Freedom Writer - March 1995

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Reed issues ultimatum to GOP

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian 
Coalition, has sworn that the Religious Right would withdraw support 
from the Republican ticket in 1996 unless both candidates opposed 
abortion. Reed made his vow at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 
held just before nine Republican presidential hopefuls showed up to 
test the New Hampshire waters. So brazen was Reed's threat that it 
made the front page of _The_New_York_Times_.

The February 10th speech was a departure from Reed's recent policy 
of keeping so-called moral issues on the back burner while "casting 
a wider net." Now, with claims of 1.5 million mostly Republican members, 
Reed thinks the Christian Coalition is in a position to set the ground 
rules for the Republican Party.

With the exception of Phil Gramm and Pat Buchanan, most of the candidates 
scoffed at Reed's suggestion. Buchanan and Gramm are staunchly anti-choice, 
with Gramm favoring a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Another 
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania, 
thinks the party should be pro-choice.

Reed vowed to mobilize the Coalition against the Republican Party 
if it nominated pro-choice candidates for either president or vice 
president. If the Republicans rebuff the Christian Coalition, it will 
have nowhere to go but to a third-party candidate. 

Meanwhile, Reed made it clear that the Christian Coalition would see 
that Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia would not be reelected 
in 1996. There is speculation that Ralph Reed himself may be planning 
to run against Warner.

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Copyright 1995 IFAS
The Freedom Writer / ifas@crocker.com

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