 Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersFive tough decisions for the GOP on healthcare Booker on hug with McCain after healthcare vote: 'I'm a hugger' Former DNC chair criticizes ‘whiny’ left MORE sought to frame the fight against inequality as a moral obligation in a Monday address to a Christian conservative audience at Liberty University in Virginia. “That’s the main point I was trying to make, that morality is more than just your view on abortions or gay rights,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview after the event. We are living in a time -- and I warn all of you if you would, put this in the context of the Bible, not me, in the context of the Bible -- we are living in a time where a handful of people have wealth beyond comprehension. ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 “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,” he said during the school’s convocation address. “It is harder, but not less important, for us to try to communicate with those who do not agree with us on every issue and it is important to see where, if possible, and I do believe its possible, we can find common grounds.” 
 
 A small throng of Sanders supporters loudly cheered after most of his points, but his overall reception was much more muted. In my view, there is no justice when low income and working class mothers are forced to separate from their babies one or two weeks after birth and go back to work because they need the money that their jobs provide. I would hope, and I conclude with this thought, I would hope very much that as part of that discussion and part of that learning process, some of you will conclude that if we are honest in striving to be a moral and just society, it is imperative that we have the courage to stand with the poor, to stand with working people and when necessary, take on very powerful and wealthy people whose greed, in my view, is doing this country enormous harm. "On this very sensitive issue…my view is I respect absolutely a family that says, 'No, we are not going to have an abortion.' Convocation is a mandatory assembly that takes place three times a week at the Evangelical college founded by Jerry Falwell, a major player in the Christian conservative movement before his death in 2007. Speaking about America in response to a question on race and racism, he said: “I would also say that as a nation, the truth is, that a nation which in many ways was created, and I’m sorry to have to say this, from way back on racist principles, that’s a fact. In addition to rejecting socialism, the school demands “firm support for America’s economic system of free enterprise,” and “an absolute repudiation of ‘political correctness.’” Sen. Ted Cruz declared his presidential run here in the spring during another convocation. And Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of the university, which was founded by his father, seemed to echo a similar statement of recognizing the issues, but differing on the solutions.
– Bernie Sanders may be running for the Democratic presidential nomination, but that didn't stop him from addressing a group of Christian conservative students today. Sanders appeared at Liberty University, the Virginia evangelical college founded by Jerry Falwell, the Hill reports. "A Southern evangelical university is an unlikely place for a socialist-leaning Jew from Brooklyn to spend his Rosh Hashanah, and yet that’s how Sen. Bernie Sanders is passing his high holiday Monday," MSNBC leads off its article, which also notes that the university calls for a "total rejection of socialism." How was he received by the audience of about 12,000? The Hill reports that a "small throng" of his supporters did a lot of cheering, and mostly there was a "muted" response. But when he called for fighting back against racism and finding common ground, he earned cheers from "a much wider group." He quoted some scripture, talked at length about economic inequality (to not many cheers, the Hill notes), and took questions after his speech. One of those had to do with abortion; USA Today reports that a university senior vice president "drew loud applause" when he asked about it, but that Sanders' response also drew applause: "Very often conservatives say, 'Get the government out of my life.' ... I respect absolutely a family that says, 'No, we are not going to have an abortion.' But I would hope that other people respect the very painful and difficult choice that many women feel they have to make and don’t want the government telling them what they have to do." The New York Times reports that Sanders mentioned that he's motivated by the Golden Rule and quoted Pope Francis, and notes that he was "greeted with polite, if tepid, applause" from students, while supporters who traveled from afar to attend were much more enthusiastic. The Washington Post has his full speech.