Ala. Christian Coalition Flunks Black Legislators, Bias Charges Mount.

The Alabama Christian Coalition's scorecard gives every African-American member of the legislature an "F," prompting one black senator to urge the group to "check themselves for racism."

"The fact that all blacks tend to score low ... they need to check themselves for racism," said Sen. George Clay, a Tuskegee Democrat. "That is a sin too."

Seventy-six of the state's 140 legislators received F's on the scorecard, the first one produced by the Alabama affiliate of TV preacher Pat Robertson's political group. Among them were 27 black House members and eight black senators. Thirty white lawmakers, mostly Republicans, received A's, while others received grades of B, C, or D, reported the Associated Press.

Clay said the organization had judged the legislators on narrow grounds, looking only at contentious social issues. He faulted the Coalition for not looking at votes on budgetary matters, which have the potential to affect the well-being of all state residents.

"If the fact that I disagree with them makes me a bad person, I am sorry for that," Clay said. "I am going to pray for them."

Alabama Coalition President John Giles said at a press conference that the scorecard was meant only for voter education. "It is by no means to be taken as a commentary on the personal faith of any legislators," he insisted.

The Alabama Christian Coalition's timing could not have been worse. The scorecard was released at about the same time a federal judge in Washington issued an order requiring the national Christian Coalition of America to cease taking retaliatory actions against several African-American employees who have charged the group with maintaining discriminatory employment practices.

The employees, who worked in the Coalition's data-entry department, assert that they were required to enter the building through the back door, forced to eat lunch in segregated and substandard quarters and denied adequate health-care benefits. The workers claim that the Coalition slashed their hours after the case was filed in an effort to drive them off.

In late July, U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ordered the Coalition to cease its retaliatory actions against the employees and to restore full hours to them. (Lee v. Christian Coalition of America, Inc.)

In other news about Robertson and the Christian Coalition:

* The Idaho Christian Coalition has closed up shop, saying its work is done. The affiliate announced in July that it is ceasing operations. A notice in the chapter's newsletter said the local unit had achieved all of its goals and thus "we acknowledge the time is right for the Idaho Christian Coalition to cease to be. It has served the purpose for which it was created. Many have been educated on the biblical principles applicable to society and are doing their part as responsible Christian citizens."

Observers noted that there may be more to the story. During last year's elections, the group was split by a controversy over voter guides, which were so biased in favor of certain candidates that even some Coalition board members criticized them.

* Despite the group's troubles, leaders of the Christian Coalition keep putting on a happy face. On July 21 Coalition staffers went to Portland, Ore., for what is to be the first in a series of 22 regional training sessions. (The group is not holding a national conference this year.) A press release issued by Christian Coalition National Executive Vice President Roberta Combs claimed that "over 250 enthusiastic pro-family activists from all around the state" attended. (The Portland Oregonian estimated the crowd at "about 200.")

Combs did not mention that Coalition founder Robertson had been scheduled to address the event but pulled out at the last minute. But she did tell the crowd, "For the last two years, they have been writing our obituaries. We are alive and well. If we're dead, we sure have a lot of corpses in here."

Combs also welcomed U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), who made a brief appearance at the start of the event. Smith, elected with just 50 percent of the vote in 1996, faces reelection next year.

* Disney/ABC announced in July that it has purchased Fox Family Network, formerly Robertson's Family Channel, for $5.3 billion. Robertson, the previous owner of the channel, sold it to Fox in 1997 for $1.9 billion. Disney plans to rename the channel "ABC Family" and air mostly children's programming.

When Robertson sold the channel to Fox, he included a stipulation requiring the network to continue airing his "700 Club" program. That obligation now passes to Disney, which has said it will honor it. Some industry analysts, however, predict that Disney will try to buy Robertson out rather than allow his program to consume valuable airtime in the mornings.

Since reports of the deal surfaced, Robertson and Disney executives have been trading compliments. Michael D. Eisner, Disney chairman, asserted that Robertson was not among the Religious Right leaders who have criticized Disney in recent years and added, "He is not that far to the right." Robertson in turn praised Disney for its "tremendous library of family programs."

Eisner chose to ignore Robertson's famous tirade three years ago, when he blasted the city of Orlando for agreeing to fly rainbow flags in honor of "Gay Days," a privately sponsored event at Disney World. At that time, Robertson said God might punish the city with "earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor."

The New York Times also reported that in September of 1997 Robertson said, "Disney, which is the family organization, is becoming the family of homosexuality and anti-religious bigotry."

Meanwhile, Robertson in mid July announced the sale of Middle East Television, a Christian Broadcasting Network affiliate. Robertson sold the station to LeSEA Broadcasting of South Bend, Ind., for an undisclosed price. The new owners will continue to carry the "700 Club."

Finally, Robertson is hard at work on a non-broadcasting business venture. For two years he has been trying to restart an oil refinery in California called Powerine Refinery. Robertson claims the big oil companies have blocked his efforts to secure financing for the facility, near Santa Fe Springs.

In June, Robertson wrote to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to solicit his help. Although Wyden is a liberal Democrat, he has been critical of big oil. The two later met in Washington to discuss the matter.

Wyden conceded that the partnership is unusual but vowed to help Robertson. "This is one of the cleanest refineries around, and it's having difficulty getting into the business" Wyden said.