Christian Coalition sued - political campaign assistance

Christian Century, August 14, 1996

In a June 6 book review in the New York Review of Books historian and commentator Garry Wills described "how ready the Christian Coalition is to engage in hardball politics, playing fast and loose with the truth (and with the rules governing its tax-exempt status)." In the review Wills details how the coalition's "score cards" distort politician's voting records. "A vote . . . against the amendment to make a three-fifths majority necessary for tax raises was listed simply as a vote against balancing the budget," according to Wills. "A vote against using federal funds for discussing homosexuality in the schools was counted as a vote for discussing homosexuality in the schools--because the bill voted on was less stringent than another proposal, preferred by the Coalition, which never came to a vote."

John C. Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron in Ohio, predicted that detractors will accuse the coalition of "systematically rigging" their voter guides, while supporters will say "this is a free country." But Green said the suit's outcome could have implications far beyond the coalition. He noted that other groups also deal with "a fine line between talking issues and talking candidates." If the coalition wins in this case, more groups may adopt its strategy of providing voters with "technically nonpartisan" information, he said. "Were they to lose, I think you would see lots of groups opting for creating political action committees."

The suit never would have been filed if the coalition had formed a political action committee, said Green, but coalition officials determined that their mission was different. "The Christian Coalition decided early on that they would do much better by stimulating this vast reservoir of political activism than by raising money and giving conservative candidates checks."

In a recent development, Judy Liebert, the coalition's suspended chief financial officer, has claimed she was asked to hide a $60,000 contribution given with the intent of aiding George Bush's 1992 re-election bid. The donation was made by John W. Wolfe, a wealthy Ohio businessman whose family owned the Columbus Dispatch newspaper. Wolfe, who has since died, reportedly sent a letter to coalition founder Pat Robertson in which he said "it is my understanding you could use some financial help with that [campaign literature] project for the President and therefore, on the recommendation of Lyn, I am pleased to send you a contribution of $60,000."

"Lyn" was a reference to Lyn Nofziger, a longtime Republican political consultant who was President Reagan's political director, the Washington Post reported. Liebert told the Associated Press that she was instructed by Ralph Reed to list the contribution as coming from an anonymous source.

Wolfe's contribution would have exceeded the $1,000 federal limit for personal contributions to a presidential candidate. However, Mike Russell, the coalition's chief spokesman, said the group's records show that Wolfe's name was listed as the donor, and he denied Liebert's allegation about Reed. (Such a contribution would also violate the group's nonprofit status.)