Jesus is my King!

What’s your favorite recipe? Anything with Buffalo meat!

Dear Lord, we want to surrender our own will and put all our focus on You so that we are able to go where you have called us. Amen.

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Come ride with us, into the breach. Again.


Trump Is Still the King
At the Louisiana Republican Party’s “Victory 23” meeting.
TIM MILLER
AUG 27

On Friday, I was on The Bulwark pod with Charlie and we were discussing how to commemorate the latest image in our long, slow-rolling, not-yet-fully-satisfying vindication: the mug shot. 
So this weekend we threw up a few options on The Bulwark Store for y’all to peruse.
Check ‘em out. 
Now, let me give you a little live, on-the-ground reporting from the bayou. I went so you didn’t have to.




(Images: Getty, Shutterstock. Art: Hannah Yoest.)
Lafayette—On Friday Republican activists decked out in Let’s Geaux Brandon attire filed into a sleepy conference center connected to the CAJUNDOME as two projector screens aired Right Side Broadcasting News’ archival footage of a Donald Trump rally from back in the good ol’ days. Back when their cup ranneth over with the tears of triggered libs and all was right in their world. Back before their man was indicted, weighed, photographed, arraigned and forced to surrender to the custody of Fulton County Courthouse on orders of District Attorney Fani Wills. 
This was the annual gathering of the Louisiana GOP, titled “Victory 23: It’s Bigger Than All Of Us” though the vibes were less than victorious. It was just one day after the mugshot seen ‘round the world, but there were no signs that the legal troubles of their standard bearer weighed on their consciences.The congregants who made the trek to Lafayette for the sparsely attended confab had a lot of complaints—but none of them were directed at the man setting their beloved party on fire. 
They were unhappy about the direction of the state, their sitting Democratic governor, and their traitorous Republican senator. But most of all they were enraged at how the Department of Justice is treating their rightful president, Donald J. Trump. 
This stated bitterness was offset by another overriding theme of the day: their hope, their faith, and their desire to fight for the “soul of the nation.” to borrow a phrase. Speakers prayed for Louisiana. They prayed for humility. They prayed for rain. 
But mostly they prayed for resurrection. 
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As the brass notes of “Fight for LSU” faded, the Leadership Institute’s Heather Sellers took the stage to scattered applause. She had come straight from the debate in Milwaukee and said to the crowd that while she knows who she thinks won the debate, she wanted to know “what y’all think.” 
There’s a short pause as the crowd determined their role in this impromptu call and response. I leaned forward in my chair excited to hear what names get shouted out. Vivek? Nikki? Dee-sanctus? 
A lone voice yelled TRUMP. 
And then a rolling chorus echoed TRUMP. TRUMP. TRUMP. 
Sellers responded, “I’d have to agree.” 
[Note for anyone in future generations uncovering this political time capsule for an AI-assisted college essay: Trump did not attend the debate in question.]
And that pretty much captured the mood of the assemblage. During the afternoon I did not encounter a single item of clothing or flair representing a 2024 candidate other than Trump. There was JUSTICE FOR TRUMP gear, and MAGA hats, and Try That In A Small Town tees—but no sign of merch from any of the other presidential aspirants. It was as if there wasn’t even a presidential primary happening.  I suppose that’s because,in this room, there really wasn’t. 
I moseyed up to a few early-20s staffers who were working the event, curious to see if maybe they had an alternative view from the blue-haired attendees and approved speakers. 
“Just curious, who are you guys supporting in the primary,” I asked
The first guy replied, “well we are a Trump party.” The others nodded. “But if it wasn’t him I would like Vivek.” This was the basic sentiment from every person under the age of 30 that I talked to. (One young woman was also impressed with Nikki Haley.) 
But it was the caveat at the start of his answer that was the most telling. The matter-of-fact, unquestioned, quasi-religious acknowledgment of Trump. Whether directed or not, intentional or not, the people who work at the state Republican Party of Louisiana still identify themselves at some level as being on the Trump team. 
And despite all the former president’s legal troubles, that’s not irrational. The latest GOP primary poll in Louisiana has Trump ahead by an Assad-like 65 points.