鈥淣ow the attacks are escalating,鈥� Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx . 鈥淲atch whether the attacks focus on the issues or on Christianity itself. Watch whether prayer is ridiculed. Watch whether biblical convictions are portrayed as something to fear. If they鈥檒l come after someone because he openly follows Christ, imagine what they鈥檒l do to everyday believers who simply want to live out their faith.鈥�
Akin to President Trump鈥檚 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not coming after me, they鈥檙e coming after you — I鈥檓 just standing in the way,鈥� but with a heavier dose of martyrdom, these statements are intended to conjure anxiety and righteous indignation among supporters.
The 鈥渢hey鈥� in Marx鈥檚 post are presumably the reporters who recently broke stories about Marx鈥檚 campaign finance violations, his decision , his questionable background, and false claims about .
No one in the press corps is criticizing Christianity, prayer, scripture, or faithful living. By conflating journalism with religious persecution, Marx is not just deflecting responsibility; he is indulging in identity politics, the kind of us-versus-them rhetoric that inflames the body politic and leaves scars of resentment and distrust long after the race is over.
And let抖阴ap face it, the general election is over. It ended June 30 when Republican primary voters picked a candidate unqualified for the job. The Marx campaign could limit the damage by staying focused on mainstream Republican ideas until November, but if July is any indication, the next three months will be nothing but a public affairs liability for the party and the faith Marx represents.
In addition to receiving negative publicity for illegal donations and a peculiar invitation to opponent Phil Weiser to debate without moderators, the Marx campaign debuted a general election video ad that seems designed to further alienate those who did not vote for him in the primary.
The ad鈥檚 mix of military, religious, and political imagery is most disconcerting. It抖阴ap not about simple, authentic faith which inspires goodness — the humble Christianity of public servants like former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter or Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman — it抖阴ap a right-wing identitarian movement that seeks power and glory.
It抖阴ap also impossible to miss the ad鈥檚 male centrism; everyone shown with a microphone is male while women clap from the sidelines. The message? Men lead, women support. A gratuitous swipe at his female primary opponent drives home the point.
Midway through the ad, as Marx assures the audience he will be fixing 鈥渢he problems鈥� facing the state, a series of images cycle so quickly as to be nearly subliminal 鈥� an old computer screen flashing 鈥淓rror 404 File System Integrity Compromised,鈥� a dark figure behind a screen, a pile of money, pictures of two Democratic office holders and one of GOP state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer.
A woman with decades of experience and extensive expertise is part of the problem, the ad asserts. The state needs a man, especially someone with impressive biceps who can disarm an assailant in record time. Someone who can pass Secretary of War Hegseth鈥檚 testosterone screening. Someone who can work out in jeans. Or as the masculine voice booms at ad鈥檚 end, 鈥淎 man of steel in velvet. A man that understands war on the earth and war in the heavens.鈥�
That whole 鈥渨ar in the heavens鈥� angle is proving problematic already. Marx is trying hard to distance himself from claims he can expel demons, even over the phone, a practice known as exorcism. The trouble is that he made these claims on tape.
Thanks to an investigation by 9News, 聽we can hear Marx say things like, 鈥淕od has given me a gift to be able to find out if you have specific demons. And if you do, I make him talk, and then we destroy him. It抖阴ap fast, dude. Five, ten minutes.鈥�
When newsman Kyle Clark catches a candidate trying to gaslight voters about what he did or did not say, Clark is not 鈥渙bsessing鈥� about the candidate鈥檚 faith as Marx contends, he鈥檚 doing his job as a journalist.
Heaven help us; we still have three months to go.
Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
