Rep. Mary Miller is living proof that Christians are not sending their best

Rep. Mary Miller, a Republican congresswoman from Illinois, said in a recent interview that the best elected officials are people who “fear God” because they believe they’ll eventually be held accountable for their actions.

In a Christmas interview with hate-group leader Tony Perkins, Miller explained that God called her to public office, and we’d all be better off if there were more Christians like her in positions of power.

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… I want to encourage people to run for office… We need people that fear God, that believe they can't hide from God, and ultimately they're going to give account to God; those are the best people to hold positions, whether it’s local or in the federal government.

There’s nothing wrong with encouraging people to run for office at any level. A lot of thoughtful people talk themselves out of doing just that. But the idea that we’re better off with godly people—and let’s be clear, she’s only referring to Christians like herself—is not just a bigoted statement to make, it’s utterly untrue.

Mary Miller is living proof that Christians aren’t sending their best.

Her comments effectively say that atheists should be shut out of public office (at least in theory, if not in law). She really doesn’t want Muslims, Jews, progressive Christians, or anyone else in power either; after all, it’s not like she believes we’re better off with President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, in the White House. Miller has previously blamed the “far-left atheist quest for power” (wut) for creating a “a mental health crisis, a drug addiction crisis, a crime wave and a homelessness crisis.” She pretends the Department of Justice is targeting Christians. She’s also stated “The basis of all good law is the Law of God.”

Meanwhile, the current U.S. House, run by fellow GOP Christian Nationalist Mike Johnson, is facing a government shutdown in a matter of weeks and can’t even figure out whether to support our allies overseas. That’s what happens when a guy whose faith makes him more interested in his son’s online search history than running the government is placed two heartbeats away from the presidency.

That’s before we get into the hateful social policies, failed economic policies, and MAGA cultism of the Christian Right. No matter how many times their “ideas” backfire—like with gun violence—they just yell “God” repeatedly and loudly until their ignorant base votes them back in. Miller can get away with these things because she’s in one of Illinois’ few ruby-red districts. But in states where conservative Christian lawmakers are in the majority, how are citizens better off? Just in the past couple of weeks, GOP governors in Iowa and Nebraska have rejected federal funding for a food program that would have helped low-income families in their states. We’ve seen voters in even deeply red states support abortion rights, against the desires of their Christian leaders, because they believe women should control their own bodies instead of Jesus-loving maniacs who refuse to accept any exceptions for the procedure despite all the evidence showing how cruel that position is.

And, of course, it’s conservative Christians who have gone to bat for Donald Trump, the thrice-married racist who paid hush money to porn stars he was having affairs with when his current wife was pregnant with his fifth child. The guy currently facing 91 criminal charges. The sexual abuser. The Two Corinthians guy. The candidate caught bragging about non-consensually grabbing women because he was a celebrity. The guy who lies about everything. The guy who says he doesn’t need forgiveness. The guy who couldn’t name his favorite Bible verse. The guy who held up a Bible in front of a church after his team used tear gas to drive away peaceful protesters.

As I’ve said before, not a single white evangelical church in America would ever allow Trump to be their pastor if they wanted to be taken seriously. And yet more than half of Republican voters (a good chunk of whom would describe themselves as conservative Christians) seriously believe Trump is a person of faith.

Miller, who favorably quoted Hitler at a rally the day before January 6, 2021 and praised the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade as a “victory for white life,” has also been widely criticized for being ineffective.

It’s not just that her politics are despicable, which they are; she’s genuinely bad at her job. This past August, a local newspaper pointed out that while other politicians—including Republicans—were able to get millions of dollars in federal funding for local projects, Miller’s district was “shut out” entirely. And that’s while Republicans are in control of the House! It raises the question of what good her “fear” of God does for her constituents because they’re not getting much of anything in return for their tax dollars.

It’s not that Christians can’t be good public servants; there are so many of them who are. It’s that Christians like Mary Miller are wholly unsuited for the job of representing the people in their district. If someone feels they’re accountable to God, instead of the voters, then they don’t belong in public office.

Tony Perkins, whose own background involves ties to white supremacists (which he denies) and posing in front of the Confederate flag (which he can’t deny), didn’t press Miller on any of this. He spent the interview fawning over her, as if she’s ever accomplished anything worth praising.

As awful as he is, though, Miller is the one in federal office. Anytime there’s a Christian in Congress who would rather serve Jesus than do her job well, we all pay the price.

(via Right Wing Watch)