Ralph Reed

Ralph Reed  link Amazon Powerbase Sourcewatch Twitter (Activist, lobbyist)
Born	Ralph Eugene Reed Jr. June 24, 1961 Portsmouth, Virginia,USA
Nationality	US
Alma mater	University of Georgia, Emory University
Religion	Christian
Children	4
Spouse	JoAnne Young
Party	Republican
The "Preternaturally boyish spear carrier for the religious right" who helped usher Republicans into control of Congress and George W. Bush into the presidency". Attended Bilderberg/2004 where one of the subjects was The US Political Landscape

Ralph Eugene Reed Jr. is a former associate of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former executive director of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition of America, who as "the preternaturally boyish spear carrier"^{[Is Time Magazine using innuendo?]} for the religious right, who transformed the Christian Coalition into a populist power center, then helped usher Republicans into control of Congress and George W. Bush into the presidency. He attended Bilderberg/2004 a few months before the presidential election, where one of the subjects was The US Political Landscape

Early career

Reed spent much of his college career as a political activist, taking six years to get his undergraduate degree. He started with the University of Georgia College Republicans, steadily rising to state and then national leadership.

In 1981, Reed moved to Washington, D.C., to intern at the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). At the CRNC, Jack Abramoff, Norquist, and Reed formed what was known as the "Abramoff-Norquist-Reed triumvirate." Abramoff promoted Reed in 1983, appointing him to succeed Norquist as Executive Director of the CRNC. Norquist later became president of Americans for Tax Reform, in Washington, D.C.

Reed has said that, in September 1983, he had a religious experience while at an upscale pub in Washington, D.C. popular with staffers (and, to a lesser extent, members) of the House of Representatives. Of the experience, Reed said, "the Holy Spirit simply demanded me to come to Jesus".

After receiving his AB he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to help start and lead Students for America (SFA), a conservative activist group supported by U.S. Senator Jesse Helms. SFA established chapters on college campuses up and down the East Coast and held conferences. Among other issues, SFA supported Helms' bid for re-election and organized abortion clinic protests. Reed was temporarily arrested during an abortion protest at a clinic in Raleigh but was not charged with any crime. After Reed left SFA for a bigger job at the Christian Coalition, SFA faded out of existence by the early 1990s.

Christian Coalition

Reed was hired by religious broadcaster and Presidential candidate Pat Robertson as executive director of the Christian Coalition Reed led the organization from 1989 to 1997. After Republicans lost in the 1996 elections many thought Reed would not be long for the Coalition, and would soon depart. Some alleged that another factor in Reed's decision was an investigation by federal prosecutors due to charges made by the Christian Coalition's former chief financial officer, Judy Liebert. Reed resigned from his post, and moved to Georgia. The Coalition's finances were collapsing, and the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Election Commission were investigating.

The Coalition organized former Robertson supporters and other religious conservatives to oppose political liberalism. Eschewing confrontational tactics of street protest learned in college, Reed attempted to project a "softer" public face for Christian conservatism.

In the 1990s, Reed and the coalition protested the Clinton administration's policies. They were credited with mobilizing Christian conservatives in support of Republican candidates in the 1994 Congressional elections. Reed appeared on the cover of Time on May 15, 1995, under the title "The Right Hand of God: Ralph Reed of the Christian Coalition."

Israel Lobby

Ralph Reed was the key liaison between the Israel lobby and the Christian Right. On 8 May 1995 he addressed AIPAC's annual conference, followed by a panel discussion on relations between Jews and the Christian Right. According to J.J. Goldberg, Reed's co-panelist Elliot Abrams said:

For any of us to allow our own political views to interfere with our cooperation with a group that is valiantly pro-Israel, it seems to me, is nuts. The American Jewish community was once under 4 percent of the population. It is now under 3 percent, and it is clearly heading for 2 percent. So the ability of the American Jewish community to protect Israel in the next generation is inevitably going to decline.

To underscore his point, Abrams concluded:

[We] may be in for an era when the influence of the American Jewish community is in decline. For that reason I say to you, I don't know whether Ralph Reed needs us, but we need Ralph Reed.

In late 2002, as talk about war against Iraq heated up in Washington, AIPAC held a "national summit" in Atlanta to discuss the possible war and to strategize with supporters. Among the conference speakers were Paul Wolfowitz, Tom Ridge, and Reed.

Later activities

In 1997, Reed co-founded Century Strategies with political strategist Tim Phillips. Century Strategies described itself as "one of the nation's leading public affairs and public relations firms. Reed was named, but never charged with any wrongdoing, in the scandal arising from lobbying work Jack Abramoff performed on behalf of Indian gambling tribes.

He applied for the Republican nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, but lost the primary election on July 18, 2006 to state Senator Casey Cagle.

In 2009, Reed founded the Faith and Freedom Coalition.