An Editorial by Jon Paone and Bob Norris

On May 17, amidst a great deal of political and media fanfare, the Christian Coalition unveiled what it calls its "Contract with the American Family." Billed as a "first step" towards "restoring morality" in America, the contract includes such items as a "religious equality" amendment, greater restrictions on abortion, a $500 per child tax credit, "school choice" (vouchers), the abolition of the Department of Education, and the end of government funding for such things as family planning, the arts, public broadcasting, and legal services to the poor. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who was on hand for the occasion, promised that all of the contract's items would be brought to a vote. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS), who was not present at the news conference, later issued a statement supportive of the contract and its goals.

Despite the radical-extremist nature of many of these ideas, many analysts and political observers were surprised by the fact that the goals seem relatively modest compared to the long-term agenda of the Christian Coalition on these and many other issues. Yet, as anyone who seriously follows the Coalition and its activities well knows, this seeming inconsistency is merely part of the Coalition's overall game plan. A closer examination of both the goals of the Christian Coalition and the way in which this "contract" was produced and promoted reveals the truth about the Coalition's latest publicity stunt: this news-grabbing attempt to appear more mainstream is in reality merely the "first step" of a more extremist political agenda. Conservative Politics as Religion

Knowledge of the context in which the contract was announced, as well as the method by which it was crafted prior to public announcement, are essential to a proper understanding of precisely what the Christian Coalition hopes to accomplish. Interestingly, the timing and context of the specifics of the contract are explained in a frank and illuminating manner in the introduction to the contract itself. Abandoning all previous claims to be a nonpartisan, educational organization, the Coalition begins its document with an explicit celebration of the domination of the 104th Congress by conservative Republicans. Small wonder, then, that such a document was unveiled in the U. S. Capitol, and that its unveiler, Ralph Reed, was flanked by genuflecting representatives of the House and Senate Republican leadership. Phil Gramm, Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich, Paul Coverdale and others were merely paying homage to the new special interest power broker who had helped the conservative Republicans seize control of Congress.

The introduction to the contract proceeds to trumpet the recent financial and grassroots efforts of the Christian Coalition to help Newt Gingrich and the Republican leadership pass their own contract. After pointing out that the Coalition spent over $1 million lobbying for Gingrich's Contract with America, the document promises to spend at least twice that amount on its own legislative proposals. The document then goes on to discuss polling data, noting that each item in the contract received over 60% support from those polled by Frank Lutz (Newt Gingrich's pollster). This more than anything else reveals the contract for what it is: a clever political gimmick resulting more from sophisticated polling techniques than from serious religious conviction. Apparently, Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed believe that morality and values can now be determined by political polling. (Just imagine if every pastor and religious leader determined the moral vision of their own communities of faith by seeking the expertise of Frank Luntz!).

Finally, after a complete abandonment of all pretense of nonpartisanship, and after a frank admission that they are undertaking a restoration of morality through polls, the authors of the Christian Coalition's Contract make another important confession. According to their document, "These items do not represent the pro-family movement's entire agenda." In other words, the purpose of the contract is not to represent the views of a new "mainstream" and moderate agenda, but rather to be the first, small steps towards a much more alarming agenda and much less popular goals. The Pat Robertson Agenda

Despite the fact that Ralph Reed, the young and articulate executive director of the Christian Coalition, has emerged as its leading spokesman, it is vital to remember that the Christian Coalition was founded by, and continues to be led by televangelist and millionaire businessman Pat Robertson. If there was any doubt that Robertson still controls this empire, Reed laid it to rest in a recent interview with David Frost. Speaking of Robertson, Frost asked Reed: "Who's the boss, though, you or him?" RALPH REED: "He is." (The David Frost Special, PBS, May 19, 1995). Since Pat Robertson founded the Christian Coalition in 1988, it has consistently fought for extremist public policy goals. The Contract with the American Family can only be understood when compared to the long-term agenda of the Christian Coalition as expressed over the last seven years.

These goals include:

• A complete end to the separation of church and state.
• A fundamental opposition to any government-supported public education.
• The imposition of a regressive flat tax.
• An extreme single-minded opposition to abortion under any circumstances.
• Opposition to virtually all government activity, extending even to school feeding programs for poor children.

One wonders whether the Christian Coalition will continue to release their polling data in the future, as it's well oiled machine forces this radical agenda on the American people. As Ralph Reed said, the "Contract with the American Family" represents only the first word, not the last, in the goal of achieving these public policy changes.

It is not surprising that with long term goals such as these, many of us with deeply held religious beliefs are fearful that the enactment of this initial agenda will begin a slippery slide toward Pat Robertson's warped vision of a "Christian America". While Pat Robertson's front man, Ralph Reed, woos the press daily and speaks of simply wanting "a place at the table," his self proclaimed boss speaks of an authoratarian theocracy: "There will never be world peace until God's people and God's faith are given their rightful place of leadership at the top of the world." Beware, there is no doubt that the Christian Coalition is a zealously ambitious group that has no intentions of relenting in its quest to impose Pat Robertson's values on our families.