There was a time when the Christian Coalition was one of the most important and influential political organizations in America. Today, though, little is left of this once-mighty juggernaut - not even Pat Robertson wants to be associated with it anymore. I wonder what he thinks about his Christian Coalition now?

Americans United reports:

Political observers agree the organization never recovered from Reed’s departure in 1997. Reed left to become a lobbyist and political consultant based in Atlanta, and after his departure, Robertson replaced him with two men Randy Tate, a former Republican member of Congress, and Donald Hodel, a cabinet official from the Ronald Reagan years.

Before he severed all ties with the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson appointed his long-time ally Robert Combs to run it — and she appears to have simply run it into the ground:

In an October story on the Coalition’s woes, the Virginian-Pilot reported that an ex-employee charged that Combs routinely refused to pay bills. “I witnessed a very consistent and chronic pattern of Roberta Combs intentionally refusing to pay valid debts, salaries and accounts for no discernible reason,” former Coalition bookkeeper Tammy Farmer said. Farmer asserted that as bills piled up, Combs told her, “Don’t pay…. They’ll never sue.” [...]

Political reporter Lee Bandy of The State reported that the Coalition remains influential in just five states Iowa, Alabama, Texas, Michigan and Florida. “Their future is really bleak,” Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, told the Virginian-Pilot. “The Christian Coalition is a shell of its former self.”

Even some activists admit the game is up. “The Coalition as we knew it doesn’t exist,” Lois Eargle, former chair of the Horry County, S.C., Coalition Chapter, told The State.

It’s not clear why, exactly, the Christian Coalition has collapsed to this point but it’s obviously not the end of the Christian Right. Long-time supporters of the Christian Coalition have shifted their time and money to other groups. The biggest and most influential group today appears to be Focus on the Family, created by James Dobson. They don’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon unless something happens to Dobson himself.

 

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