Christian nationalist audiences experience disgraced political figures as uplifting entertainers

Evidence

Michele Bachmann takes the stage in a long coat and a pinch-me-to-make-sure-this-isn’t-a-dream expression of wonder on her face. As a Republican primary candidate in the 2012 presidential election, she was derided by progressives as a stilted speaker and criticized both for her own anti-gay activism and for that of her husband, Marcus Bachmann, who offers “gay conversion therapy” through his counseling service. But to sympathetic audiences she is relaxed and uplifting, at times exuding a campy charm. “We’re from Minnesota; we put on our coats in October and don’t take them off until June!” she quips, and the room laughs along with her. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 190

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the Complaints About Immodesty article’s theme of in-group vs out-group perception of moralized performance.