Free Republic

Two local pollsters on Wednesday said a withering series of TV ads has given Casey Cagle a slight lead for the first time over Ralph Reed in the Republican race for lieutenant governor. In a combination of television spots, direct mail and automated phone calls, Cagle has accused the ex-Christian Coalition leader of defending "sweatshops" in the Northern Marianas Islands that coerced children into prostitution and forced women to have abortions. "Preposterous. This is beyond the pale," complained Jared Thomas, manager of the Reed campaign. A tracking poll of 400 likely GOP voters published Wednesday by Insider Advantage, an independent...

WASHINGTON - A Texas Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and their associates engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino. The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston, Texas, alleged the defendants defrauded the tribe, the people of Texas and the Legislature to benefit another of Abramoff's clients — the Louisiana Coushatta tribe — and "line their pockets with money." "Ultimately, the defendants' greed and corruption led to the Alabama-Coushatta tribe permanently shutting its casino. The funding for economic programs evaporated, over 300 jobs were lost in...

When academics relay their understanding of religion to the rest of us, they offer interpretations that the religiously observant may find a tad bizarre. “Religion has a certain kind of legitimacy among many people and in many parts of the world that secular life simply doesn’t have,” philosophy professor Roger S. Gottlieb explained in an interview with Jennifer Howard that appeared in the June 23rd issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. “In Madagascar, where the fishermen were dynamiting to get fish and destroying the coral reef and fish stock, when the government said, ‘Don’t do it,’ they kept doing...

WASHINGTON - In Jack Abramoff's world, prominent Washington tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist was a godsend. Moving money from a casino-operating Indian tribe to Ralph Reed, the Christian Coalition founder and professed gambling opponent, was a problem. Lobbyist Abramoff turned to his longtime friend Norquist, apparently to provide a buffer for Reed. The result, according to evidence gathered by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was that Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform became a conduit for more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw to Reed's operation, while Norquist, a close White House ally, took a cut. Without citing any specific...

ATLANTA - Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York mayor considered a potential 2008 candidate for president, headlined a fundraiser Thursday for former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed in his run for Georgia lieutenant governor. The two politicians were effusive in their praise for one another as they entered the Atlanta fundraiser just before noon. "I just want to say I believe Rudy Giuliani is one of the finest leaders in not only the Republican Party but in either party," Reed said. Giuliani responded: "We're here to get you elected. It would be a great thing for Georgia." Reed's campaign was...

Just days after a religious conservative questioned Rudolph Giuliani's views, ex-Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed said the former New York City mayor will headline a fund-raiser for him next month. Reed is running for lieutenant governor in Georgia. His campaign has been undercut by his ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is facing prison time after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud. The Reed campaign trumpeted the appearance with Giuliani, distributing an invitation on Tuesday which featured a smiling photo of the two men together. Giuliani, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, was widely praised...

The Casey Cagle for Lt. Governor campaign announced today that it raised over $100,000 on Friday, March 31st despite having only a single day to raise funds. The $100,000 Cagle raised came solely in response to phone calls and emails during the day on Friday. Friday was the last day of the upcoming reporting period, and the only day in that period where Cagle was allowed to raise money following the conclusion of the legislative session. By contrast, Cagle's opponent - Ralph Reed -- is a lobbyist who is not elected to any office and has therefore been allowed to...

A Texas prosecutor on Monday announced he would not pursue misdemeanor criminal charges against Ralph Reed, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, for violation of Texas lobbying laws. Travis County District Attorney David Escamilla said Reed's activities raised "legitimate" concerns, but a two-year statute of limitations prevented him engaging in a formal investigation. Travis County includes the state capital of Austin. "There's smoke," said Escamilla. "But all of the smoke relates to a period I can't do anything about."

ST. SIMONS ISLAND — Because the Saturday meeting between Ralph Reed and Casey Cagle was being broadcast on local radio, the leader of the local GOP begged the audience to play nice. "Please don't ask candidates if they beat their mothers," urged Kevin Gough, chairman of the Glynn County Republican Party. He needn't have worried about the audience. Most of the mud was slung from center stage. The two men seeking to become Georgia' first Republican lieutenant governor needled each other on the issues of trust and experience. They fleshed out their positions on immigration and eminent domain. Reed drew...

Some of the nation's leading conservative thinkers and strategists are seeking, through Schwarzenegger's initiatives, to alter the balance of power between the right and left wings of California politics. Their hope is to turn California red in '08 and pioneer a new gospel that can spread across the country. The grandest Republican architect is Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform... Norquist is behind Proposition 75. It's a Trojan horse whose larger purpose is to tilt the balance of power in politics by limiting union support for Democrats without cutting corporate sources of Republican funding. Texas Rep. Tom DeLay...

ATLANTA — For once, Ralph Reed’s timing is off. So often in his 44 years, he has been in the right place at the right time. In 1989, when Pat Robertson was looking for a sharp, telegenic young operative to build a powerful national political organization for Christian conservatives, Reed was there – and the Christian Coalition of America was born. In 1997, with the coalition in the cross hairs of multiple federal investigations and beginning a long decline toward insolvency, Reed was out the door. In 2002, as chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, he got credit for a...

Ralph Reed took the Republican fight for lieutenant governor to his rival's home ground, accusing state Sen. Casey Cagle of neglecting a vote to rein in the use of eminent domain by local governments. "Casey Cagle claims he is a strong supporter of private property rights, but his record shows the opposite," said Reed campaign manager Jared Thomas in a Monday news release. Cagle defended his record on property rights and called the accusation — which centers on a vote last March — a distortion based on ignorance of the legislative process. The Reed assault came on the heels of...

Enron, meet Jack Abramoff. Jack Abramoff, meet Enron. One year before the energy firm went belly up, paid adviser Ralph Reed urged Enron officials to hire Abramoff, then a rising Washington lobbyist, as a "kitchen cabinet" consultant. The e-mailed endorsement resulted in clubby lunches in which Abramoff and Enron reps, future icons of scandal in Washington and on Wall Street, sat across the table from each other. It's well-known that Reed worked for both Enron and Abramoff. That he helped them cross paths is not. The e-mail has never been published before. Reed's plug for his old friend serves as...

On Friday, 21 of Georgia's 34 Republican state senators — all Cagle supporters — signed a letter urging Reed to withdraw from the race, saying his involvement in the Abramoff scandal "threatens to impact the entire Republican ticket."

Ralph's Reed's campaign for lieutenant governor is losing momentum, a statewide poll released Wednesday shows. Reed's lead over State Sen. Casey Cagle for the Republican nomination has eroded. And, for the first time, more GOP voters view Reed unfavorably than favorably. The survey by Strategic Vision LLC of Atlanta was taken Jan. 20-22 in the aftermath of corruption-related guilty pleas by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

LAWRENCEVILLE — A half dozen Gwinnett County political and business leaders have jumped Ralph Reed’s ship to hop on Casey Cagle’s bandwagon. In a letter to Reed, the former members of the statewide steering committee in the Duluth Republican’s bid for lieutenant governor said they’ve decided that Cagle, a state senator from Gainesville, is the better candidate for the GOP nomination. “Please know that our decision to support Senator Casey Cagle’s campaign is in no way an attempt to undermine or criticize you,’’ said the letter, released by the Cagle campaign on Friday. “Rather, we believe that Casey’s combination of...

Printed from http://www.texasobserver.org © Texas Democracy Foundation Return to site Thin Reed Will Abramoff’s Deep Throat Swallow God’s Mouthpiece? by Andrew Wheat Evidence is mounting that former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed Jr., along with a former leader of the Texas Christian Coalition, may have illegally lobbied Texas state officials on behalf of crooked federal lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients. Three Austin-based reform groups—Common Cause Texas, Public Citizen Texas, and Texans For Public Justice, the latter of which employs the author of this article—urged Travis County prosecutors last December to investigate whether Reed violated Texas’ lobby-registration laws four years...

I'd like to do a mathematical analysis ...

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase: "Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?" Silence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these." As everyone knew, Pichon was referring to Jack Abramoff, whose...

LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the key figures in the social conservative political revival in the U.S., and in the election and re-election of President George W. Bush, brought his formula for success to Canada recently, in the hopes that some of his accomplishments south of the border would rub off in this country. Ralph Reed, the former head of the influential Christian Coalition who has worked on seven U.S. presidential campaigns, spoke during the Canadian Values Conference, staged by the nascent Institute for Canadian Values at Canada Christian College in Toronto Nov. 29 – Dec. 1. Reed served as a...