Redemption Of Ralph Reed’s Reputation? Just Say No.

Ralph Reed, poster boy for "Christian" hypocrisy, outright huckster smarm merchantry, and smear campaign by mailer hired gun is trying a little reputation rehab courtesy of CNN. And Sue Schmidt actually gets this one right in today’s WaPo:

Eighteen months ago, the political career of Christian right golden boy Ralph Reed came crashing down, a casualty of his role in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. This week, Reed has found a new calling. He appeared on CNN during its New Hampshire primary coverage and again last night, labeled as a "GOP political analyst."

Reed sounded none too bullish about John McCain’s prospects going forward despite his big New Hampshire win. That’s perhaps not surprising, given the long history between the two.

McCain, as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, launched an investigation of Abramoff’s tribal lobbying that turned up a mountain of e-mails, including some between Reed and Abramoff.

The e-mails revealed Abramoff’s corrupt dealings with politicians, as well as conservative religious and advocacy groups. Reed often participated in Abramoff’s business schemes, telling him in a 1998 e-mail after stepping down as head of the Christian Coalition: "I need to start humping in corporate accounts!"

E-mails and testimony before McCain’s panel showed that Reed, who once branded gambling a "cancer" on society, reaped millions of dollars in tribal casino proceeds that Abramoff secretly routed to him through various non-profit front groups. Abramoff, a lobbyist for the tribes, paid Reed to whip up "grassroots" Christian opposition to prevent rival tribes from opening casinos.

Abramoff sometimes routed his money to Reed through a group called Americans for Tax Reform, run by conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Norquist lately has been attacking McCain’s record on taxes, placing robo calls to voters in New Hampshire….

A CNN spokeswoman said Reed was asked to appear on the network’s primary coverage because he is a "well-known expert on the evangelical vote," and that he was not paid for the appearance….

Oh yeah, he’s a well-known expert on Christian evangelicals all right. As in, "Praise the Lord, and pass the Reed family collection plate. Large bills encouraged."

More on Ralph Reed’s shady past here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. For starters. I don’t get to say this very often, but good for Sue Schmidt for laying it out in a concise way for WaPo readers (even if it was likely a service for the McCain camp, it’s still nice to see the Ralph Reed smarm machine encapsulated in reader-friendly format). That it appeared in the WaPo is even more of a pleasant surprise, given their past history of glossing over Reed’s role.

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