Jerry Falwell died

Rev. Jerry Falwell died today. He was 73.
A highly controversial figure, praised by the Born-Again Christians while reviled by liberals of all sorts, he was one of the most influential leaders of the American religious right.
He founded and led the Moral Majority, the political expression of the conservative Christians, registering millions of members. It was through this organization that in the eighties the shift of the Southern states toward GOP was made possible.
For Howard Fineman, (Newsweek’s Chief Political Correspondent) the death of Rev. Falwell signifies the end of an era.
Says Mr. Fineman, the Reagan Revolution has come and gone, and now the Republican Red State Machine—assembled by Karl Rove on the Reagan foundations—is grinding its gears. If you are looking for a sign that “CHANGE IS A COMIN’,” as they say, the death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell is as good an indicator as any. He saw patterns where others didn’t—for good and for ill—and, knowing him, I think he would see his passing for what it is: the end of an era.

(Church in America)