1988: A year that echoes in Georgia Republican politics to this day - SaportaReport

BRIDGES: The rise of televangelism in presidential politics

The recent passing of Jimmy Swaggart sent my mind back to 1988. Swaggart was one of a group of televangelists during that time that gained national fame through their televisions and radio shows.

1988: A year that echoes in Georgia Republican politics to this day - SaportaReport

I’ve covered a lot of political conventions — national, state, Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Reform. I saw Ronald Reagan’s last convention speech and Barack Obama’s first. Of all these, the 1988 Georgia Republican state convention in Albany was hands-down the most dramatic. Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush had easily won that year’s presidential primary, but supporters of televangelist Pat Robertson showed up in large numbers at th…