Jerry Falwell is known in politics as the man that brought religion into the voting booth. He helped spur millions of evangelicals to support Republicans like Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In the last few years however, he was increasingly seen as a fringe religious nut by many on the left and the right. So when none of the current GOP Presidential hopefuls showed up to honor his death, it wasn't much of a surprise.
From the AP:
Some Republican figures were expected for the funeral, but none of the party's presidential candidates said they could attend. The White House was sending a midlevel aide. Among the Virginia Republican leaders attending was Attorney General Bob McDonnell.Falwell, 73, died a week ago after collapsing in his office at Liberty University. His physician said Falwell had a heart condition and presumably died of a heart rhythm abnormality.
Despite the absence of the Presidential contenders, there were approximately 10,000 that showed up for the funeral. Those who attended were quite diverse, including a mid-level White House aide, leaders of the religious right, students of Falwell's Liberty University and protesters of course. One person that thankfully didn't attend was Mark David Uhl, who is currently in jail for planning to bomb the funeral. Despite the long list of terrible things Falwell did with his life, there is no excuse for that type of crap.
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