But what about Liberty? What is the nation's largest evangelical college getting from this?

A Washington Post reporter speculated last week that the move may be part of an ongoing attempt to move Liberty into the big leagues of higher education. Recent growth at the school is mainly due to an influx of online, distance students. An evangelical institution with strict rules governing student behavior and a reputation for rigid right-wing politics has limited appeal to everyone else, but if you can get a popular figure to drop in, that could be a game-changer. 

That may be part of it. But I suspect there's something else going on: LU Chancellor and President Jerry Falwell Jr. is simply using Sanders to provide a semblance of balance for his partisan activities intended to boost Republicans favorable to the Religious Right.

You might recall that earlier this year, Liberty allowed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to launch his presidential campaign at an event at the school, a speech that students were required to attend. Americans United believed Falwell coordinated with the Cruz campaign, and we cited this as an example of why the Internal Revenue Service should crack down on partisan politicking by religious non-profits and houses of worship as the 2016 presidential race heats up.

Falwell denied everything, of course. He and other Liberty officials claim it was just a speech - yet Cruz had clearly signaled his intention by tweeting just hours before that he would launch his candidacy during the Liberty appearance.

But we can't look at that event in isolation. Liberty has a long history of meddling in partisan politics. Consider the following:

* 2012: The university ran television ads in Iowa that just happened to feature Newt Gingrich, who was then seeking the GOP presidential nomination. The ads ran days before the Iowa caucuses.

* 2010: Americans United asked the IRS to investigate Liberty after the school newspaper, The Liberty Champion (a publication that is controlled by the administration) ran ads attacking Virginia House of Delegates incumbent Shannon Valentine and endorsing her opponent, Scott Garrett. After Garrett won by about 200 votes, Falwell and other school officials boasted that their actions had swayed the election.

* 2009: University officials pulled official recognition of a student-run Democratic club. Members of the club were informed that its goals are contrary to the mission of Liberty. A student Republican club continued to operate with university support. (AU once again reported the school to the IRS and university officials, feeling some pressure, responded by denying official recognition to the GOP club as well.)

Liberty University officials are insisting that they decided to invite Sanders before they invited Cruz. Call me skeptical on that claim. I think the school officials, feeling some heat after AU's latest missive to the IRS, decided that a little political balance might not be a bad thing. I have to hand it to them - it's a clever ploy. The school has already boosted Cruz's candidacy, and now it can pretend to be even-handed by welcoming a candidate that very few people there will ever consider supporting.

Having said that, I don't blame Sanders at all for going to Liberty. Falwell claims he has invited Hillary Clinton as well. She should consider taking him up on it too.

Although it's probably hard for progressive candidates to reach LU students, you never know what seeds might get planted. People do change their minds. (Remember, Clinton herself was once a "Goldwater Girl.") If Sanders' appearance at Liberty persuades even a handful of students to reconsider the toxic brew of faith and right-wing politics spoon-fed to them by Falwell and his minions, it will be worth it.