Bernie Sanders gave a speech today at Liberty University, the world’s largest evangelical college.
MSNBC reports that Liberty University has its own version of the 10 commandments which includes, “a strong commitment to political conservatism [and] total rejection of socialism,” making this an interesting venue choice for a self-proclaimed Democratic-socialist to deliver a speech.
The university is registered as a non-profit, and is therefore officially non-partisan. In order to not appear as if it’s favoring a specific candidate, it invites all of them to speak at its convocation program, which is held twice a week and is mandatory for students that live on campus. This is the same event where Ted Cruz announced his presidential campaign.
Sanders is the first Democratic candidate to ever accept the Liberty University’s invitation.
He began his speech by saying that he understands his views don’t align with the general beliefs held at Liberty. He goes on to say that politicians tend to speak in front of people who do agree with them, but it is also important to engage in a civil discourse with those who have opposing opinions. He says, “It is important to see where if possible — and I do believe it’s possible — where we can find common ground.”
Most of his speech centered around morality and income inequality, which he spoke about in the context of the Bible.
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fOPBIc56gU