Faith and Freedom Coalition

Once upon a time, Ralph Reed was known as "The Right Hand of God," a man whose political genius was unmatched and whose power and influence was unquestioned. 

Then he left the Christian Coalition to strike out on his own, only to see his former organization collapse and his own political aspirations go up in smoke thanks to his deep ties to corruption [PDF].

But he's still around and active in right-wing politics via his Faith and Freedom Coalition, from where he continues to dispense pathetically cliched political analysis such as this about Sarah Palin ... or, as he calls her, "The Palinator":

This may be Palin’s unique strength. She understands the fiscal and values agendas of conservatism are reinforcing, not mutually exclusive. A nation that relies on God and family for its strength does not seek to expand the federal government to meet every need. Fiscal responsibility and small government are not merely economic principles, they speak to the moral character of a people that believes government has an important but limited function. In this sense, Palin is a fusionist who weaves the various strands of conservatism into a coherent whole.

This is why Palin can act as a bridge between Tea Party activists and the Republican Party and have credibility with both. For now the media is fascinated with whether she will run in 2012. They hope she does, if only because it will make for the most interesting political story since the Obama-Hillary rumble in the 2008 Democratic primaries. That decision is probably a year away. Meanwhile, the MSM is missing the bigger story, at least in the short-term: Palin, who they tried to drive out of respectable political discourse, is re-energizing the grassroots of a Republican Party that they dismissed as dead. Their attacks against her—and the values she symbolizes—not only backfired, they are now working in her and the GOP’s favor.

What ultimately drives the media crazy is they know instinctively they are co-conspirators in her rise. From the Katie Couric interview to the over-the-top attacks by the likes of Shrum, by overplaying their hand they made Palin a bigger force than they ever intended. Had they simply been fair to Palin when she ran for vice president and treated her with decency, she would not be viewed now by so many grassroots conservatives as a victim of irrational elitist hatred. As much as John McCain in selecting her as his running mate in 2008, the MSM made her a force, and she is proving she can use that platform very effectively indeed.

Apparently, providing expert conservative analysis now consists primarily of regurgitating nonsensical right-wing fantasies about how Sarah Palin "is a fusionist who weaves the various strands of conservatism into a coherent whole" who symbolizes everything great about America and will rise of to save this nation.

Amazing.

Am I the only one who finds it absolutely amazing that Ralph Reed, a man who saw his own political candidacy was ruined by his deep ties [PDF] to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff and who is still so radioactive that John McCain could not be seen with him, is somehow still dispensing political advice on television, at tea parties, and in campaigns with his new Faith and Freedom Coalition?

I mean, a right-wing activist who can't even get himself elected thanks to his own ties to corrupt lobbyists probably shouldn't be telling Democrats how to respond to Scott Brown's victory ... but he is anyway: 

When millions of average Americans poured into the streets to protest Obama’s out-of-control spending at “tea parties” beginning last April, the White House and its liberal allies denounced these protesters as “astroturf,” “tea-baggers,” “evil,” and even compared them to Nazis. House Majoirty Leader and FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey organized opposition to Obama’s policies, so White House allies pressured his DC law/lobbying firm to dump him. I saw Dick at a rally opposing Democratic health care reform the weekend it happened, and he joked: “They made a big mistake. Now I can spend all my time fighting them.”

With each defeat and setback, the Obama political team and the Democrats engaged in spin, finger-pointing, leaks to an adoring press corps, all the while ignoring the warning signs. As late as yesterday, while the Democratic establishment hung black crepe and mourned the impending loss of “the Kennedy seat,” a Democratic official was telling Politico with a straight face that Organizing for America—Obama’s campaign political operation now housed at the DNC—“is a winner” in Massachusetts, “that’s clear, win or lose.” Win or lose? Only in Alice-in-Wonderland universe in which the Obama political team lives is someone who suffers an historic defeat proclaimed a winner. So I suppose Obama should have gotten a gold medal for flying all the way to Copenhagen on bended knee before the IOC, even if Chicago did lose the Olympics.

Is the Obama team still in denial? One wonders. Does Obama have the capacity to listen to the voters, call an audible, and adjust his policies and trim his ambitions? I doubt it. Obama has always struck me as a committed liberal, a true believer, and he will try to salvage health care and get whatever extreme policies he can passed before the 2010 elections. If other Democrats watch their careers go up in smoke and suffer the loss of their offices as a result, so be it. We shall see ... But after last night, Obama is not looking like a political savior anymore. In fact, he looks like the kiss of death. Massachusetts was opening volley of the 2010 elections, and Democrats are bracing for more defeats of historic proportions.

Only in Alice-in-Wonderland universe can a man whose own ties to rampant corruption have utterly destroyed his own political aspirations still make a living dispensing political advice to others.

• The National Organization For Marriage declares war after the DC Council passes marriage equality legislation while Bishop Harry Jackson says they have an "airtight legal case" for getting the issue put to a vote.
• The Tulsa Word remembers Oral Roberts, who passed away today at the age of 91.
• Janet Porter is trying to get a movie made about herself.  Seriously.
• Mat Staver says that the custody fight between Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller is nothing more than an effort to claim a "political trophy [for] the homosexual agenda."
• Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition announces that it is launching a "campaign to defeat [the] health care bill in U.S. Senate."
• Finally, the Christian Defense Coalition held a "pray-in" at Senator Robert Casey's office this afternoon to let him know that he "cannot make the claim that [he is] pro-life" if he votes for cloture on the healthcare reform legislation.

Ralph Reed was in Virginia this past weekend with the state chapter of his Faith and Freedom Coalition mobilizing conseravtive voters heading into tomorrow's election:

Check out these cool pictures and video of Virginia Faith and Freedom chairman Steve Martin and VFFC president Jack Rohrer, accompanied by national Faith and Freedom chair Ralph Reed and dozens of volunteers participating in the Virginia Grassroots Blitz Team, this Saturday, October 31. Literally hundreds of members of the Faith and Freedom Grassroots Blitz Team poured into neighborhoods and precincts throughout Virginia, including in Prince William, Spotsylvania, Chesterfield, Hanover, and the city of Lynchburg.

Faith and Freedom volunteers passed out specialized Halloween door hangers telling voters “Don’t be tricked, Stand up for your values. Vote Tuesday, November 3rd.” These get-out-the-vote door hangers also featured a voter guide displaying the positions of the candidates for Governor on key issues. Some of the issues that this year’s voter guide highlighted were taxes, environmentally sensitive offshore oil drilling, spending, transportation, marriage, and the right to life.

On a related note, Sarah Palin is featured in a new robo-calls being funded by Reed's VA state affiliate, as Greg Sargent reports: 

A local affiliate of NBC has the audio of the call, which was paid for by a conservative group called the “Freedom Coalition.”

The script makes no mention of McDonnell:

“Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles. The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. So don’t take anything for granted, vote your values on Tuesday, and urge your friends and family to vote, too.”

Ralph Reed is back with his Faith and Freedom Coalition and their first order of business, according to this recent email, is ending Barack Obama's presidency once and for all with a flurry of faxes, warning that if Obama is not stopped, he's going to personally deny you access to live-saving healthcare and turn this nation into a socialist nightmare.  So it is up to you and your $24.95 to "save freedom in America":

My name is Ralph Reed. I am the Chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition -- a new organization dedicated to lifting high the values that made America great. We are mobilizing millions of Americans to OPPOSE and DEFEAT President Obama's far-left agenda for America.

MISSION #1 right now: Defeat "Obamacare."

Over the next 3 days we are aiming to bury Congress with hundreds of thousands of FaxGrams of Protest against "Obamacare."

If we can do that, I believe we have a very real chance to shock Congress with the intensity of public opposition to having government take over your health care . . . and have "Obamacare" declared DOA -- Dead on Arrival.

If we succeed at this, President Obama's disastrous Presidency will be in real jeopardy -- as he will be an immediate "lame duck."

...

The point is we must apply massive and overwhelming public pressure on Congress to REJECT "Obamacare" -- no matter how they try to dress it up, repackage it, or rebrand it as something other than what it is -- Socialized Medicine.

You and I know that "Obamacare" really has nothing to do with fixing America's health care system.

It's all about government bureaucrats seizing control of your life in a scheme so frightening it could only have been dreamed up by the radical left.

What better way to seize control over your life than seizing control over the decision as to whether you or your loved ones receive life-saving medical treatment or not?

Do you think radicals like Van Jones and other far-left activists will burrow their way into the federal health care bureaucracy, rewarding their friends while people like you end up in the back of the line?

...

And that's why Faith & Freedom Coalition has launched this Emergency Campaign to bury Congress with hundreds of thousands of FaxGrams over the next 3 days.

Our goal: To shock Congress into abandoning "Obamacare" (which will also effectively end the Obama Presidency and save freedom in America).

...

We can deliver "FaxGrams" in your name to your Congressman and two U.S. Senators for $24.95 -- which also gives us a few extra-dollars to work with so we can reach many more Americans with FaxGram Authorization Requests like this one.

Earlier this year, Ralph Reed announced the formation of his Christian Coalition, Version 2.0, known as the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

Reed vowed that this iteration wouldn't be "your daddy's Christian Coalition," and that it would be "more brown, more black, more female, and younger" than the first version ... also, hipper and even more strident.

Since it's launch, it hasn't made much, if any, national news, but that is in keeping with Reed's style of political guerilla warfare and so it is no surprise that he's been hard at work building up a nationwide infrastructure.

Starting with the Faith and Freedom Rally efforts, Reed has been slowly picking up state affiliates and making inroads in states like Iowa:

FFC Chairman Ralph Reed was the guest speaker at the 9th Annual Friends of the Family Banquet hosted by the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition/Iowa Christian Alliance. ICCF is one of Faith and Freedoms newest state affiliates formed in August when the existing Iowa Christian Alliance Board voted to affiliate with the national Faith and Freedom Coalition. Other speakers who addressed the over 750 attendees included, Steve Scheffler, IFFC President, Representative Steve King, Senator Chuck Grassley, and David Barton of Wallbuilders.

Reed and the FFC are also setting up shop in Florida, where they plan on opening chapters in every country in order to play a key role in the Republican Gubernatorial primary:

Florida is the largest of a half-dozen states where the Faith and Freedom Coalition now has chapters, which some have dubbed a 2.0 version of the Christian Coalition, intended to draw younger, Internet-savvy social conservatives.

“Our goal within Florida is to open a chapter in every county and mobilize social conservatives,” said Jack St. Martin, chief operating officer of Reed’s coalition. “We plan to make a difference in many elections in Florida.”

The organization plans to be involved in state legislative races along with statewide campaigns in Florida next year, including the competitive U.S. Senate Republican primary between Gov. Charlie Crist and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, St. Martin said.

Along with grassroots organizing, the Faith and Freedom Coalition is forming a federal political action committee to pour cash into campaigns across the nation, including Florida.

Bill Stephens, executive director of the state’s Christian Coalition, is joining the Florida affiliate as its leader.

“We think there are a lot of social conservatives who have stayed at home in Florida the past two election cycles because they didn’t like what they heard or saw from the candidates,” Stephens said. “We hope to change that next year.”

The new organization was created last weekend at the Florida Christian Coalition’s 20th anniversary “God and Country” celebration in Orlando. Speaking at the event was Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, who condemned President Obama’s health care initiative as “something like what the Nazis’ did.”

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

More than 1,000 people gathered in Gwinnett County Saturday to wear red, white and blue and listen to Fox News commentator Sean Hannity and conservative organizer Ralph Reed.

The crowd waved flags, prayed and sang “I’m proud to be an American.”

Reed spoke about his new grassroots Faith and Freedom Coalition, which he launched this summer to organize conservatives to get out the vote in 2010. He encouraged the crowd to each call 25 friends to create local chapters.

It’s something of a comeback for Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, who has kept a low profile on the political scene after losing a bid in the 2006 primary to be Georgia’s Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

But Reed worked the crowd into a cheering frenzy when he explained that while he’s not perfect, God called him anyway.

“God doesn’t call perfect people,” Reed said, to a huge, “Amen!” from the crowd. “He calls humble and contrite people.”

Reed spoke against President Barack Obama’s health care plan, the economic stimulus package and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all three of which elicited strong boos from the crowd.

“We are going to stop the Obama agenda dead in its tracks,” Reed said.

Many in the crowd, including Reed, planned to attend Hannity’s sold-out Freedom Concert at the Arena at Gwinnett Center afterward. The concert series raises money for children whose parents died in military service.

The meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place was a combination political rally, old-time revival and celebrity entertainment.

In addition to Hannity and Reed, speakers included Lt. Col. Oliver North, actor Jon Voight and six Republican candidates for governor.

Videos clips of the event via YouTube:

Sean Hannity

Jon Voight

Oliver North

I just got back after a week off which means a) I have no idea what is going on and b) I have (literally) thousands of blog posts, news articles, and right-wing websites to go through in order to catch up. As such, I figured I'd just throw up a quick post highlighting some of the bits of information I'm coming across in this process in order to get back in the swing of things:

• Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, has been hospitalized for meningitis.
• Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition seems to be getting off to a fast start, with Reed headlining events in Iowa, Virginia, and Florida.
• Tom DeLay will be a contestant on the new season of "Dancing With The Stars."
• The White House has reportedly pulled the plug on its flag@whitehouse.gov email address that was being used to try and debunk "fishy" information about healthcare reform thanks to right-wing caterwauling.
• The Des Moines Register reports that the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority has suspended a bus driver after she refused to drive a bus with an Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers ad on its side because it went against her Christian faith.
• Operation Rescue says it has "received written confirmation from the Nebraska Attorney General's office that a request for a comprehensive investigation into late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart's abortion business."
• LifeNews reported on the passing of conservative columnist Robert Novak with an article carrying this odd headline: "Pro-Life Syndicated Columnist Bob Novak Dies, Enjoyed Writing Against Abortion."
• Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge has a book coming out in which he claims that he was "pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."
• Finally, Rep. Michele Bachmann tells WorldNetDaily that she "will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it" ... but says that if God tells her to run for President, then she will.

Just yesterday I wrote a post explaining that, thanks to the recent announcement that he was heading a new Religious Right organization known as the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Ralph Reed appeared to be "succeeding in resurrecting his reputation and re-establishing himself as a bona fide leader of the Religious Right."

And, despite the fact that this new effort currently consists entirely of Reed, one adviser, one actual employee, and a bare-bones website, I think it is safe to say that the "Ralph Reed Redemption Tour" is officially underway now that he is getting long profiles written up by the Associated Press:

Ralph Reed was once a powerful force in Republican politics, able to marshal millions of religious conservatives to the polls while leading the Christian Coalition.

Then his political career took a tumble in 2006 when he was clobbered by a lesser-known opponent in the Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor, leading some to conclude Reed's days as an influential GOP figure were over.

But Reed is searching for a dose of redemption. He's launched a new venture that supporters hope will bolster a Republican Party struggling to find its footing after the 2008 election and a recent string of embarrassing scandals.

"I don't view it as a comeback," Reed said in a recent interview. "I view it as something I've always done — trying to be part of the solution and trying to build at the grass roots (level)."

The startup, known as the Faith and Freedom Coalition, is little more than a Web site, but Reed hopes to turn it into a strident new force that uses social media to capture a broader, younger and more diverse audience.

Perhaps most telling, the man who helped cement religious conservatives into a solid GOP voting bloc said he won't focus his group on social issues, but rather the economic crisis.

"This is not the Christian Coalition redux," Reed said. "It's a much broader attempt. Our primary focus is jobs, the economy, taxes, creating economic opportunity. That's the number one issue in the country right now."

Other than a lukewarm statement from Roberta Combs, current president of the Christian Coalition, saying "there is always room for more people who want to start organizations," the article doesn't really contain any particularly new or revealing information, with the exception of this key quote:

Reed said his organization is looking to be more inclusive by reaching out to Jews, Hispanics, blacks and any other group receptive to a fiscal conservative message.

"It's going to look different from the vehicles we have now. It's going to be younger, it's going to be more strident," he said. "It's going to be principled but less ideologically reflexive. And it's going to have a broader issues agenda."

How exciting. A “broader” and "more strident" version of the Christian Coalition? I can't wait to see how that turns out.