Last week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez equated George W. Bush with Satan in an address before the United Nations General Assembly. (Speaking from the same podium, Chaves said he could “still smell the sulfur” from where the president stood.) Even Bush critics conceded that comparing the president to the devil was a little over-the-top.
Chavez, however, seems to have influenced TV preacher Jerry Falwell a bit, who made a similar comparison to one of his least favorite political leaders.
Nothing will motivate conservative evangelical Christians to vote Republican in the 2008 presidential election more than a Democratic nominee named Hillary Rodham Clinton — not even a run by the devil himself.
That was the sentiment expressed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the longtime evangelical icon and founder of the once-powerful Moral Majority, during private remarks Friday to church pastors and activists as part of the Values Voter Summit hosted this weekend by the country’s leading Christian conservatives.
Falwell told the faithful, “I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate She has $300 million so far. But I hope she’s the candidate. Because nothing will energize my [constituency] like Hillary Clinton.” Cheers and laughter filled the room as Falwell continued, “If Lucifer ran, he wouldn’t.”
As it turns out, Falwell was being recorded, and the tape was leaked to the LA Times.
How did the anti-American televangelist respond to the story? An aide to Falwell said that the Lucifer reference was an “off the cuff” comment and that Falwell “had no intentions of demonizing her.” He simply equated her with Satan — how could they be construed as “demonizing” anybody? Can’t you just feel the Christian love?
I also enjoyed the response from my friend (and, full disclosure, former employer) Barry Lynn.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said, “I don’t know why Jerry Falwell always has to drag politics into the gutter. Maybe the devil made him do it.”
On a slightly more serious note, I’d add just one thing. I’ve been to more of these religious-right gatherings than I’d care to admit, and the one thing that I noticed repeatedly is that no matter how extreme these guys appear in public, they’re far worse in private.
When TV preachers and their cohorts lash out at gays, Dems, the media, the judiciary, modern science, Muslims, atheists, civil libertarians and anyone else who isn’t exactly like them, they’re generally holding back. They’ll temper their public remarks to appear slightly less unhinged, but behind closed doors, when they think no one is listening but allies, they’ll say what they really think.
And, apparently, a clown like Falwell thinks Hillary Clinton is the equivalent to “Lucifer.” As the senator’s office put it, “Working for someone who believes in the Golden Rule, we’re not going to engage in such vitriolic discourse — but it seems that a new low has been reached in demonizing political opponents.”
Let’s also not forget, John McCain believes Falwell is no longer an “agent of intolerance.” One wonders if anyone qualifies for the description by McCain’s standards.
