Rev. Jerry Falwell Dead at 73

Rev. Jerry Falwell died suddenly this morning in Lynchburg, VA. He was 73 and had had a recent history of heart problems. Falwell made quite an impact on the political world with the creation of the Moral Majority in 1979. Rev. Falwell proved through that organization that if organized and motivated, conservative Christians could be a potent force in politics. He credited his organization with playing a prominent role in Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential victory, though personally I think Jimmy Carter was so incompetent that Reagan would have beaten him even without the Falwell's help.

I can still remember getting a Moral Majority voter guide in my church bulletin shortly before the 1980 election. Based on that guide Jimmy Carter was the devil incarnate and Ronald Reagan sat at the right hand of God. It might have been a little overdone, but it was effective.

The timing of Falwell's passing creates a little awkwardness for tonight's GOP debate in South Carolina. Although John McCain and Falwell had put their disagreements behind them, in 2000, during McCain's maverick phase, he was quite critical of religious conservatives in general and Falwell in particular. Those statements probably cost McCain the South Carolina primary. McCain has already issued a statement mourning Falwell's passing (in fact, he was first), and I expect he'll say something else tonight.

Rudy could find himself on the spot tonight as well, given that many of his social views are polar opposites to those of Falwell. I'm sure some will see any praise from Rudy as nothing more than pandering to the religious right.

Like him or hate him, Falwell did make a difference and certainly did his part to involve conservative Christians as a voting bloc that has been very effective in a number of presidential and mid-term elections.