You know who I've missed? Ralph Reed. It was just 20 years or so ago that his baby face and religious certitude helped the Christian Coalition nearly lead America all the way back to the 1950s, church-state-wise. In conjunction with Reed's efforts, many evangelical groups like the Southern Baptist Convention cemented alliances with the Republican Party that continue to reverberate today, and with consequences that remain unfortunate for both the Baptist faith and America's politics.
Along the way to his own political stardom, though, Reed hit a few, er, speed bumps :
Reed left the organization in 1997 as the Federal Election Commission was investigating whether it violated campaign finance rules. By 1999, the IRS had revoked the Coalition’s tax-exempt status for taking partisan stands in elections. . . .
He was in the middle of the 2006 Republican primary campaign for lieutenant governor when his longtime friend Jack Abramoff was convicted in a massive lobbying scandal. As Abramoff’s career circled the drain, Reed was linked to a plot to defraud Indian tribes fighting over casino rights.
Reed’s firm received more than $4 million to rally Christian voters against a casino that competed with Abramoff’s Indian clients.
I'm glad to report though that we may yet have Ralph Reed to kick around again. He's preparing to unleash a new version of the Christian Coalition called…The Faith and Freedom Coalition.
“This is not going to be your daddy’s Christian Coalition,” Reed said in an interview to describe his new venture, the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future.”
Inclusive? I'll be looking forward to that. But will it be tax-exempt? We'll be watching.
