Big Day: The Holy Post Podcast Featured Getting Jefferson Right and the Book is Available!
A perfect day to debunk the Speaker of the House's favorite Christian nationalist guru
Sometimes it is hard to get everything in a title, yea even two titles.
So it is a big day here on the Initiative.
ONE
On Amazon.com, the e-book version of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson is now available for purchase.* The first edition of the book exposed many of the errors in David Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies, which led to that book getting pulled from publication by Christian publisher Thomas Nelson in 2012. If that name, David Barton, sounds familiar, it may be because he has been a major influence on the new Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson. So today is a perfect day to debunk the Speaker of the House’s favorite Christian nationalist guru by getting acquainted with Getting Jefferson Right.
TWO
My Getting Jefferson Right co-author and I appear today on the Holy Post podcast, with Phil Vischer. This podcast is wildly popular and features lots of great discussion and often takes on controversial topics. I was very happy Phil had us on, and we were able to explore the background of the book in some detail. Phil also shared with us his favorite tweet that I tweeted (or whatever you do now) about our favorite General. That is all I will say here. You will have to tune in.
Those pics tho...
Anyway, like I said, big day here on the blog.
Seriously now, Christian nationalist folklore is influencing the highest offices in the Congress. We don’t take on all of it in our book, but if you want to see how Christian nationalists twist history, our book is a good place to go. We don’t just say these stories are incorrect (e.g., no, Jefferson didn’t personally introduce the Bible in the Washington DC schools while he was president), we show why they are wrong, using primary sources.
*The paperback version page on Amazon is delayed by some kind of technical problem but should soon be available. Watch this space and gettingjeffersonright.com.
Congratulations!
Like all but four or five people in the U.S., I had never heard of Mike Johnson before this all happened. (I am not a Republican - I know, big shock.) So I figured he was likely another far right minion like the rest of the House Republican Caucus, until I read in a piece by Charlie Pierce that David Barton was a big influence on our new Speaker.
I have since discovered that he is about as bad as it gets. He is in fact a theocrat, and proud of it. One cannot be a theocrat and also follow the Constitution. I just wish the current Republican Party would admit it has no interest in Constitutional government. It would at least be honest.
I enjoyed watching the YouTube video and learning about your book, Dr. Throckmorton!