God's Plan for the White House?
Today, Ralph Reed made official what everyone had expected -- he's running for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006:
Besides, Reed's shady involvement in lobbying for Indian gambling operations (after having called gambling "a cancer on the American body politic"), his lucrative consultancy with Enron while the firm bilked consumers and defrauded investors, and other unholy dealings have taken a bit of the shine off his wholesome "family values" image.
Reed's genius is that, at his core, he's a savvy political operative -- a lot smoother and strategic than his more unhinged far-right breatheren. If and when he moves up the political ladder, the challenge will be for Reed to square his earthly political power-plays with his professed higher calling.
"After much prayer and reflection, and with a heart filled with anticipation for the bright future for our state, today I write you to announce my candidacy for the office of lieutenant governor of Georgia," the former Christian Coalition director and state GOP chairman wrote in a letter that was e-mailed to 'tens of thousands' of Georgians.' ...Good to know he's a "team player" who can work with Republicans. But the story behind the story is that Reed sees this as a mere stepping-stone to bigger and better things. As the Washington Times reported on January 18:
"Asked why he should be lieutentant governor, Reed said he's a 'team player' who can work with the Republican majority in the state Capitol and has a background as a strategist who helped craft the Contract With America, which the GOP rode to a congressional majority in 1994, and the Declaration for a New Georgia, which was the Republican's campaign document in 2002."
"Word that Ralph Reed plans to seek the lieutenant governorship of Georgia signals what friends say is the former Christian Coalition executive director's ultimate ambition — 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ...I'm not sure Reed's political star is so bright. It's one thing for the fundamentalist right to be a large part of your electoral base; it's quite another for the country to put one of the movement's most public leaders in the White House.
Associates say Mr. Reed, 43, whose picture first appeared on the cover of Time magazine nearly 10 years ago, hopes to use the lieutenant governor's job to position himself to run for Georgia governor. Friends also say the Atlanta-based consultant's long-held ambition is ultimately to win for himself the Republican presidential nomination."
Besides, Reed's shady involvement in lobbying for Indian gambling operations (after having called gambling "a cancer on the American body politic"), his lucrative consultancy with Enron while the firm bilked consumers and defrauded investors, and other unholy dealings have taken a bit of the shine off his wholesome "family values" image.
Reed's genius is that, at his core, he's a savvy political operative -- a lot smoother and strategic than his more unhinged far-right breatheren. If and when he moves up the political ladder, the challenge will be for Reed to square his earthly political power-plays with his professed higher calling.
7 Comments:
Unless Reed gets his head out of "where the sun don't shine", he'll never be president.
I'm curious why you say that, Steve.
Don't get me wrong -- I think Reed getting into the White House would be the prelude to The Handmaid's Tale.
But what makes you think he couldn't do it? After all, Bush managed to gain the Presidency not once, but twice. Reed's a much sharper political operator than W.
Reed hasn't got a prayer in a White House bid, because the compromises he'll have to make to gain votes in the center will turn the Freeper crowd against him in a second. They don't mind taking down one of their own.
You know, I used to say the exact same sorts of things about Reagan and Shrub.
Yet both ended up two-termers. Reed is a very skilled politician, particularly stong in the Rove-style campaign.
I think it would be a very good idea to try to politically knee-cap this guy before he has a governorship to run from.
Reed's a tough cookie. What impresses me most is his ability to run a stealth field operation, which he did both with the Christian Coalition during his tenure, and as Bush's Southern campaign director in 2004. At base he's an operator, and knows how to get things done.
However, once he runs outside of a state like Georgia, I think his limitations will surface. Reagan and Bush knew how to use Christian right code words; Reed *is* the Christian right. I think that's enough to split off libertarians, moderate Republicans, and other assorted swing voters. Reed's dream of pulling African American Christians over to the GOP through "moral values" largely fizzled.
I also think that the Christian right's influence on U.S. politics is cresting. Now is their big moment. But I think within 5-10 years they won't be the tone-setter for U.S. politics they are now. Between their own over-reach and changing societal views about, for example, gay relationships, they're in for a backlash that will make them much less relevant.
Or perhaps that's wishful thinking.
Over the long term, I'm sure you're right.
Of coure, over the long term, we're all dead.
I don't think America will emerge unscathed from the Bush years. There will be permanent scars on the body politic.
I think progressives should be looking closely at how we can accelerate the Christian right's decline.
That's actually kind of bizarre, because I honestly believe that Bush and Reagan before him used the Christian right to win and then governed for the plutocrats.
I have a strong suspicion that Reed is the same breed. The Christian Coalition was simply an opportune launching point, IMHO.
Progressives, especially progressive Christians, can effectively "kneecap" Reed politically. Ask Reed what the Bible says about environmental stewardship, or economic justice, or civil liberties, or racial equality, or war and peace. Ask what the Bible says about how to treat the foreigner in your land, or the widow, or the orphan. Ask what the Bible says about your neighbor, or your enemy, or the hungry, or imprisoned. Then ask why government should be any more or any less involved in those issues than in issues of sexual morality.
We as Progressives, and especially those of us who are Christian, need to capture the language of the evangelist and the fervor of the camp meeting to speak out on true Christian moral values. We need to bring our faith into the public square, and stand up for what is morally right as unashamedly as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson preach their message of hate and bigotry.
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