Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition founder, passed away today. He was 93. He turned a tiny Virginia station into the global powerhouse the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Robertson’s death today was announced by his broadcasting network. No cause was given. He is Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) was home to the talk show “The 700 Club.”
Robertson’s various businesses included Regent University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia Beach; the American Center for Law and Justice, which defends the First Amendment rights of religious people; and Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization.
He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, a contest ultimately won by former President George H.W. Bush.
According to the AP:
Robertson pioneered the now-common strategy of courting Iowa’s network of evangelical Christian churches, and finished in second place in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Vice President George H.W. Bush.
His masterstroke was insisting that three million followers across the U.S. sign petitions before he would decide to run, Robertson biographer Jeffrey K. Hadden said. The tactic gave him an army.
″He asked people to pledge that they’d work for him, pray for him and give him money,” Hadden, a University of Virginia sociologist, told The Associated Press in 1988.
″Political historians may view it as one of the most ingenious things a candidate ever did.″
Robertson later endorsed Bush, who won the presidency. Pursuit of Iowa’s evangelicals is now a ritual for Republican hopefuls, including those currently seeking the White House in 2024.
Robertson started the Christian Coalition in Chesapeake in 1989, saying it would further his campaign’s ideals.
The coalition became a major political force in the 1990s, mobilizing conservative voters through grass-roots activities.
Sad to hear of the passing of Pat Robertson. I always liked him.
This photograph was taken in early October of 2013, after my first appearance on the 700 Club. pic.twitter.com/1MLLk8qYNz
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) June 8, 2023
Sad to hear of the passing of Pat Robertson. I always liked him.
This photograph was taken in early October of 2013, after my first appearance on the 700 Club. pic.twitter.com/1MLLk8qYNz
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) June 8, 2023
Just In: Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson dies, aged 93. pic.twitter.com/fjbRwDVObR
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) June 8, 2023
