Word: reed
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Still, acclaim for Reed and his Coalition is far from universal, even within the Republican Party. Senator Arlen Specter launched his campaign for President with a broadside against Reed and his alleged "intolerance." Congresswoman Marge Roukema, a moderate Republican from New Jersey, said flatly, "Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition will create a lot of trouble for the Republican Party." And, in fact, if Reed succeeds too well at moving the party in his direction, he stands to alienate the middle-of-the-roaders, whose votes, while notably absent in Republican primaries, tend to decide general elections...
Meanwhile, powerful figures on the religious right feel the Republican Party isn't right enough for them, posing a danger for Reed if he continues to accommodate himself to the party's moderate elements. In March, James Dobson, head of the powerful Focus on Family organization, fired off open letters to party chairman Haley Barbour, complaining bitterly about the lack of immediate payoff from the November election. Fearful of compromising with "anti-family" elements, Dobson argued that it was time to fold the all-inviting "big tent" of the Republican Party. In contrast, Reed argues for a more inclusive Coalition...
Other conservatives play down the importance of Reed. Says Gary Bauer, a former Dobson associate and now head of the Family Research Council, a conservative think tank: "I don't think the movement depends on Bauer or Dobson or Reed or any of the names the press focuses on. I see this as a permanent force in American government and politics, and I think it will have a lot to say about public policy for the foreseeable future...
...moment, however, Reed is the most attractive name attached to the movement-and he shows no sign of resting. "You have to organize, organize, organize, and build and build, and train and train, so that there is a permanent, vibrant structure of which people can be part." He speaks about forming a cadre of at least 10 workers in each of the roughly 175,000 political precincts in the U.S., raising his budget to between $50 million and $100 million and gaining access to 100,000 churches, compared with his current reach of 60,000 churches...
...Christians are close to winning the whole war; they might do it by '96," says Frank Luntz, the pollster behind the Contract with America. "By playing hardball they may win everything, but hardball also risks losing everything." Reed frankly admits, "We're on the very threshold of having to make that kind of decision. It's fraught with both opportunity and hazard. If we make this decision the wrong way, 20 years from now we're going to look back and regret...