Pat Robertson is an important, influential, and powerful figure for the Religious Right. He is also a bit too outspoken for the tastes of some - he has a tendency to say things that they don't like and which are profoundly embarrassing for anyone with a modicum of taste and decency. Other conservatives have called him "a money-changing loon" and worse.

The problem, however, isn't so much that he says embarrassing things - the problem is that he says things that evangelicals and fundamentalists really believe. His is the sin of too much candor, as explained in this passage from a Knight Ridder story:

"He's very valuable to us," said Ralph Neas, the president of People for the American Way, a liberal interest group. "As much as I abhor his politics and his abusive, divisive, intolerant rhetoric, many times he reflects what many in the Republican Party are really thinking. ... He's very candid. Most of those on the right wing are not that open and candid."

Thus, the figure of Pat Robertson is something of a conundrum for his opponents. It's horrible to have a powerful person think such atrocious things, but it's useful to have someone around who is willing to say aloud what many are really thinking.

 

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