Evangelist Jerry Falwell died today after he was found unresponsive in his office.
Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 and is a nationally known voice for conservative Christian views.
Falwell has found himself at the center of several controversies, such as the one sparked by his comments two days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which he seemed to blame "abortionists," gays, lesbians, the ACLU and People for American Way for causing the attacks, saying they "helped this happen."
CNN
"Jerry Falwell politicized religion and failed to understand the genius of our Constitution, but there is no denying his impact on American political life. He will long be remembered as the face and voice of the religious right." - The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Who will be the next “voice of the religious right“? Who will guide the American government toward a Theocracy? Could it beeee... Dobson!?
President George W. Bush met privately with Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman James Dobson and approximately a dozen Christian right leaders last week to rally support for his policies on Iraq, Iran and the so-called "war on terror."
Max Blumenthal, The Raw Story
Dobson Offers Insight on 2008 Republican Hopefuls
"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.
Wait... wasn't Gingrich the advocate of “family values” who had an affair with a Capitol Hill staffer? Yeah, sex scandals make a better impression for a GOP nominee.
But some annonymous Christian conservatives seem to prefer scandals of a more political nature, hence their support for actor/Senator Fred Thompson.
By Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMESSeveral leading Christian conservatives say they will rally to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who they expect to announce "in a matter of weeks" that he will seek the Republican nomination for president next year.
The move toward Mr. Thompson was said to have been afoot before Mr. Giuliani, the Republican front-runner in the early polls, announced last week that he supports abortion rights, restrictions on the ownership of guns, and the legal recognition of same-sex unions with some of the benefits and privileges of marriage.
"It's the moment of truth for conservatives," says one of the Christian conservative activists. "Either social conservatives rally to stop a Giuliani nomination and victory for him in November 2008 or our issues -- abortion, same-sex marriage, the preservation of the family -- are permanently off the Republican Party agenda."
Mr. Thompson served eight years in the Senate, winning a special election in 1994 for the remaining two years of Vice President Al Gore's term and was elected to a full term in 1996. He has appeared in several movies, once as a president of the United States, and portrays a tough New York district attorney on the popular TV series "Law & Order."
He worked to guide John G. Roberts Jr. through his nomination as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and then to raise money for the defense of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. He helped collect $5 million for the defense of Mr. Libby, convicted in March of obstruction of justice, perjury and lying to the FBI about the purported "outing" of former CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Mr. Thompson is chairman of the International Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan panel that reports to the secretary of state on emerging strategic threats. In 2000, he was national chairman for Mr. McCain's presidential campaign.
Let's go back to that quote from one of the Christian conservative activists:
"Either social conservatives rally to stop a Giuliani nomination and victory for him in November 2008 or our issues -- abortion, same-sex marriage, the preservation of the family -- are permanently off the Republican Party agenda."
Is that the Republican Party agenda or the Moral Majority agenda? It's Falwell's legacy, the Dominionist agenda.
Republican Candidates Pander to Religious Right, Praise Falwell Legacy
By John Nichols, The Nation. Posted May 15, 2007.
The various and sundry Republican presidential contenders will be stumbling over one another tonight -- as they debate in South Carolina -- and in the days ahead to curry favor with the religious right by expressing their sorrow at the passing of the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
It's not that most of the Republican candidates really cared much for Falwell. Aside from Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, the most seriously evangelical of the bunch, none of the GOP runners really qualifies as a Falwell follower in the classic sense.
But the Republicans who would be President care for those whom Falwell claimed to speak for, the millions of fire-and-brimstone Christians in states such as Iowa and South Carolina who are expected to participate in next year's caucuses and primaries.
While there are serious debates opening up about just how strong a force the religious right remains within a Republican Party that is struggling to position itself for the post-Bush era -- after all, prochoice gay-rights supporter Rudy Giuliani is the GOP poll leader of the moment -- there is no question that McCain and most of the other contenders fear the wrath of the evangelicals Falwell did so much to lead into the Republican fold more than a quarter-century ago.
That fear is uglier than anything Falwell ever did or said.