The Fate of the Religious Right

Last Wednesday evening, a few hundred Christian conservatives gathered at Noah’s Event Venue in suburban Des Moines for a rally with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. It featured leading figures from both the local and national religious right, there to make the case that the movement must unite behind Cruz. “Ted Cruz is one of us,” said Bob Vander Plaats, head of the FAMiLY Leader, Iowa’s most influential evangelical organization. “He’s trustworthy. He hates dishonest gain.” Vander Plaats was both referencing Exodus 18:21 (“But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain”) and taking a dig at Donald Trump.