Christian Coalition beset by financial woes

Christian Century, Dec 22, 1999

The Christian Coalition's financial and organizational woes appear to have deepened. The coalition, once the Religious Right's standard-bearer, has been sued by its direct-mail fundraiser for nonpayment of bills and has lost its Washington lobbying chief. A suit filed in Alexandria, Virginia, by the direct-mail firm Stephen Winchell & Associates charged the coalition with nonpayment of about $400,000, even though the company said it helped the coalition raise $7 million.

Meanwhile, Randy Tate, the coalition's chief Washington lobbyist and its former executive director, has resigned. Coalition founder Pat Robertson told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper that his organization is "quite a mess." However, coalition spokesman Chris Freund said December 2 that the coalition is not in danger of shutting down. "Obviously we have some financial and other issues to deal with. But, again, we're quite confident we can. We're looking forward to the new year," Freund said.

In the wake of Tate's departure, the Virginian-Pilot quoted unnamed coalition sources as saying, "There is almost no one in a senior position at the national headquarters today who was there a year ago." Tate, a onetime Washington state congressman, stepped down as the coalition's executive director and shifted to Washington lobbying duties in June as part of a coalition reorganization. That reorganization followed an Internal Revenue Service decision to deny the coalition tax-exempt status. Freund said the coalition's current debt is about $2 million, which he called "manageable."

The coalition was founded by Robertson in 1989 following his unsuccessful bid to gain the Republican presidential nomination. It gained prominence under the direction of Ralph Reed, who left in 1997 to become a political campaign adviser. It has floundered ever since. Recently the coalition announced that it would leave its longtime base in Chesapeake, Virginia, and relocate to northern Virginia just outside Washington, D.C.