Brent VanNorman made the comment at a church run by a Christian Nationalist

Aug 01, 2024

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A lot of Christian Nationalists have a nasty habit of promoting theocracy, then backing away from it the moment someone calls it out. You won’t find a more perfect example of that than Tulsa, Oklahoma mayoral candidate Brent VanNorman.

Over the weekend, he spoke at the church of fellow Christian Nationalist (and failed U.S. Senate candidate) Jackson Lahmeyer, where he fantasized about going back to a time when all elected officials had to be Christian.

… After declaring that “righteousness [also] exalts a city,” VanNorman then cited Proverbs 29 to declare that “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.”

As such, VanNorman then proclaimed, “my number one qualification for being mayor of Tulsa is that I am an unashamed follower of Jesus.”

“I think that if you go back and study the history of our nation and our founding,” he added, “the pulpit was the primary tool [during] the Revolutionary War [for] communicating to people. But [also], public officials had to be Christians in many areas and we’ve gone so far away from that and we need to get back.”

To be clear, being a Christian was never a requirement for public office anywhere in the United States. (In some states, there used to be requirements that you had to believe in God, but even those didn’t specify a particular faith.) The Constitution literally spells out how there can be no religious test for candidates. In practice, of course, it has always helped to be Christian and we have a habit of electing Christians and there’s a long tradition of officials taking an oath on the Bible, but none of that is mandatory.

Also, if your primary qualification for being mayor is your religious label, you’re admitting you’re not a good candidate. It’s not like a mayor’s job is to preside over church services. The job is to best represent everyone in your community.

Setting aside those facts, though, what the hell does that even mean? What exactly does VanNorman think “we need to get back” to by electing more Christians? What civil rights does he believe need to be stripped away from various groups? Which Bible does he want injected into public school classrooms? What does he think should happen if there are non-religious officials in public office?

The Tulsa World asked him to explain himself and VanNorman did what all Christian Nationalists do when confronted with their own words: He backtracked.

VanNorman clarified his remarks in an interview with the Tulsa World on Monday, saying he was not advocating that the government needs to be Christian.

“No, no, no, no. My point would be that I think people that are informed by Christian values make good public servants and they have a servant’s heart,” VanNorman said. “And so I would hope that, as a result of my value system, in which I care for humanity and … I try to treat people with equality, I try to treat people with love, and there’s a moral foundation that gives me that I hope people would appreciate, and that I hope that my motives are pure in what I’m doing and I’m not doing them for the wrong reason.”

Bull. Shit. There’s nothing unique or interesting about “Christian values” that makes someone more electable. Hell, if we take a look at the voting records of people who have won seats on the basis of those supposed values, there’s no shortage of cruelty, performative nonsense, and MAGA ass-kissing. People who run for office for secular reasons can be excellent public servants regardless of their faith background. The fact that VanNorman seems to look down upon everyone who doesn’t share his mythology should tell non-Christian voters—and there are many in Tulsa—a lot about what he thinks about them.

Incidentally, there are five candidates running to replace outgoing Mayor G.T. Bynum. Whatever their qualifications are, their faith labels are arguably the least important things about them. Especially when you consider that VanNorman’s views on substantive issues are just as meaningless as his religious statements.

The Tulsa World notes that during his church speech, he said he believes homelessness is “not primarily a housing issue; it’s a drug addiction issue; it’s a mental health issue.” Which ignores reality. Religion doesn’t put a roof over your head.

VanNorman did say, ironically, that church/state separation is “clearly established law right now”… but those last two words suggest he would love to see that changed.

There was also this exchange between Lahmeyer and VanNorman:

VanNorman’s appearance ended with a pop quiz from Lahmeyer.

“How many genders are there?” Lahmeyer asked VanNorman.

“There are two, and let me give you the scientific definition of a woman, in case you … because there are people that, you know, science is important, right? And they base things on science,” VanNorman said. “Scientific definition of a woman is, it’s an adult with two X chromosomes, period.”

“He’s qualified to be a mayor,” Lahmeyer said. “He knows what a woman is.” 

You don’t even have to be a trans rights advocate to know how that definition of woman is wildly oversimplified. There are women without two X chromosomes. There are men who have two X chromosomes. There are women who have hysterectomies and don’t have a uterus. But when you’re dealing with Christian bigots who see the world in black and white, there’s never any room for nuance.

VanNorman’s answer, though, makes it very clear that he would make life as miserable as possible for LGBTQ Tulsans. He actually trashed another mayoral candidate for her platform of inclusivity, saying “if she is mayor, throughout the month of June you are going to see some multi-colored flags lining our city streets, and you won’t if I am mayor.”

On Tuesday night, Lahmeyer once again hosted VanNorman at his church and urged the congregation to vote for him as mayor—violating IRS regulations—because it would be good to have “someone in that office that is on our team.”

The election takes place on August 27. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff between the top two candidates.

(via Right Wing Watch)