CHRIS CRUCIAL: Jesus Christ (and Pete Hegseth)π
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1. Pete Hegseth, Jesus and cynicism
During the confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, there was an exchange between the Defense nominee and Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine that I canβt get out of my head.
Hereβs it is:
Kaine: But you acknowledged that you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman who -- by whom you had just fathered a child. You have admitted that.
Hegseth: I will allow your words to speak for themselves.
Kaine: You're not retracting that today. That's good. I assume that in each of your weddings, you've pledged to be faithful to your wife. You've taken an oath to do that, haven't you?
Hegseth: Senator, as I've acknowledged to everyone in this committee, I'm not a perfect person; not claiming to be.
Kaine: But -- no, I just asked a simple question. You've taken an oath like you would take an oath to be secretary of defense, in all of your weddings, to be faithful to your wife. Is that correct?
Hegseth: I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully, I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Ok. Before I go on, let me acknowledge a few things about myself:
a) I am a nonbeliever who wants to believe but has yet to make that leap of faith
b) I have spent my entire life covering politics and politicians as a journalist, which has the effect of making one very, very cynical.
Which means that my first response to Hegsethβs βLord and Savior, Jesus Christβ line was something like this:
(Sidebar: God bless Stanley Hudson.)
Because, like, how convenient, right? Once Hegseth goes the I-found-God-and-now-my-life-is-different route, what else can you say? Itβs sort of an argument-ender unless you want to publicly question his faith/conversion.
Hegseth is not dumb. He knows that. He also knows that his personal conduct with his wives is not exactly the ground on which he wants to spend a whole lot of time discussing during the confirmation hearings. And thereβs no better way to get out of political jail than to cite a religious conversion experience.
Exceptβ¦what if Hegseth really did find God? And it changed how he views himself, women and relationships?
Before you roll your eyes at my naivetΓ©, let me explain.
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