c. 1997 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ Ralph Reed, the boyish-looking executive director who turned the Christian Coalition into the religious right’s preeminent political force, announced Wednesday (April 23) he will leave the organization to form a new campaign consulting firm and to work with charitable groups.
In announcing his resignation after more than seven years in the job, Reed, 35, credited the coalition with turning religious conservatives from a”marginal”group to”one of the most potent and well-organized political forces in all of American politics.” Speaking at a news conference, Reed said the coalition’s efforts will continue after he departs the organization founded in 1989 by religious broadcaster and one-time presidential candidate Pat Robertson.”Clearly, the work of the Christian Coalition will never be done,”Reed said.”I believe and hope and trust that my work in the political arena is not over. But I believe that my work at the Christian Coalition is done.” Reed, whose resignation is effective Sept. 1, did not rule out the possibility of running for political office in the future but said for now he will concentrate on helping the coalition find a successor.
Academic observers who have followed the coalition’s rapid growth under Reed _ and supporters and opponents alike _ said Reed will be a tough act to follow. They point to his ability to reach out to a wide range of groups _ including religiously conservative Jews and politically conservative African-Americans.
Most recently, the coalition has reached out to African-Americans and other minorities through its Samaritan Project, a combination of legislative proposals and economic programs, intended to help alleviate poverty and inner-city violence.”Reed has been an important bridge between the Christian Coalition and other conservative forces and … a bridge to more centrist forces in American politics,”said Jim Guth, a political science professor at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.”I don’t want to say that Ralph Reed is unique, but there aren’t a whole lot of people out there like him.” Some of his critics said Reed has been able to put a kindly face on the group’s controversial political agenda.”I think that Ralph Reed has consistently tried to take very radical positions of Pat Robertson and convert them into sounding like mainstream politics,”said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization that monitors and opposes the religious right.
Reed, who entered the National Press Club lounge holding hands with his wife Jo Anne, downplayed his importance to the organization and said its success should not depend upon one person. In fact, he said, he had not intended to stay at the coalition for as long as he did.”I really believe that institutions like the Christian Coalition are energized and enriched by new blood, by new people and by new ideas,”he said.”I also believe that it is important for organizations to be built around principles, and not around personalities.” The timing of Reed’s announcement prompted a number of questions.
Last July, the coalition was sued by the Federal Election Commission, which accused the organization of breaking the law by improperly aiding Republican candidates. A Norfolk, Va., U.S. Attorney also is investigating whether a former bookkeeper for the Chesapeake, Va.-based coalition engaged in financial misdoings.
Moreover, the Internal Revenue Service has been investigating the coalition, and has yet to rule on its tax-exempt status.”It is notable that Reed’s abrupt announcement comes as the Christian Coalition is increasingly mired in the triple threat of investigations about partisan political activity from the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Election Commission, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,”said the Rev. Albert M. Pennybacker, president of the Interfaith Alliance, a grass-roots movement that counters the coalition’s work.”It is puzzling that he would abandon the coalition in its time of greatest need.” As the coalition’s first and only executive director, Reed led the organization as it took the remnants of Robertson’s failed 1988 presidential campaign and turned it into a grass-roots political force on the local, state and national scene. The budget of the coalition, which claims to have 1.9- million members and supporters, has increased from $200,000 in 1989 to $27 million in 1996, Reed said.”People of faith now play a major role on a wide range of issues from welfare to taxes, from abortion to school prayer, from urban poverty to racism,”Reed said.”We now have what we have always sought _ a place at the table, a voice in the conversation we call democracy, and a vital and a vibrant role in the future of our nation.” Reed said he will create a new company called Century Strategies to assist”pro-family, pro-life, and pro-free enterprise candidates”seeking political office. Reed is considering basing the company in Atlanta and having a Washington, D.C. office.
The move into consulting keeps Reed on a political career track. He worked on his first congressional campaign in 1976 while still a teenager, aided presidential campaigns, and was the executive director of the College Republican National Committee before he began his work at the coalition in 1989.
In addition to his work with Century Strategies, Reed said he plans to work with Teen Challenge, a Christian drug rehabilitation program, and American Compass, an organization that helps small charities reach out to the poor.
Reed did not completely rule out the possibility of another form of political action _ running for office.”I don’t know whether it’s something I’d rule out or in,”he said.
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Robertson, who is familiar with the trials of political campaigns, said he will oversee a nationwide search for Reed’s replacement.”While there is still much work that needs to be done at the coalition, I support Ralph’s decision to bring this phase of his political career to an end, and I wish him the very best in his new venture,”Robertson said.”He has my full support in his new undertaking, which I know will prove a great service to conservative, pro-family candidates.” Coalition observers say Reed’s ability to work under Robertson may be the most difficult part of his successor’s job description.”Pat Robertson’s lost the most talented front man any politician could ever want,”said Carole Shields, president of People for the American Way.”Clearly, Pat Robertson will have a very hard time finding someone that is as good at putting an angelic face on extremism.” John C. Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron in Ohio, said Robertson and Reed worked out a”very good strategy,”with Robertson as the coalition’s figurehead and Reed as the day-to-day political manager.
Guth, of Furman University, said Reed often viewed religious conservatives as”one political force”wanting a place at the proverbial table.”Pat Robertson uses somewhat more triumphal language about a Christian America, at least in his unguarded moments,”he said.”I think that does represent a fundamental difference in perspective.” END DEA
