They can hardly contain themselves.
On one side, we have the Establishment — politicians and pundits who, willingly or not, get themselves stuck in the mire of the swamp. They’re sometimes called the Uniparty. On the other side, we have those who are tired of year after year of business as usual and want to shake things up. They are often characterized as MAGA or America First.
With the recent ousting of Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, it’s almost impossible for those who wish to appear to walk the tightrope between the Establishment and MAGA to maintain their balance.
A good example of this is the recent confrontation between Brian Kilmeade of Fox News and GOP Rep. Tim Burchett from Tennessee. Kilmeade wasn’t at all happy with the Republicans leveraging eight votes to oust McCarthy. He took it out on Burchett by seeming to mock him.
America First activist Kingsley Cortez posted the exchange on X. She wrote, “Establishment mouthpiece & Swamp shill Brian Kilmeade mocks TN Rep. Tim Burchett for praying.”
WATCH: Establishment mouthpiece & Swamp shill Brian Kilmeade mocks TN Rep. Tim Burchett for praying.
Disgusting behavior from Murdoch News! pic.twitter.com/7tNQ4XyrcF
— Kingsley Cortes (@KingsleyCortes) October 4, 2023
It wasn’t a good look for Kilmeade, who could hardly contain his contempt for Burchett and Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who set the ball in motion to boot McCarthy from his lofty position.
Kilmeade taunted Burchett by asking him if Gaetz was his leader. Burchett — who maintained a calm demeanor throughout the encounter — said “I’m not following Matt Gaetz. I made my own decision.”
Kilmeade then tried to read Burchett’s mind. “If Matt Gaetz didn’t stand up, you weren’t going to challenge. You know that.” Burchett disagreed. “I believe I would have.” To which Kilmeade said, “Oh, come on. Please.”
Kilmeade wasn’t finished insulting his guest. He then mocked Burchett’s faith. “You were praying about it one minute. The next minute, you’re going to lead an insurgency?” Kilmeade’s pronunciation of “praying” was obviously intended to insult Burchett by treating him as a country bumpkin or, worse, a terrorist. When you use the words “praying” and “insurgency” in the same line of reasoning, what comes to mind? The terrorist organization ISIS? Osama bin Laden? MAGA?
Burchett, still calm, asked, “So you don’t think praying about it’s important? Is that what you’re saying?”
“One minute you’re praying about how you’re going to vote with Matt Gaetz,” Kilmeade interrupted. And then he repeated it for emphasis, “And the next minute you’re going to lead an insurgency?” If it wasn’t clear the first time, Kilmeade is likening MAGA Republicans to terrorists.
If you thought Fox News was conservative, think again. That was then. This is now. If Kilmeade’s outburst tells us anything, it’s that Fox is not conservative. And they’re not populist. Fox News is pro-Establishment.
According to Burchett, McCarthy, too, derided his praying. Burchett told reporters after the vote, “He just said something that was very condescending to me — and it doesn’t really matter at this point — but at that point, I thought to myself that that pretty much sealed it right there,” according to The Hill.
Mocking a man’s faith is a sure way to turn him against you.
“I was going down two paths. I said one was keeping my friendship with Kevin McCarthy. And two was my conscience. And so my conscience won out, and it’s served me pretty well. And I said I would be praying about it. And I do, I ask God for wisdom,” Burchett said.
“Then the first thing out of his mouth on the phone was something very condescending,” Burchett continued. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m gonna listen to him. I’m glad he’s calling. I’m sorry it’s right here at the last hour, but I’m gonna listen to him.’ And it was something condescending about my religious beliefs, and I just thought, I don’t need that. And that answered my question right there. The quality and the character there … maybe that’s the wrong thing to judge it on, but that’s what I did.”
The Establishment’s disdain for religion further cements the bond between the left and right wings of the Uniparty. In 2008, Barack Obama caused a stir when he belittled those who dared resist voting for him.
“And it’s not surprising then that they get bitter,” Obama said. “They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” according to Christianity Today. He may as well have called them deplorables for resisting globalization.
Never fear, Hillary Clinton was up to the task in 2016, calling half of all Trump supporters “deplorables.”
What is it about God that triggers the Establishment? Could it be because God is greater than they can ever be, and they just can’t stomach the thought? Whatever it is, it bonds them together, no matter what side of the aisle they find themselves on.
Kilmeade probably wishes he wouldn’t have made such a public display out of his disdain for Burchett. Theoretically, they’re supposed to be on the same side — at least in general. That’s what they want you to think.
When push comes to shove, however, they can hardly contain their condescending elitist views on all of us ignorant religious people and, by association, God Himself.
Their hate always trips them up. In this instance, the loss of balance caused Kilmeade to drop his mask.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
