Falwell's Political Legacy Continues

May 16, 2007 — -- The death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell on Tuesday raises the question: Who fills the political void on the religious right?

First though, another question: Is there any void to fill?

Falwell, in the opinion of many on both the political left and right, gradually lost much of his influence after his post-Sept. 11 accusations that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians … the ACLU, People for the American Way" had to bear some of the responsibility for the attacks.

He soon apologized, but the damage was done.

Still, a trek to Liberty University, which he founded, was considered a good move for White House aspirants seeking the GOP nomination. Sen. John McCain, after blasting Falwell in the 2000 primaries, paid homage by addressing Liberty graduates last year.

This weekend the commencement speaker will be former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who may announce his candidacy this fall. Falwell may not have been the power he was in the '80s during the heyday of the Moral Majority, but like Arthur Miller's Willy Loman, attention still had to be paid.

As Falwell's health and political clout declined over recent years and as he focused more on his university and his pulpit, others from the religious right became more vocal on politics and social issues. Most prominent is Dr. James Dobson, who founded Focus on the Family in 1977. His daily program is heard on radio all over the world and is on many American TV stations. Some political observers credited him with getting a crucial number of religious conservatives to support President Bush's 2004 reelection bid.

Writing shortly after that election in Slate Magazine, Michael Crowley flatly stated that "Dobson is now America's most influential evangelical leader, with a following reportedly greater than that of either Falwell or [the Rev. Pat] Robertson at his peak."

Crowley also dismissed Ralph Reed, who for years was executive director of Robertson's Christian Coalition. Since his departure in 1997, Reed and the coalition have suffered setbacks. Last year Reed lost the GOP primary for lieutenant governor in Georgia.

As for another once prominent social conservative, Crowley wrote, "Forget Gary Bauer, now known chiefly as a failed presidential candidate who tumbled off a stage while flipping pancakes."

The pancake incident happened when Bauer was campaigning in the 2000 New Hampshire primary. No one who has seen the TV clips is likely to forget it. Bauer now heads American Values, a nonprofit organization that promotes conservative causes.

Robertson, one of the first successful televangelists, was also an unsuccessful candidate, although he was briefly regarded as a serious contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988.

In recent years, like Falwell, some of Robertson's pronouncements backfired on him. He said he agreed with Falwell's controversial remarks after 9/11. In 2005 on his "700 Club" TV program he seemed to suggest that assassination might be the best way of dealing with leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Later, he said that kidnapping might be preferable.

Although several pundits have opined that Robertson has little political influence, at least one GOP presidential contender would disagree. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivered the commencement address this month at Robertson's Regent University, which bills itself as America's preeminent Christian university -- Falwell likely felt his Liberty University deserved that title

Romney's supporters say it was important for a Mormon candidate to get a warm reception at the university Robertson founded. Romney did not discuss Mormonism at that event.

Some observers feel that, despite Dobson's importance today, there will never be a religious figure with the political clout that Falwell had in the early days of his Moral Majority.

Michael Cromartie, director the Washington-based Ethics and Policy Center, says, "Evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism is entrepreneurial with religious leaders constantly popping up everywhere. So, with Falwell's passing you don't have the end of religious conservative involvement in politics. But it has become decentralized."

Bauer agrees that although Dobson is the dominant national figure, other leaders continue to emerge through megachurches and radio and TV ministries.

Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., is one of those leaders. In 2004 Time Magazine named him as one of "15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most."

Although he is regarded as a moderate conservative, he has generally steered clear of politics. However, he did give his support to the Global Warming Pact, angering some conservative evangelicals.

Although the political influence in Washington of some religious groups, such as the Christian Coalition, has declined in recent years, few political analysts would declare that the importance of the religious right has ended.

Cromartie said, "It has spread out and has tentacles everywhere." Many pastors limit their politics to the local and state levels on such issues as the definition of marriage.

"If you are going to run for governor or president of the United States," Cromartie said, "you may not need the support of social conservatives to win. But you don't want them to oppose you."

American Values' Bauer says religion is still a major force in public life, but that both parties are having trouble finding out how to cater to that force.

"Even Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton," he said, "are trying to figure out ways to break into that percentage of the population who are regularly in church on Sunday and in the voting booth on Tuesday."