Why I'm grieving Elizabeth Warren’s exit
Unlike Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016, Warren’s defeat came at the hands of her own party.
The Sunday after the 2016 presidential election, I preached on the lectionary gospel text for the day, in which Jesus says, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them” (Luke 21:8). I preached my despair about white supremacy, xenophobia, and the seeming willingness of millions of our electorate to accept a false teacher who said he was the only one who could save us. I also preached the hope that we would persist, that by our endurance we would gain our souls.
Shaking my hand after church that day, one member said to me, “Well, Hillary was a terrible candidate.” Like that was a given. Like she wasn’t running against a self-admitted sexual abuser.
My parishioner’s comment smarted. I grew up in the same church Hillary Clinton did, and I recognized the language of her faith. She worked for issues that I, as a Christian leader, believed in. To know that most white evangelicals and a good share of other white Christians voted in droves against her was painful.
