CHRISTIAN COALITION'S REED STEPPING DOWN.Byline: Katharine Q. Seelye This article is about the reporter for The New York Times. For the NPR reporter, see Kate Seelye. Katharine Q. Seelye is a political reporter for The New York Times. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Ralph Reed Ralph Reed may refer to:
Reed, who did not rule out running for office himself, said at a news conference here that he would remain until September Until September is a 1984 romantic drama set in France. It stars Karen Allen as an American tourist in Paris who falls in love with a married Frenchman (Thierry Lhermitte). External links , after eight years as executive director, and would help an outside search committee find a successor. At the moment, there is no obvious choice. His departure - seen by his critics as a chance to capitalize on his success - leaves the coalition without its most able organizer, its most presentable pre·sent·a·ble adj. 1. That can be given, displayed, or offered: presentable gifts; presentable attire. 2. Fit for introduction to others: presentable relatives. ambassador and its most pragmatic strategist in Republican back rooms. Pat Robertson, the founder and president of the Christian Coalition, tried to keep Reed by offering him the added role of president of the evangelical Regent University in Virginia, which Robertson founded. But Reed turned him down. Reed, 35, suggested that while he had accomplished several goals for the Christian Coalition - chiefly, giving it a seat at the table of mainstream politics - its nonprofit status had hindered him from achieving his personal goal of working directly in electoral politics. He said he wanted to create a ``farm team'' of hundreds of ``pro-family, pro-life, pro-free-enterprise'' candidates at every level of government, from school boards to Congress to the presidency. Calling the coalition's nonprofit status ``very restrictive, if this is what I wanted to do in the future,'' he noted that the coalition could not endorse candidates, give them money or coordinate campaigns; rather, its purpose is to register Christians, ``educate'' them on the issues and make sure they vote, he said. ``We thought the Christian Coalition is very effective doing what it's doing,'' he said, ``and if an individual like me is going to be more directly involved in electoral politics, it's better for me to leave and go do it on my own. So that's what I'm doing.'' His announcement comes as the Federal Election Commission is examining whether the Christian Coalition has abused its tax-exempt status by directly supporting Republican candidates. Reed's aides said there was no connection. His critics suggested Reed was an opportunist op·por·tun·ist n. One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences. op more interested in politics than religion. ``He's trying to cash in on the fame, or infamy Notoriety; condition of being known as possessing a shameful or disgraceful reputation; loss of character or good reputation. At Common Law, infamy was an individual's legal status that resulted from having been convicted of a particularly reprehensible crime, rendering him , that he has now,'' said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment , which has lobbied against almost everything the Christian Coalition has supported. In his new role as a consultant, Reed will no doubt build on the extensive network he developed for the Christian Coalition. He transformed the organization from a loose array of evangelicals who, he said, were mocked and marginalized, into a rapid response team able to activate its 1.9 million members on a moment's notice to telephone lawmakers on issues. Under Reed's tenure, its annual budget ballooned to $27 million from $200,000. In last year's elections, the coalition distributed 45 million voter guides in 125,000 churches. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Ralph Reed Will start consulting concern |
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