Free Republic

The Washington Times and Liberty University were planning for a year. And then the Republican Party pulled the plug. More than a year ago, huddled in secret, the Republican National Committee began negotiations with conservative news organizations to wrest at least one presidential primary debate from the grip of the mainstream media. It was to be an event by and for the GOP's base, free of the constraints of a big network, to ensure candidates a forum to speak about conservative issues in a conservative frame for conservative voters. That debate would have happened this week at Liberty University with...

A lot of guffawing about this by reporters on social media today. Mollie Hemingway wonders: Who pulled them aside and told them it’s supposed to be “Second Corinthians”? Mildly getting kick out of media, who (at best) give a pitch perfect impression of Biblical illiteracy, mocking Trump for 'Two Corinthians.'— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 18, 2016 Readers grumble that I’m too negative about Trump so let me pay him a sincere compliment. I admire that he has the stones to go into a place like Liberty and not even make a pretense of being a devout believer. You could dismiss what...

It's become a truism this election season that whatever you expect to happen with Donald Trump, you're probably wrong. So add this to the list of surprises: On Monday, the thrice-married Republican frontrunner, who described himself as pro-choice as recently as 2000, traveled to the heart of conservative evangelism only to be greeted as a conquering hero. Trump spoke at the Liberty University convocation on Martin Luther King Day. Liberty is the largest Christian university in the world... So one might have expected that Trump, who declined to name his favorite Bible verse on the campaign trail, would have received...

Real-estate tycoon Donald Trump began his Monday-morning speech on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by touting his "record" crowd size there. Trump was speaking in Lynchburg, Virginia, at Liberty University's convocation. The Republican presidential front-runner noted that he also drew a big audience in 2012 when he addressed the Christian university.

"Hillary is a liar."This was Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s response to Sean Hannity when asked about Hillary Clinton's disgusting, and completely out-of-context, charge that he committed treason by encouraging LU students to defend themselves should Muslim terrorists, like the "San Bernardino Two," ever attack Liberty University. Clinton, a woman intimately familiar with the elements of treason, made her defamatory accusation on ABC's" This Week with George Stephanopoulos."While addressing nearly 13,000 students, faculty and staff at Liberty's convocation late last week, Falwell encouraged those 21 and older to avail themselves of LU's groundbreaking, perfectly legal and clearly much-needed concealed-carry policy."I always...

On Wednesday, Liberty University announced that it is ending a ban on firearms in residence halls on campus as a way to keep students safe in the wake of the recent deadly terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California.It is important to note that the Lynchburg, Virginia campus is known for its conservative and Christian values. Students, faculty, and staff who have concealed carry permits recognized in the state of Virginia have been allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus since 2011 according to reporting by the Washington Post. In addition, students have the ability to take conceal carry classes...

In the wake of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. call to students and faculty to arm themselves against Muslim terrorists, Hillary Clinton accused the school's president of "hateful rhetoric." "This is the kind of deplorable not only hateful response to a legitimate security issue," Clinton declared Sunday to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "But it is giving aid and comfort to ISIS and other radical jihadists." Falwell urged students and faculty during Friday's convocation at Liberty to arm themselves to help prevent attacks against terrorists intending to do harm on the American public. "I've always thought if more good people had...

Seldom have I been prouder of my alma mater, Liberty University. Last week the President of Liberty, Jerry Falwell, Jr., was speaking to the students in convocation, the world's largest weekly gathering of Christian students. In that gathering, Mr. Falwell said that students should arm themselves and receive handgun instruction in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and California; incidentally two of the places in the world with the strictest gun control laws. President Falwell also said that if Islamic terrorists tried to harm his students, they would have another thing coming to them. Mr. Falwell's comments were right...

Wednesday at a press conference after his remarks at Liberty University, Republican presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson was asked about what he would do with the 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the Untied States. Carson said proposed a six-month registration period to register, then after that the case would be made on the legal status. -snip- Carson said, "When you look at farming industries, I've talked to farmers with multi-thousands acres farms and they say their business would collapse, I've talked to hotel owners and they say that they would have a very difficult time without them. That's...

Most have heard by now that Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at Liberty University yesterday. Liberty, of course, is the university masthead for conservative Christianity and the origin of the Jerry Falwell enterprise. Its influence in merging conservative Christianity with Republicans politics is well known. Sanders, of course, is the notoriously liberal — nay, socialist — United States senator from Vermont now running a long-shot bid for the presidency. Sanders is an avowed progressive whose views earnestly mimic those of European statists. He’s pro–gay rights, pro–gay marriage, and pro-abortion. On issues near and dear to conservative Christians — life and marriage...

Bernie Sanders will venture into unfamiliar territory on Sept. 14 when he delivers a convocation speech at Liberty University, a massive evangelical Christian university in central Virginia. Sanders, a culturally Jewish democratic socialist, is an odd headliner for the reliability conservative school that was founded by the late Jerry Falwell, a Southern Baptist preacher known as the father of the Christian right. Liberty released their fall convocation schedule on Wednesday and Sanders was listed at the Sept. 14 speaker. The other speakers include Christian artists and authors Korie and Sadie Robertson, stars of A&E's Duck Dynasty, and Rep. Louie Gohmert,...

Way too many of us believe in a magic book negated by science and peppered with all manner of misanthropic myths. A lawyer and an associate dean at Liberty University, a columnist for Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, and the founder of WND’s Christian fundamentalist site Barbwire.com, Matt Barber might seem like an evangelical fringe character, but, clearly, he means to have his voice heard and his pronouncements taken seriously: his work appears under the portentous slogan RELATIVISTS BEWARE: TRUTH TOLD HERE. Yet he is affiliated with Glenn Beck, so, in pursuit of Truth-Telling, he sees fit to publish such essays...

This was ugly. On his MSNBC show this evening, Chris Matthews criticized Jeb Bush, who will be speaking at Liberty University, for "stooping" to "that evangelical crowd" Let's play some political madlibs and imagine that instead of "stooping to that evangelical crowd," Matthews had criticized a candidate who spoke at an Islamic center for "stooping to that Muslim crowd." Cue the cries of religious bigotry! View the video here.

Leftists are now openly asking the IRS to once again threaten the tax exempt status of a non-profit. This time it is Liberty University. Recently, Senator Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States on twitter. This was the first time twitter was used for such an announcement. This was historic in of itself. Later that day, the Senator’s first public speech after his announcement was at Liberty University. President Falwell of Liberty University clearly stated that Cruz’s appearance was not an endorsement of his candidacy. This is in keeping with university tradition as well as...

With the announcement of Ted Cruz's candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination and his speech at the convocation of the ultra-conservative Liberty University, the country finds itself jilted to the right on the ideological spectrum. Ted Cruz is quite the curious ideological torchbearer precisely because he is Latino. The general assumption in politics is that growing Hispanic Latino participation in politics will only mean an ideological shift to the left. This makes Ted Cruz' candidacy a welcome reminder that Latino candidates won't, for good or bad, necessarily stray from traditional American politics any time soon. The son of Cuban immigrants...

Leftists once again are distorting Liberty University after Sen. Ted Cruz spoke there on Monday. It is time for leftists to face the facts. On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the Presidency of the United States. The first public venue for his candidacy was Liberty University; the world’s largest Christian University. Sen. Cruz received an enthusiastic reception from the over 10,000 gathered students when he spoke at the convocation held three times a week at the University; the largest weekly gathering of Christian students in North America. The Senator spoke on a number...

The war of words over climate change is getting blisteringly hot between Gov. Jerry Brown and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, with the Republican presidential candidate blithely dismissing the Democratic governor as one of those “global warming alarmists” who relies on ridicule and insult. A Brown campaign strategist shot back Monday that the “factually irrational” Cruz is apparently now determined to “stand out from a pack of troglodytes in the GOP race for the White House.” The public slap down — and the dis of Brown — came as Cruz formally announced his run for the White House at Liberty University...

There’s something interesting going on online. Just go to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and search for “Ted Cruz,” “#TedCruz2016″ or “Ted Cruz candidate.” Do you notice something? That’s right, people’s heads are truly exploding. Many conservative activists are celebrating Cruz’s official announcement that he’ll run for president. They believe he’s just what they and the rest of America need: a principled, small-government conservative who sticks to his guns no matter what... But why are leftists’ heads exploding as well? I’ve got no doubt I know the answer: they fear him. Tremendously even. He is everything they oppose: a true, small-government...

Full Speech: Ted Cruz announces 2016 presidential run at Liberty University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8f3DsoMotU

Ted Cruz announced his presidential campaign at Liberty University this morning in front of a captive audience of nearly 1,400 students—none of whom had any choice in whether to attend. That's because all Liberty students are obligated to show up for convocations on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Absenteeism results in "four reprimands and a $10 fine," according to student Eli McGowan, who is president of the campus's Young Americans for Liberty chapter. McGowan complained on Facbook that Cruz's decision to make his announcement at a Liberty U. convocation was "starkly deceptive," since it might appear to outside observers that throngs...