Bernie Sanders to speak at Liberty University. Wait, did I read that right? Update!

Courtesy of Salon: 

Wednesday night, the Bernie Sanders campaign announced that he will be giving a speech in September to an unexpected venue: Liberty University, the evangelical university founded by the late Reverend Jerry Falwell. In a statement, Sanders explained that the invitation came from the school itself and he views it as a way to talk to an audience whose views on many issues may differ from his: 

"Liberty University was kind enough to invite me to address a convocation and I decided to accept. It goes without saying that my views on many issues — women’s rights, gay rights, education and many other issues — are very different from the opinions of some in the Liberty University community. I think it is important, however, to see if we can reach consensus regarding the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in our country, about the collapse of the middle class, about the high level of childhood poverty, about climate change and other issues. It is very easy for a candidate to speak to people who hold the same views. It’s harder but important to reach out to others who look at the world differently. I look forward to meeting with the students and faculty of Liberty University."

I'm sure a number of you remember that Liberty is where Ted Cruz launched his presidential campaign not just because he shares their ideology but perhaps also because it was the one place where the audience was not allowed to leave until he was finished.

As we have seen from recent news reports Sanders certainly does not require that the doors be locked in order to keep his audiences engaged. (Though it does help when the "Black Lives Matter" folks don't interrupt him.)

In the Salon article it points out that Sanders is not the only prominent liberal to speak at Liberty as Ted Kennedy also spoke there in 1983.

However one has to admit it still takes a lot of guts to wander into the lion's den of Jerry Falwell's design and stand in front of an audience whose every lesson is ideological opposed to your own, and attempt to find common ground.

Just another way in which Bernie Sanders impresses us all.

Update: Well this is interesting. 

Is somebody trying to sabotage Black Lives Matter? Of the Bernie Sanders campaign?

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