Christian Coalit. Tidbits

    The Christian Coalition has been much in the news the last few days
because of its recent convention, held in Washington, D.C. on
September 15, 16, and 17. Here are a few tidbits culled from wire
reports on the great event:

    **The Christian Coalition now claims over 1 million members
    **Speakers at the convention included Sen. Phil Gramm (D-Tex), Lamar
Alexander (former Tenn. governor), Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney (former
Defense Secretary), William Bennett (former Education Secretary),
Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey (an anti-choice Democrat),
Elizabeth Dole, Phyllis Schlafly, and G. Gordon Liddy.
    **The Christian Coalition will distribute 57 million "voter
education" guides in all 50 states. Cooperating churches will
distribute the guides.
    **September 25 and October 2 will be "Citizenship Sundays"
sponsored by the Coalition. On those dates, 60,000 churches across the
country will hold voter registration drives with the goal of
registering 2 million new voters total.
    **The magazine _Campaigns and Elections_ surveyed party officials
academics, campaign workers, reporters and consultants on the power of
the Christian right in the Republican party. The findings were that the
"Christian right" holds a dominant position in 18 states, including
California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Minnesota. In 13 other states,
the movement is alleged to have a "substantial" level of power.
    **The Christian Coalition now has 872 local chapters in all 50
states.
    **More than 3000 persons attended the convention.

    And, of course, this report wouldn't be complete without some
interesting quotes:

From Pat Robertson, founder and president of the CC:
    "We are seeing the Christian Coalition rise to where God intends it
to be in this nation -- as one of the most powerful political forces
that's ever been in the history of America. The polls are turning. The
tide is turning. The nation is saying we're right."

From Ralph Reed, executive director of the Coalition:
    "Our goal is to see the largest turnout of evangelical and
pro-family Catholic voters in the history of this country."

    The Christian Coalition was founded in 1989.

 @ Origin: American Atheists Online (512) 302-0223  (1:382/1006.0)