Reed's Ties to Abramoff Scrutinized

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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January 16, 2006

Reed's Ties to Abramoff Scrutinized

The Jack Abramoff scandal now threatens Ralph Reed's (R) campaign for lieutenant governor of Georgia, according to the Washington Post.

"Abramoff and Reed -- the former executive director of the Christian Coalition -- have been friends for 25 years, and until recently it had been a mutually profitable association. Now it is proving highly inconvenient for Reed, and threatens to stall a career that has been emblematic of the modern GOP."

The first major dent in Reed's carefully cultivated image came with the disclosure in the summer of 2004 that his public relations and lobbying companies had received at least $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight Indian casinos competing with Abramoff's casino clients... Similarly damaging has been a torrent of e-mails revealed during the investigation that shows a side of Reed that some former supporters say cannot be reconciled with his professed Christian values."

The AP notes Reed now says he regrets taking money from Abramoff.

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Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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January 16, 2006