When the GOP strays away from G.o.d.

Musings on my photo trip to see the Republican party picnic in Nashville

A friend flagged up to me that the Republican Party was having its summer picnic in a park in Nashville today, so as part of my cultural anthropologist role I went along to document what I saw. You might enjoy the companion piece from last autumn, You cannot win a ministry of reconciliation, where I visited two Republican events in the election run-up. I emphasise that my role is as passing observer, not a participant in American politics. I am going to cheat a bit and use AI to tidy up my notes, which is accurate enough to get the message over, even if it loses a bit of my quirky style.

Over to ChatGPT as editor of my notes…

Theme #1: Constitutional and Foundational Identity

A strong emphasis was placed on American foundational values, with multiple speakers citing their deep Tennessee heritage—some tracing lineage back to the 1790s and 7–8 generations on the same land. This historical continuity was framed as a moral claim to political legitimacy. The Constitution was invoked not as an abstract ideal, but as a living covenant under threat, requiring renewed loyalty. Attendees rejected career politicians and called for a “citizen legislature,” promoting local accountability over institutional continuity. The political mission was described not as a partisan venture but as a return to first principles, aligning with the Founding Fathers’ vision.

Theme #2: January 6 & Political Persecution Narrative

One of the most emotionally charged sections centered on testimony from a January 6 defendant. The speaker recounted imprisonment without trial, lack of legal representation, rigged DC juries, cruel conditions (such as no visitation or religious services), and being convicted “against the evidence.” The experience was presented as symbolic of broader systemic rot—where the DOJ acts politically and due process collapses under ideological bias. There was no hint of regret or retraction; instead, January 6 was framed as a patriotic act misunderstood by a corrupt regime. This narrative feeds a sense of martyrdom and righteous rebellion among attendees

Theme #3: Anti-Immigration and Law Enforcement Priorities

Immigration was a flashpoint, with repeated use of phrases like “illegal means illegal” and “deport deport deport.” Sanctuary city policies and the Biden administration were harshly criticized for enabling criminal activity, particularly violent gangs like MS-13. A repeated grievance was that illegal immigrants receive more due process than conservative citizens. The mayor of Nashville was mentioned as complicit, with calls for resignation. The sentiment was not just about border control but law and order, sovereignty, and the perceived betrayal of American citizens—especially Tennesseans—by liberal officials.

Theme #4: Cultural and Religious Conservatism

The event projected a strong undercurrent of Christian moral traditionalism. Candidates described themselves as conservative Christians with young families, invoking God as the highest authority. Children were placed on stage to visually reinforce generational legacy and innocence. Appeals to “Biblical truth” were merged with constitutional values, creating a dual mandate of spiritual and civic restoration. Faith was not presented as private devotion but as a public, governing principle. The assertion was clear: there is no political future for America without returning to God.

Theme #5: Distrust in Federal Government / Deep State

A pervasive distrust of federal institutions ran through the entire gathering. Federal agencies were described as enemies to dodge or resist, not partners in governance. Specific grievances included doxxing of law enforcement by liberal officials, leaks from within government, and the treatment of J6ers as domestic terrorists. Attendees referenced “20,000 hours of footage” and “never-before-seen” material that allegedly exonerates defendants. The portrait painted was of a rigged justice system, a weaponized bureaucracy, and a federal power structure that targets conservatives while protecting ideological allies.

Theme #6: Call to Civic Action / Localism

The event was not simply a venting session—it contained a direct call to arms for local civic involvement. Attendees were urged to “run for school board, postmaster, Congress” and to “do something worth doing.” Legacy, framed in terms of one’s tombstone or life purpose, was a recurring motif. The political message was that solutions won’t come from Washington or party elites but from principled individuals stepping up in their communities. This action-oriented ethos blended moral urgency with grassroots strategy.

Theme #7: Conservative Environmentalism (Republican Conservation)

Amid the cultural and legal grievances, a quieter thread emerged around environmental stewardship—referred to as “Republican conservation” and promoted via the America Conservation Coalition. Though not elaborated in detail, this suggests an effort to reclaim ecological concerns from liberal narratives by framing them in terms of responsible heritage management and long-term national prosperity. It may also signal an outreach tactic toward younger or environmentally conscious conservatives.

Theme #8: Anti-Pharma and Mental Health Reform

Gun control was reframed as a distraction from the real crisis: mental health, especially in children, allegedly exacerbated by Big Pharma. Speakers called out the overmedication of youth, hinting at underlying societal decay caused by pharmaceutical influence. This approach sought to reclaim moral high ground in debates about violence and public safety by offering a competing diagnosis—emphasizing internal social and spiritual breakdown rather than external regulatory failures.

Summary

The Nashville GOP picnic was a potent display of populist conservatism steeped in tradition, grievance, and revivalist fervor. It cast the federal government as a corrupted enemy, elevated January 6 participants as persecuted patriots, and called for local, faith-driven action to reclaim civic life. Immigration and crime were painted as existential threats to the republic, while heritage, faith, and constitutional fidelity were held up as the path to renewal. Beneath the intensity lies a unifying call: to resist encroaching liberalism, restore foundational values, and leave a legacy rooted in faith, freedom, and local leadership.

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Enough of the AI! Now for some of my own commentary.

This meeting did not start out with a prayer, and was spiritually adrift. The political system is appropriately adversarial, but many of the issues transcend questions of budget and legislation. Democrats also know that over-medicating children is a problem, for instance. The crisis that divides is in the enforcement of existing laws, and respect for the highest law of the land in the constitution. A companion in my group survived genuine communists in a foreign land when growing up, and was dismayed at how small and insignificant the world of these party members was. One party officer I spoke to had never heard of Q, and was unaware of any covert war going on.

There was a distinct difference in the energy of the “servant patriot” part of the party, and those who still were part of the traditional career political scene. The senator who presented had previously condemned the J6ers, so here is foundational disagreement over what is real and moral. The bigger story that is unfolding of century-long sting operations, Central Casting actors everywhere, total financial reset and renewal, and fifth-generation warfare — that’s just way outside their frame of reference. At one level, that’s OK, as this is just a picnic. At another, it is disturbing, as the mainstream hasn’t yet caught up with where many of us were seven years ago (or more). A lot of these folk are going to need a “conspiracy theorist” to update and counsel them soon.

Donald Trump as figurehead of this renaissance said that the movement was about returning power to the people — not to the state governors, or to the Republican party, or to right-wing special interest groups. These were solid, honest, loyal Americans, just it all felt a bit lost and obsolete, with perhaps the exception of the J6 victim’s testimony. Politics cannot solve a spiritual problem, and the right is suffused with a religious spirit which is not the same as Christ or Logos or Divinity. My experience of a “conservative” who trashed the constitution in a family court says that change must come from within; beating the “other side” is nothing compared to purging the darkness that has infiltrated the conservative establishment.

In a republic, everyone is supposed to be a (small r) republican. That’s the deal! The Democrat party has long ceased to pursue American values, becoming a vector for destruction; it is anti-republic in its effect, not just anti-Republican, even if left-voting individuals do not support insurrection. Exposure of the election fraud, Covid crimes, and human trafficking will likely cause the implosion of party politics. There is no way that the current tenure system can outlast that shock; representatives have to be kept on tight term limits. Throw in 9/11 disclosure, abolition of the Fed and debt slavery, plus release of hidden tech from the military-industrial complex, and the problem these parties were invented to solve may not exist.

If the GOP is going to be a force for good, then it might want to consider putting the G-o-d back into front and centre. A prayer for national unity, redemption of the lost, and protection from evil might be a better way to begin each event. If you can persuade a leftist to vote for an anti-pharma candidate, even if not “your” party, that is still progress to purging corruption and harm from society. The war is spiritual, the enemy the deceiver, not an everyday Democrat. There is a role for political trading, as decisions have to be made over public resources and priorities. Just it is relatively small once you strip away the theft and the graft.

DOGE is downsizing politics as well as the Federal government. The GOP is part of a failing Uniparty system; MAGA in a way outsizes it, making the party its subsidiary. The GOP’s unique selling point is a willingness to mention G-o-d in public. Maybe it should think more deeply about what that means? Just it is blinded by its own religiosity, which confuses doctrine with the divine. For instance, if the party really was conservative, it would seek to eject the state from institutions like legal contract marriage, and cease issuing “breeding licenses” to men and women. That is currently unthinkable, but the disclosure of birth certificate bond fraud would shift the Overton window to make it not only conceivable, but unavoidable.

I doubt many of those present would know of the occult meaning of the replica Parthenon in the same park, and how it relates to their political movement. We are essentially illiterates in our own world. I am no expert on the esoteric, but I am at least consciously incompetent. The locus of socio-political growth and energy seems to have moved into a diffuse movement of autodidacts and reformers, mostly online, who find institutional life too compromising. America will be made great again, I believe, but the role of political parties in achieving that is minimal. Today was a good day out, and I encountered some engaging people… and animals.

Just a GOP that can’t decide if it’s an emissary for G-o-d (or not) feels a bit odd and off.

What do you think?