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The Woman in A Mink Coat
I was to see Pat Robertson in person two years later when he was running for President. We were both speaking in the same hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire. After my talk, I slipped into the room where he was speaking to his supporters. I just remember two things: the venom and the numbers. He talked about those "homosexuals" and "feminists" with such fury that the words came out of his mouth like venom. He was scary. But his speech was mostly about numbers. He gave a date, then subtracted another date, then added something ... I had no idea where all this addition and subtraction was leading until he came to the sum and his eyes lit up. The final tally came to the number 666 -- the mark of the Beast. That's all I remember of that event - the venom and the numbers. Soon after his numbers speech in Manchester, Robertson pulled off a coup. He actually beat Vice President George HW Bush in the Republican Iowa caucuses for President, 1988. He lost the primaries soundly, but his upset in Iowa should have been a wake-up call. But it wasn't. At least not for me. Robertson was defeated.
One year later the Moral Majority disbanded. The Moral Majority was created in 1979 by Republican strategists to swell the ranks of the Republican Party by recruiting members of fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. Political strategist Paul Weyrich, who coined the term "Moral Majority" stated the movement's goals: We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context. These political operatives worked hand-in-hand with religious leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Tim LaHaye who wanted to use the Republican Party to promote their religious beliefs. But in 1989 the Moral Majority disbanded. Surely the movement had peaked, and I could focus on better things. Right?
Coming next - The Christian Coalition takes working control of the Republican Party [ed: Joan Bokaer's four part series is:
The Woman in A Mink Coat | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
The Woman in A Mink Coat | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
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