Falwell Didn’t Mean It

When Jerry Falwell told his minions to “Vote Christian,” he wasn’t suggesting that a candidate’s religion should be the first thing voters consider when they head to the polls. No, no, his message was far more nuanced than that. The Washington Post explains.

Jerry Falwell said he meant no harm when he told his supporters earlier this year to "Vote Christian in 2008."

Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham H. Foxman this week denounced the appeal of the evangelical leader, which had appeared in a Falwell fundraising pitch, calling it "divisive." "Appeals to voters should not be on the basis of religion, nor should a candidate's religious beliefs be a litmus test for public office," he said.

Falwell told the Lynchburg News & Advance that the appeal had been misunderstood but that he has abandoned it nevertheless. "What I was saying was for conservative Christian voters to vote their values, which are pro-life and pro-family," Falwell said. "I had no intention of being anti-Jewish at all."

This makes sense. It’s not like Falwell is a fanatic or anything. It’s not like he’d say something like:

I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!

or

The Jews are returning to their land of unbelief. They are spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior.

Or would he?

--Matthew McCoy