Awww, look. Mitt Romney will be giving the commencement speech at Liberty University, bolstering his religious credentials with that crucial sector of the far right wing, just like Saint Ronnie and Pappy Bush:
“We are delighted that Governor Romney will join us to celebrate Commencement with Liberty’s 2012 graduates," said Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. "This will be a historic event for Liberty University reminiscent of the visits of Governor, and then presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan to Liberty’s campus in 1980 and of President George H.W. Bush who spoke at Liberty’s 1990 Commencement ceremony.”
Interesting that they fail to mention other prominent Republicans who have spoken, like Karl Rove and John McCain. Even more interesting is the unholy alliance between two religions which are theologically incompatible with one another. That alliance can be attributed to the Grand Poobah, Jerry Falwell himself:
Via Huffington Post:
When organizing the Moral Majority, Falwell had to change his views regarding the traditional fundamentalist objections to being "yoked" with non-believers -- and by "non-believers," fundamentalists meant anyone who did not subscribe to their views on biblical inerrancy and the core doctrines of the Christian faith. Falwell had read the writings of Francis Schaeffer, who had argued that the Bible contained several instances in which God's people had worked with non-believers. Cyrus, the King of Persia, had ended the Israelites' exile and ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Simon, the Cyrene, had helped Jesus to carry his cross. Schaeffer argued that Baptists could be "co-belligerents" with those of other denominations in seeking to protect the moral fiber of the nation.
The shift from fundamentalist separatism to "co-belligerency" required Falwell and other conservative evangelicals to shift their rhetoric away from the core doctrinal beliefs about which they preached on Sundays, toward a language of "traditional values" and "moral beliefs" that could be shared by conservative evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons and Jews. They could differ about the nature of worship, they could differ about the nature of the Godhead, but they could agree that abortion was evil, same sex marriage an "assault" on traditional values, and the secularism of the society a threat to American greatness.
Romney will join the ranks of those notable Mormons who have delivered the commencement address at Liberty's very Baptist University. The first was, of course, Glenn Beck in 2010, where he was rewarded with an honorary doctorate for his effort.
Praise Jesus and pass the plate. I'm sure there will be fervent prayers for Willard's miraculous elevation to the highest office in the land.
