Ralph Reed, Hypocrite

ATLANTA - For two decades, Ralph Reed made his mark as a squeaky-clean political operator and a driving force behind the Christian right. Now he's trying to get himself into elected office amid allegations he raked in money from the same gambling interests he once called "a cancer on the American body politic."

The former organizer for the Christian Coalition and adviser to presidential campaigns is seeking to become Georgia's first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, a largely powerless post that could serve as a stepping stone to higher office.

The election is still more than a year away, with incumbent Democrat Mark Taylor vacating the seat to run for governor, but already Reed is raising money and assembling a team.

To some, the big question facing Reed is whether there is a conflict between the antigambling beliefs he espoused as executive director of the Christian Coalition and the money he collected later as a political consultant.

The firm Reed started after leaving the Christian Coalition was hired in 1999-02 to build public support for closing an Indian casino in Texas and to fight a proposed state lottery in Alabama. The casino was shuttered; the lottery was defeated.

Now there are news reports that Reed's work — arranged by longtime lobbyist friend and public relations specialist Jack Abramoff, who is under investigation in Washington for allegedly defrauding Indian tribe clients — was secretly funded by gambling interests seeking to stifle competition.