Bill Straub: According to Bevin’s view, you’re either for him or against him — there’s no middle ground

WASHINGTON – Ladies and gentlemen, meet the prophet from New Hampshire.

Gov. Matt Bevin has, it seems, expanded his duties well beyond those generally assumed by a head of state, transforming before the naked eye into St. Matt the Divine, asserting that those laughing at one of his, shall we say, curious ideas “hate God’’ and, under a proper reading (his) of the gospels, are going to hell.

Such a determined expression is quite an expansion of gubernatorial authority under anyone’s definition. Even the pope doesn’t assume such command these days. But there’s old Matt, promising folks in the West End of Louisville that their “shouted ‘amens’ and ‘holy holies’ and ‘hosannas,’’’ as Lawrence and Lee put it in Inherit the Wind, will at least partially resolve the ongoing violence that plagues the neighborhood.

Here’s what it comes down to. The murder rate in Louisville exceeded the all-time high in 2016 and appears on course to eclipse that record this year. Much of the problem exists in the historically African-American West End. Community leaders, including ministers and pastors invested in the neighborhood, are understandably desperate to do something about it.

Their hopes rose when St. Matt the Divine decided to weigh in with what he called “a simple solution,’’ perhaps providing some direction and promising a little cash to improve the presence of law enforcement, upgrade educational opportunities and maybe even attract some jobs, all of which would certainly address the growing problem.

Instead, St. Matt, perhaps recalling the success of all those folks who tried to “pray away the gay’’ all those years, visited a West End middle school and recommended that those in attendance organize prayer groups to walk around various parts of the neighborhood several times a week.

It came across a bit like Swift’s “A Modest Proposal’’ for dealing with the Irish. The advice was not well received.

First of all, here’s an authoritarian white guy entering a black neighborhood and telling the folks there they need to pray more, good luck and I’ll catch you in the funny papers. In doing so, Bevin was showing that the West End, with a church on just about every block, is foreign territory to him. Asking residents to pray more is like asking them to breathe more.

Regardless, it was a futile gesture. St. Matt paid lip service to other community needs – most of them having dollar signs on them – but came across with nothing of substance, washed his hands and departed the neighborhood while those remaining were left to ponder their fate. They expressed their disappointment in no uncertain terms and old Matt didn’t much care for it.

And how did St, Matt the Divine respond? Well, appearing on WHAS-AM, he asserted that “Those who hate God and hate this administration were happy to mock that,” perhaps temporarily forgetting that neighborhood ministers were the most vociferous in their criticism.

Not satisfied with that bit of general damning, St. Matt, in one of those patented it-would-be-funny-if-it-wasn’t-so-offensive videos he seems so proud of, further answered his critics by making a reference to the Gospel of Matthew – no, that OTHER Matthew – about “separating the sheep from the goats.’’

Joe Gerth, the outstanding local columnist for The Courier-Journal of Louisville, ultimately backed by Rev. Matthew Johnson, a Baptist preacher, said the governor was essentially using the reference to say that those who dismissed his call were going to hell.

That’s right, in the process of separating the sheep from the goats story, one side was going to heaven while the other side was going to, well, that other place.

So much for, “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.” That’s Proverbs, by the way.

St. Matt the Divine’s primary purpose these days, other than to pray the guns away, is to revise Jesus’ admonition in Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged,’’ to meet his own mortal needs.

Bevin has spent a significant amount of time during his first 18 months in office attempting to undermine anyone whose job is to hold him accountable, thus convincing Kentucky voters that he – and He alone – is the one you can trust.

A number of individuals and organizations carry the responsibility of keeping an eye on the governor and holding him to account. That list includes the press, the attorney general, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, the courts and the General Assembly, the latter of which has essentially abdicated that responsibility since both legislative chambers now are in the hands of his fellow Republicans.

But consider the rest. His ongoing efforts to belittle the media – calling them “liars’’ and urging voters to disregard anything they have to say about his administration – are widely known. He has instigated a personal feud with Attorney General Andy Beshear, who has now sued him on four separate occasions for overstepping His authority.

A few months after assuming office, Bevin issued an executive order altering the make-up of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, stripping the attorney general and auditor of their abilities to nominate candidates. He immediately appointed sycophants to the post who are unlikely to determine the great one, like Christ himself, has a single flaw.

Doubt it? One of his appointees on the newly rendered commission is Theresa F. Camoriano, a patent lawyer from Louisville who describes herself as a free market conservative on her Twitter site.

The aforementioned Joe Gerth, who has been appropriately critical of the governor, penned a column about Bevin’s Pray the Guns Away initiative, along with his claim that those who mocked his proposal are going to hell.

Camoriano rushed to the Holy Man’s defense, tweeting “Pastor @Joe_Gerth of the church of the yellow rag. I can understand why you are concerned about going to hell.’’

Gerth shot back, noting that, as a member of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, “aren’t u supposed to be objective and not jump to the gov’s defense all the time?’’ She responded, “You mean like a journalist?’’

Well, no, perhaps like an unbiased member of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, which, apparently, is asking too much.

You can judge for yourself how Camoriano will respond should He ever step over the line, which seems inevitable.

And finally there’s the courts. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd (who I’ve known for more than 30 years) is, perhaps, the state’s most respected jurist. As one of two circuit judges in the county that houses the state capital, he often hears various constitutional and governmental disputes.

After Shepherd issued a ruling striking down a Bevin executive order overhauling the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, St. Matt the Divine dove in.

“Oh my goodness,’’ Bevin said on WHAS-AM. “Really and truly this judge has been a political hack his entire life.’’

It doesn’t take Lew Archer to determine that, in serial fashion, Bevin is toiling to undermine anyone or anything endeavoring to hold him accountable, hoping to foil any effort to portray him as imperfect.

But, if the General Assembly is abdicating its responsibility, the Ethics Commission is being filled by sycophants, you can’t trust the press or the attorney general and the local presiding judge is a hack, who in the world are the good citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky supposed to turn to for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Ahem.

“This is what I talk about when I say that you have to get the news directly from the source,’’ Bevin said in one of his long-winded videos propping him up as the lone disseminator of the truth. “You cannot trust the media because they will not shoot straight with you.’’

It is indeed a relief to know that there is a savior among us, the one and only one who doesn’t speak with forked tongue despite evidence that he lies like a rug (those tax returns are where now?) and appears to have gotten a real bargain (read sweetheart deal) from a political supporter over his recent home purchase in Anchorage.

So, as he continues on his crusade as the sole proprietor of the truth, St. Matt the Divine may want to recall one last Bible verse, from Proverbs 16:15 – “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.’’

Washington correspondent Bill Straub served 11 years as the Frankfort Bureau chief for The Kentucky Post. He also is the former White House/political correspondent for Scripps Howard News Service. A member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, he currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, and writes frequently about the federal government and politics. Email him at williamgstraub@gmail.com.