AHC: Moral Majority or religious right goes Gilead in the 80s

redeclipse

Banned
I suppose this was the original premise of the Handmaid's Tale, but the new series version of the Sons of Jacob is more Alt Right than Moral Majority in style. But in the 80s the Moral Majority under Jerry Falwell, Tammy Faye Baker, Pat Robertson etc. were all powerful figures. I guess with Reagan as President they didn't see a need for a hostile takeover, but what if say Reagan doesn't survive Hinckley and Bush doesn't indulge them or Reagan loses in 84 and they decide to take matters into their own hands with a coup somehow?
 
Gary Hart, maybe? He wins in 1984, his affair with Donna Rice is exposed while he’s in office, and Pat Robertson defeats him in 1988. Robertson brings in a whole host of religious conservatives. He would need a LOT of allies to suspend the Constitution, though.
 
The notion of a Christian fundamentalist coup in America just happening is ASB. A state like Gilead could only exist in the aftermath of some major catastrophe like a nuclear war or something suitably apocalyptic to get people scared senseless and convinced that God is judging them.
 
The vast majority of evangelicals and fundamentalists would not support a coup. It would take ASB levels of government tyranny to push people to that point.
 
The notion of a Christian fundamentalist coup in America just happening is ASB. A state like Gilead could only exist in the aftermath of some major catastrophe like a nuclear war or something suitably apocalyptic to get people scared senseless and convinced that God is judging them.

I wouldn’t say its ASB, just that it is so unlikely that ASB is a suitable shorthand.
 
The 82nd Airborne and 1st Marine Division get the Call.

Within a week the Fundie forces are shattered and on the run from the US Armed Forces, forced to attempt to resist via irregular warfare without the support of the majority of the American population, who is quite rightfully pissed at them, shattering for all time the myth that Civilian Milita's are still a viable means of defense against tyranny. Whoever the current president is *probably* wins re-election on the basis of winning the mythical "Short, Victorious War" against a half cocked coup attempt. Possibly we see modification of the Second Amendment, tampering down on Gun Rights, unless there's some major Loyalist Faction associated with private gun ownership and not just it being considered a tool to allow the Fundies to gather the arms for their attempt in the first place.
 
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The vast majority of evangelicals and fundamentalists would not support a coup. It would take ASB levels of government tyranny to push people to that point.

I agree with the extent of that statement but let me qualify it - a full-on coup wouldn’t work. However, a powerful religious shift in existing politics would be feasible. The idea of a party becoming extremely powerful, especially in a region or regions (picture the entire southeast and Great Plains and then prevent CA from going liberal) and you effectively have a one-party State. After a decade or so of stacking the Supreme Court with religious justices and passing laws that are extremely pro-Christianity, expect the government to pay lip service to the Bill of Rights or even talk up how free the nation is despite obvious restrictions on things the Constitution is designed to protect.
 
The 82nd Airborne and 1st Marine Division get the Call.

Within a week the Fundie forces are shattered and on the run from the US Armed Forces, forced to attempt to resist via irregular warfare without the support of the majority of the American population, who is quite rightfully pissed at them, shattering for all time the myth that Civilian Milita's are still a viable means of defense against tyranny. Whoever the current president is *probably* wins re-election on the basis of winning the mythical "Short, Victorious War" against a half cocked coup attempt. Possibly we see modification of the Second Amendment, tampering down on Gun Rights, unless there's some major Loyalist Faction associated with private gun ownership and not just it being considered a tool to allow the Fundies to gather the arms for their attempt in the first place.

An attempted coup being put down by the military? Very likely. The idea that such an event would lead to amending the Constitution? Very unlikely. The only way that happens is if the overwhelming majority of the population supports that, but since there are large enough portions that support the 2nd Amendment, you'd have to have them be on the losing side for this to work. But if they're on the side of the coup, then the coup is powerful enough that it won't be a 'short victorious war' and could possibly win. You're kind of in a Catch-22. If this is a half-cocked coup attempt, it'll be regarded pretty much the same way as Waco or any other crazy religious group that ran afoul of the authorities.
 
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