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Ralph Reed to target Minnesota

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Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition who was a close associate of Jack Abramoff and was named in the Abramoff’s scandals, told the New York Times that his new organization, the Faith and Freedom Coalition, will be targeting Minnesota and the anti-gay marriage amendment.

From the Times:

For example, one donor, Bernard Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, supports abortion rights but wants smaller government. On the other hand, the mutual fund manager Foster Friess is a patron of religious conservative causes and was a leading donor to a super PAC that supported Rick Santorum. Another donor is John M. Templeton Jr., who runs a foundation devoted to pursuing “new insights at the boundary between theology and science.”

In addition to its presidential election turnout campaign, the group plans to focus on two state ballot measures: a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Minnesota and an effort to recall an Iowa Supreme Court justice who voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

Mr. Reed and his allies agree that social issues alone will not turn the election.

Last August, Reed’s group hosted a workshop on the anti-gay marriage amendment. Many of the Minnesota staff involved have been working to pass the amendment in recent years.

Just last week, Mother Jones reported that Reed’s group sent out a mailer comparing the Obama adminsitration policies to those of Hitler and the Communists.

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.