Ken Paxton Takes His Texas Size Brand of Hate and Christian Nationalism On the Road*

Aided and Abetted by Mormon General Authority Emeritus Tad R. Callister and Utah’s Own Disgraced A.G. Sean Reyes

My friend Mark sent me the above announcement of the Davis County, Utah Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner. Mark was not inviting me to the gala but was, instead, anticipating my reaction to the featured speakers for the event.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Elder Tad R. Callister. “What a strange and secret combination,” I thought, “an apparent Mormon general authority and an elected official with an extensive history of corruption, inhumanity, bigotry, lawlessness, infidelity, and election denialism, among other such distinctions.” At first, I could not comprehend how any rational person might think Ken Paxton represented Mormon or Utah values or that Mormon or Utah values remotely resembled those of Paxton. And wouldn’t Paxton risk getting arrested while crossing some state’s border if he left the State of Texas?

“Elder,” by the way, is a term of religious distinction, respect, and deference used for leadership in the Mormon church patriarchy. I immediately recognized the problem the announcement’s use of “Elder” could be for the Mormon church. Then its obviousness hit me: the purpose behind the county party’s use of…