A rural Washington school board race shows how far-right extremists are shifting to local power

[Rural_Progressive]

13. Back in the early 80s I realized that this whack job version of evangelism

had the very real potential of becoming a potent force in US society and politics. I started watching things like CBN and other televangelists and became even more convinced. Never will forget how my liberal housemates mocked me and thought I was a "conspiracy" nut to believe there was any chance something so whacked out would move beyond the fringe.

I've always been a pretty good "dot-connector" and I saw the grass roots beginning of a powerful counter-movement to changes of the 70s. Organized, validated, and might I say demanded by a network of church congregations these people began taking over local governments, school boards, library boards, county commissioners, judges, anything that was being ignored by liberals as being beneath their need to focus on.

Well here we are a little over 40 years later and we're still doing too little, and possibly too late, to offset what has been created. I defy anyone to tell me that without the decades of consistent financial, boots-on-the-ground support this network has generated there is anyway TFG would have found his way into office.

All of this was happening right where we could see it and just like my housemates it has been laughed at, belittled, and ignored. Hope we learn from this mistake.