Religious Right Leaders' Ties to Abramoff Keep Coming Up
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Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 12:52:25 PM EST
Jack Abramoff comes up in connection with religious right leaders Ralph Reed, Lou Sheldon, and James Dobson. Illustration by Jonathan Hutson

Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) launched an ad campaign on March 8, 2006, including a full-page ad in The New York Times that highlights what it calls hypocrisy over gambling by three religious right leaders -- Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition; Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition; and Dr. James Dobson, founder and head of Focus on the Family. DefCon's print and broadcast ads focus on connections between convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and these major figures of the religious right, all of whom have taken high-profile positions against gambling. Reed and Sheldon have received money that originated from Abramoff's gambling industry clients, who have in various ways benefitted from the actions of all three men. Defcon invites you to send a letter to these pious, pandering prophets, telling them to "practice what they preach."

The letter states:
For years, you've attacked the freedom of women