Past as Prologue: Christian Nationalism and Indiana Politics
On January 12, 1925, at the inaugural ball for Indiana’s 32nd Governor, Edward Jackson celebrated his gubernatorial election with about 150 of the most influential citizens of the state. Outside the windows of the Indianapolis Athletic Club the winter clouds were heavy with snow, the limbs of the big red maples and white oaks clattered against each other, joining the sounds of clanging autos and trolleys mixed with the bustle of shoppers eyeing miracle appliances in the fancy department stores. Indiana’s two most powerful men stood before the joyous, celebratory crowd, exchanging gratitudes, applause and praise for one another. Edward Jackson, the newly elected Governor, was joined by David C. Stephenson. As Indiana’s Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, Stephenson had helped his compatriot and fellow Klansman, Edward Jackson, become the new Governor. Both men were Klansmen and both esteemed citizens of Indiana. In 1925, the KKK had infected most of Indiana and the midwestern states of the ‘heartland’. In the second decade of the 20th century, there was a women's Klan auxiliary and even a Ku Klux Kiddies. The children marched with hoods on their heads.
Indiana Historical Society digital image. The Firey Cross was the weekly newspaper of the Indiana Klan.
Did You Know:
Recent polls indicate that the Indiana gubernatorial race is statistically tied—which is a breathtakingly huge deal for this state. As we highlighted in our last post, Jennifer McCormick is the Democratic candidate, considered moderate by many. She promises to “bring common sense and bipartisanship back to the statehouse. She will stand up to policies that are dismantling public education, stripping Hoosiers of their rights and freedoms, and leaving rural communities behind.”
Terry Goodin is the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor. He is an educator, rural farmer, former state representative and served as the Indiana state director for rural development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) until he stepped down to run for Lt. Governor. He is considered a conservative democrat by his colleagues and fellow state legislators. (Our H4D team understands that political terms like conservative, liberal, radical, moderate, extremist, lack common meaning and are overused. Words fail us in these times.)
Senator Mike Braun is the Republican candidate. During his six years in the United States Senate, he has consistently supported the MAGA faction of the senate Republicans. Most recently, on September 17th, 2024, he blocked the passage of a bill that would have protected Americans’ access to IVF. He voted against a similar bill in June. The IVF bill is necessary if we are to resist the ‘personhood’ laws that are springing up in red states that grant full personhood to developing embryos. Braun supports Indiana’s extreme abortion ban and if elected Governor, he would most likely support implementing Project 2025 if Republicans gain control of the Presidency.
Micah Beckwith was NOT Braun’s choice for Lt. Governor, and Beckwith’s nomination at the June Republican State Convention was considered a rebuke of the more ‘liberal’ policies of both Governor Holcomb and Mike Braun. Micah Beckwith is a self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist. Christian nationalism is the 21st century iteration of the white supremacy/hate movement of the KKK, which has deep roots in Indiana politics and Indiana’s body politic. Micah Beckwith is a pastor of a church in Carmel. (He openly states his belief that the January 6th insurrection was ‘divinely inspired’ and he led the book banning episode at Hamilton East Public Library last summer). Members of the KKK have always enjoyed a strong membership of Christians, pastors, community leaders and elected officials, in Indiana and wherever its tentacles reached across the United States. Beckwith’s youth and podcast performative personality makes up for Braun’s lack of charismatic charm. If Braun is elected Governor, we would have the 21st century version of the terrorist-hate group of the KKK in the statehouse. That is a centennial anniversary Hoosiers can’t afford to repeat.
It would be unfair to paint a broad brush for all the incumbent Republican candidates as MAGA loyalists or Christian nationalist sympathizers. However, the voting records of most sitting GOP state legislators suggest strong party loyalty and fealty. In a previous post we described the challenge of having a supermajority power house in the statehouse and trifecta in our state governance structure. If we can break the supermajority or crumble the trifecta, we would significantly reduce the negative impact of MAGA leaning elected officials in our state government. It would make a huge difference in our state if we could elect Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. There are no MAGA loyalists, Christian Nationalists or Project 2025 advocates running on the Democratic ballot.
Be aware however, that there are two candidates who clearly align with the values and principles of Christian Nationalism and Project 2025. Todd Rokita, the Republican candidate for Attorney General, is running against Destiny Wells. Rokita has a long record of extremism; from suing the physician who performed the abortion for the ten-year old rape and incest victim, suing the hospital where she worked, and joining other Republican AGs in suing swing states that refused to use fake electors to certify the 2020 election. He is a proud election denier.
Jim Banks is running for Mike Braun’s vacated senate seat. His opponent is Valerie McCray. He supports Indiana’s extreme abortion ban and is pushing for a ban with NO exceptions. He wants to pass legislation that makes it illegal to leave the state for reproductive health care regardless of the complications of a pregnancy and its impact on the health of the mother and is hostile to the rights of LGBTQ+ Hoosiers.
Why It Matters:
In 1925, the KKK had significant influence on laws, public policy and state and national governance. That was the point beyond their penchant for terrorizing Jews, Catholics, immigrants and Black people. Their leaders believed that if the KKK could infiltrate the government, they could help shape human behavior in their mold, their likeness. In Colorado, an open Klansman governor fired all Jewish and Catholic professors at the state flagship university. The Governor of Georgia, a Klansman, wanted to ‘build a wall of steel, a wall as high as heaven” against the ‘vicious spawn’ of the Jews, Polish and Italian Catholics, Greeks and Asians. In Indiana, “the state had passed the world’s first eugenic sterilization laws, targeting idiots, imbeciles, confirmed criminals… and were pushing to include paupers, alcoholics, thieves, prostitutes and those with epilepsy to be sterilized against their wills”. Past as Prologue indeed.
H4D delineated some of Indiana’s most extreme laws that have been passed by the GOP supermajority in a previous post. Today, Indiana has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, and we know women are dying because of it. We have banned gender affirming care for our youth, have some of the most liberal gun carrying laws of the nation, rank near the bottom in education, and have one of the highest income requirements for public school vouchers that are bleeding public school funds dry. Indiana continually repeals regulations to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe. These laws were passed not because most Hoosiers wanted them, but because of the supermajority and gerrymandering of the state, our elected representatives do not have to ‘represent’ the desires of most Hoosiers.
There are some Hoosiers that believe in the regressive tenets of the KKK, and those folks are core MAGA supporters. Most Hoosiers don’t. Our dilemma is that many Hoosiers just don’t vote. Only 39.6 % of registered voters turned out in the midterm elections giving Indiana the distinction of being LAST in the country for voter turnout. We are better than this. It is not only our civic and patriotic duty to vote, it is our privilege.
What You Can Do:
In 2024, Hoosiers must understand the consequences of electing candidates from the Republican party. In 1925, the KKK had infiltrated and controlled both the Democratic and Republican parties. D.C. Stephenson’s conviction of abduction, rape and murder of Madge Oberholzer and the scandal that followed swept up politicians and citizens across the land. The facts that were uncovered were hideous and the depravity of his behaviors and that of his followers was significantly instrumental in bringing about the demise of the influence and popularity of the KKK. The KKK went underground until its recent emergent iteration of hate as embodied in the white supremacy and white Christian nationalism movements.
Today, in 2024, White Christian Nationalism is synonymous with MAGA and the MAGA faction hijacked the Republican party. Their target is democracy and the infiltration of democratic institutions to infuse their expression of Christianity into civic life through governmental control. Their blueprint for making this happen is Project 2025.
For a simple, Schoolhouse Rock explanation of Project 2025 see The Project 2025 Song!
Be sure you are registered to vote and make sure your friends, family and colleagues are registered. Go here to check your voter registration status or click on this QR code:
In the 2024 election, vote for pro-democracy candidates up and down the ballot–a vote for patriotism and freedom. If democracy survives this election, we can differ on issues and return to a more normal two-party democracy. Put up yard signs that support pro-democracy candidates, it helps build momentum, enthusiasm and conversations!
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Two quick reads for every citizen living in these times are Timothy Snyder’s books On Tyranny and On Freedom
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This is the most significant election of our lifetime. We were made for this moment.
P.S. We’d like to welcome a new member to Hoosiers for Democracy, Dr. Kathy Marrs. She is a dedicated community volunteer, and an active member and precinct chair for the Boone County Democrats. She and her husband are both college professors and have three grown children. Kathy is a champion for women’s empowerment, particularly in the area of reproductive rights. She is excited to join the Hoosiers for Democracy movement and eager to contribute to strengthening democratic norms and fighting extremism here in Indiana. Welcome Kathy!!!
Yours in democracy,
Debbie, Rachel, Barbara & Kathy
Notes:
For the historical account of D.C. Stephenson’s influence in Indiana politics and everyday life, read A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan.
For more information on Micah Beckwith’s religiosity and Christian nationalism, see Sheila Kennedy’s The Book of Beckwith and her A Heartbeat Away and Michael Leppert’s column The Mike and Micah Show Would Be A Political Disaster In Indiana
For more information about the similarities of the KKK’s influence in Indiana’s 1924 politics with that of a Braun/Beckwith administration, see Sheila Kennedy’s The Indiana GOP's Theocratic Ticket
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, here is a video clip of President Jed Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, taking on a hypocritical member of the ‘religious right’--an earlier version of White Christian Nationalism.