Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders speaks on abortion, economics at Liberty

Though the crowd at Liberty didn’t include numerous loyalists who usually attend Sanders’ rallies, it was a high-profile speaking engagement in a key state: Virginia’s votes on Super Tuesday could be important if a primary between Hillary Clinton, Sanders and potentially Vice President Joe Biden isn’t yet settled.

Known for being a self-proclaimed socialist and his liberal views, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders ventured into a lion’s den of sorts on Monday, telling students at a Christian university that they should view inequality as a moral crisis. “I believe in gay rights and gay marriage”, Sanders said to some scattered applause, but no audible disapproval.

On Monday, before launching into his standard speech about inequality and injustice that has galvanised huge crowds across the country, Sanders said religious voters should not tune out his message simply because he holds different positions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. “The people should not have to serve money and wealth”. During a question-and-answer session, the student body erupted when Liberty senior vice president David Nasser referred to Sanders’ stance favoring abortion rights, noting that many Liberty students believe “children in the womb need our protection”.

The audience also got a chance to ask the candidate some hard-hitting questions about-wait for it-abortion, literally the only thing they would like to think or talk about. “It is harder, but not less important, to try to communicate with those who do not agree with us”.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is looking to find common ground with an unlikely voting bloc: conservative evangelicals.

“And I honestly don’t want to be too provocative here, but very often conservatives say, ‘Well, you know, get the government out of my life!'” he went on.

Sanders acknowledged it was “an area where we disagree” but said it was a “painful and hard decision” that should not be made by the government.

“I respect absolutely a family that says no, we are not going to have an abortion”.

“When we talk about morality and when we talk about justice, we have to, in my view, understand that there is no justice when so few have so much and so many have so little”, Sanders continued. “It states, ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them to do to you, for this sums up the Law and the prophets.’ That is the Golden Rule”.

Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared that the United States was founded on “racist principles”, among other statements about the lack of justice and morality regarding income inequality. “Twenty percent of all children-and 40 percent of African-American children-now live in poverty”. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched his GOP presidential campaign there last March and Republican hopeful Dr. Ben Carson is scheduled to speak at the convocation in November.

“I want to tell you what was in the Republican budget that passed some months ago”. I think about it, I try to understand it, how a sick man can walk into a bible study class, discuss the bible, pray with people in the room, and then take out a gun and kill nine of them because the color of their skins were different…