When Rep. Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House last year, much was made of the fact that he was an acolyte of Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. But Johnson is not the only Republican in the House who adores Barton and the false Christian nationalist history he peddles.
Last week, when Barton was in Washington, D.C., leading a private tour of the Capitol for a group of right-wing pastors and meeting with members of Congress, he sat down for an interview with Reps. Eric Burlison, Michael Cloud, and Josh Brecheen on the “Fresh Freedom” podcast, during which the three gushed over Barton and the influence his work has had on their political careers. Cloud introduced Barton as “an amazing friend” and “a leader on history.”
“We’ve had the honor of having our staff going on a tour of the Capitol with you and it’s just amazing,” Cloud added. “I’ve watched your materials growing up and everything, so it’s been awesome to watch.”
Brecheen likewise told Barton that he had been “so inspired by your ministry” that he got involved in politics, but Burlison was the most effusive in his praise, claiming that when he was younger, Barton’s “America’s Godly Heritage” video was shown in his church and “it was really kind of my red-pill moment” that inspired him to take an interest in politics.
“I wouldn’t be in politics had it not been for you,” Burlison said, declaring that “it’s an honor” to end up “completing the circle” by being able to interview Barton as a congressman since it was Barton’s work that inspire him to become one.
“America doesn’t stand a chance if good guys don’t get involved,” Barton told the group. “Thank you, guys, for doing that. You take a beating and for doing it, but the rest of us appreciate that and appreciate the fire you go through. Because without good guys leading—it’s like back in [George] Washington’s day, they had all those good guys in Congress and if we don’t get those kinds of guys back in… We have an election coming up—everybody, listen—we got an election coming up and it’s really, really, really important. The philosophy of the people we put in office is really key. A whole lot of people wear the label, but don’t have the convictions, and the fact that you can quote George Washington’s Farewell Address, that’s the kind of stuff [we need]. You guys are grounded, so thank you. And hopefully we’ll recruit more candidates like you guys and get you a lot of help up here.”
“That’d be wonderful,” Burlison replied.
As Right Wing Watch has noted before, Barton is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the Christian nationalist myths that the far-right uses to justify its push to enact harmful public policies that weaken the separation of church and state, undermine women’s rights, and deny legal equality to LGBTQ Americans.
Thus, the fact that multiple members of Congress are fans of Barton and his teachings ought to be alarming to all those who care about core American values like church-state separation and religious pluralism, not to mention teaching the truth about our founding and history.
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