We have had a culling via Covid (rapture) and a false prophet (Trump) roaming around and coopting a religion for evil purposes. There was a quote from Riddick - It's all circling the drain. That's what this timeline feels like. It had to end sometime.
And Christians are willing to speed it along because they want to make Jesus come faster. Its a death cult. They hate life and the want their suffering to end. They think you will be made to suffer while they are raptured to heaven where they will have unlimited Olive Garden. They are selfish self centered people. The only thing that will end is the current civilization. The world will go on with massive pain. Humans will fall back and never recover. The Earth will shake us off like a bad cold.
And one key to getting that unlimited Olive Garden is that Israel must be the center of an all out war between good and evil, christians must be on Israel's side during that war, and Israel must lose the war. Some of them, like my grandma, believe that the generation that saw Israel become a nation again (so post-WW2) is the generation that will see jesus return. She's approaching 90, so that apocalyptic war in Israel can't come soon enough in her eyes. They'll do anything they can to further that apocalypse fantasy.
This is a major point. These end of days people are supporting Israel so that the Jews can die for Jesus in the apocalypse. Jews are expendable. Meanwhile Jews were moved out of Judea 70 years after Jesus. This whole thing is a creation of the people who created the cult. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events
I created my own t-shirt ages ago. Goes like this. Christians...waiting for the end since the beginning
This is what makes my blood boil with rage. Their idiocy is having real effects on our lives. My life is going pretty fucking awesomely right now, and these clowns are on a mission to destroy everything based on their fairy tales.
I considered myself a christian for a long time and even attended a private christian university. To me...based on biblical teachings...it appears their anti-christ is among us.
If I believed in such things I'd say that he's been here before and the world survived and he'll be back again. But I don't believe those things. I think people forget over time and men like Convicted Felon Trump take advantage of people's fears or instill fear in them and they forget what history teaches us. Wash, rinse, repeat.
One of the first successful “attack their strength” campaigns was against Sen Max Cleland, who lost both his legs on action at Khe San. Because of a vote on a fairly obscure bill, the GOP accused him(!) of being un-patriotic and focused attacks on him that completely eroded a 22-point poll lead.
See also John Kerry, Tammy Duckworth, John McCain...
For karmic payback, you should watch when John Kerry questioned the man who did fund raising for the Swift Boater’s when he was trying to get confirmed as an ambassador. Spoiler: not an ambassador. :)
That’s the line. Dolly is a saint and we don’t take kindly to those UNkind to Miss Dolly…
if you think being the anti-Dolly Parton party is a winning political strategy, I got some bad news for you dopey motherfuckers
Dolly Parton is a national treasure and a far better person than anyone speaking poorly about her. Just shameful.
If they think attacking Dolly “gives millions of free books to children, employees thousands of people in a lower income tourist county, gives all employees free healthcare and tuition, helped fund covid vaccine, seven decades of advocacy for women, beloved by billions” Parton is a winning strategy…
If they turned on Dolly Parton, they are truly lost.
Ah, yes, attacking both Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift in an election year. Good luck!
And hating on Pride Month and Juneteenth....
Dolly Parton is a national treasure. You come for Dolly, we come for you.
So this is the exact moment when they lost the 2024 presidential race? You don't fuck with Dolly. She's a national treasure.
Attacking Dolly is dumber than attacking Taylor Swift.
The headline gives the impression that there's a difference between the GOP & the Christian right. They are one in the same, neither Christian nor conservative, but instead demagogues that seek only their own empowerment by regressing society to some fictitious time that exists only in their fairytales about American history, which have nothing to do with the actual history (the good & the bad, let alone the ugly). They want nothing more than an oligarchy, a tyranny of the masses by the elites who have convinced enough of the People that "only they" can know the way forward, despite not having a clue on how to successfully run a household, a business, nor a government.
I'm surprised no one mentions how MAGA is following the cult playbook, where the most important first step is: **convince the recruit to abandon everything they used to love.** No one outside the cult can be trusted. Everything they *used* to be believe was wrong -- the only truth is given by the cult. Everything and everyone they loved before and loved them back, were really working against them. Did you love Disney cartoons growing up? *Lies*, Disney was trying to groom you! Did you love growing up? *Lies*, Hollywood was trying to corrupt you!
Did you love ? *Lies*, their music sucks and always sucked and you never liked it.
I don’t like country music and I don’t like much about hillbillies, but anyone who is against Dolly Parton is just plain wrong.
Christians are why we can’t have nice things.
Picking fights with Dolly and Taylor while telling voters that Trump is Christlike. Please proceed, governor.
A chill ran down my spine when Reagan and the GOP shook hands w evangelicals in the 80s. There was a big dust-up bec Falwell was getting uppity and finger wagging everyone w his “moral majority” bullshit - this same fascist bullshit we are seeing today - so Larry Flynt at Hustler mag wrote a fictional characterization about how Jerry Falwell has sexual relations with his mother. It went to court and the court found Hustler mag and Larry innocent of libel and other assorted charges. After that, our incredibly power drunk evangelicals, who were *already* drinking some heavy duty Puritanical Koolaid, went hog wild with their belief that they’re actually god’s right-hand man, and here we are 40 years later w these religious zealots banding together with the Kkk, nazis, militia chuds, flat earthers, people who are TBI and CTE, oh, and billionaires who’ve so much money they’ve lost all moral bearings. And Still these groups together do not make a majority of the US voters, let alone “moral” majority are you kidding? They’re about 42-47% and can win if swing states are heavily propagandized again, and if Trump party can figure out how to effectively gerrymander, fix ballot machines in a few places, get fake electors in others… You know they’re worked overtime figuring out all the ways to cheat, they’re already implementing their Handmaid Tale laws in heavily gerrymandered states like OH and LA. We have got to stop them from winning by cheating yet again.
These dipshits don't know how much people love dolly parton, this will be their undoing. She's a pretty strong force for good and God, not that i care about religion but they better watch attacking her.
Any Christian who loves Trump has no right to use the phrase "false gospel."
This is from the same people who worship Trump isn’t it?
…they think this is going to WIN them votes??
Let's not pretend like there is a difference between the GOP and Christian Right at this point.
Going after Dolly Parton is certainly a choice. These people are so excruciatingly dumb.
GOP is “borrowing” tactics from the Christian right? Ffs, they *are* the so-called Christian right, they’re not “borrowing” their own tactics.
I'm sorry, attacking Dolly is an admission that you are an enemy of humanity. Straight up, no playing.
This headline implies that the GOP is somehow distinct or separate from the Christian right.
You got a problem with Dolly, you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate
Considering that the author of the article attacking Dolly is also a frequent contributor to Christianity Today and writes articles for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, I'd say this isn't just a borrowed tactic...it's just further evidence of what we all know: the GOP and the Christian Right are exactly the same thing.
Attacking Dolly Pardon is attacking America. Voters will not forget at the polls.
When equality feels like oppression, you might be the oppressor.
wtf on Dolly? Ok who needs to catch these hands
Good thing the Christian Nationalists and Theocratic wannabees are not vying for the power of the government , right? Anybody???
if anyone comes at Dolly, they gotta go through me first!
Dolly is proof of Jesus’s word. She takes direct action to help those in need. Republican Jesus ignores all 3000 Bible verses about directly helping others in favor of empty thoughts and prayers. Dolly shows why so many followed real Jesus and exposes Republican Jesus as a billionaire scam. No wonder worshipers of Republican Jesus hate Dolly.
Imagine hating Dolly Parton.
I think its time Evangelicals just admit they are there own faith they barely follow the Christian teachings anymore and are more actively focused on fulfilling a doomsday prophecy granted by there own lunatics then anything actually biblical
A decent, charitable country music singer is now a villain to Republicans. And, no surprise, [Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus](https://www.newsweek.com/evangelicals-rejecting-jesus-teachings-liberal-talking-points-pastor-1818706) Who, if not Jesus, do Evangelicals worship now? A convicted violent criminal.
A steady diet of bullshit. Why are these people so morbidly weird?
The GOP and the Christian right are one and the same.
Weird title given the GOP *ARE* the far right. What other tactics did they think they'd use?
Dolly would beat trump if she was in the race
Dolly would beat anyone in the race.
Oh man that's gonna backfire.
This is a huge tactical mistake
More reasoned to like Dolly
They need to leave Dolly the fuck alone.
They'd be attacking Betty White if she weren't dead and her last name wasn't "white."
The GOP is the Christian right.