For as long as I’ve lived in Arkansas, most of my adult life, people like the now-famous state Sen. Jason Rapert have made most of the noise and lost most of the elections. Now they’ve come to power, courtesy of Southern Republicans’ cultlike rejection of President Obama and large infusions of corporate campaign cash. And with the state legislature in session, the tragicomedy is under way.

It’s happening all across the South. Sample news story: “Representatives approved a bill titled ‘The Church Protection Act of 2013,’ 85-8, to permit concealed handguns in churches and other houses of worship.”