Pat Robertson provided a statement Monday afternoon that some may consider a pot meets kettle moment. On the latest installment of The 700 Club, the televangelist the televangelist admitted that even he believes many in the Republican Party have shifted too far to the right.
I believe it was Lyndon Johnson that said, Dont these people realize if they push me over to an extreme position Ill lose the election? Robertson said. Those people in the Republican primary have got to lay off of this stuff. Theyre forcing their leaders, the frontrunners, into positions that will mean they lose the general election.
He added: You appeal to the narrow base and theyll applaud the daylights out of what youre saying and then you hit the general election and they say no way and then the Democrat, whoever it is, is going to just play these statements to the hilt. Theyve got to stop this! Its just so counterproductive!
It is telling that Robertson, a man renowned for his myriad of controversial comments, believes that the party he supports needs to scale back on its fervor. These comments are significant because Robertson was a co-founder of the Christian Coalition, which became the most powerful faction of the Republican Party in the 80s and 90s.
The group lost influence during the second Bush administration as they were rocked by scandals and overtaken by big business interests.