Dear Ralph, Don't go blaming the "media" for your failure to run a race for Lt. Governor

The big news of the week wasn't that Ralph Reed got his name mentioned again by the AJC last Sunday, but that the Reed campaign's reaction points to a campaign that is going nowhere fast.

In response to the AJC story, Ralph's camp sent out a rather lengthy e-mail on June 6 to their e-mail list protesting the AJC's continuous coverage of Ralph Reed and trying to "set the record straight."

We will not do the Reed campaign a favor by reproducing their e-mail, nor will we reproduce the rebuttal e-mail from the Casey Cagle campaign because it looks like a battle we'd best stay out of.

However, we will reserve the right to extract certain parts of Reed's whining e-mail and discuss them at length here because some points are interesting.

Paragraph #1:"You may have noticed the singular fixation of the dominant media, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, on Republican and conservative leader Ralph Reed’s past opposition to the expansion of casino gambling. Is there political bias at work? That is ultimately up to the voters. But the Atlanta Constitution has so far published 15 articles and editorials on Ralph’s past work against gambling, including 5 articles on the front page --- compared to only two articles that focused on his campaign for Lt. Governor. Allow us to set the record straight by giving you information you may not get from the dominant media or Ralph’s opponents."

We'll stop right there. "15 articles and editorials?" Does this include the 8-12 appearances of Ralph's troubles in the AJC's Vent? Because, you know, we want to make sure Ralph is being accurate in his accusations...

As far as the news media not doing a whole lot of coverage on Reed's Lt. Governor's race, we would contend that the fault of that lies squarely in the Reed camp. If you look at the Reed campaign Website, the Blog has entries dated May 3, May 9, May 11, and then nothing covered until a June 8 entry. What happened to Ralph's campaign between May 11 and June 8? That's a lot of campaign time to have nothing to show for your time on the trail.

How about some press releases from the campaign? The last thing the site has is the announcement on May 3 for their statewide steering committee. What, is Ralph just expecting the media to initate press conferences so he can bask in the glow of the camera and reporters showering him with softball questions? No, sorry, Ralph, we ain't buying the "woe is me" argument about the big bad "dominant media" never covering your race for Lt. Governor. The media is probably waiting on YOU to communicate to them...and, since you haven't, they write whatever they can dig-up on you because you're not doing your job as a campaigner.

Paragraph #5:" Eighty-two percent of the funds raised for Citizens Against Legalized Lottery in Alabama came from churches and the grassroots --- and not a dime came from casinos. Ninety-nine percent of the funds expended by Century Strategies on behalf of CALL were spent on television and radio advertisements. The overwhelming majority of funds were spent on paid media, direct mail, and GOTV activities. Our work was legitimate, lawful, and effective. We helped to close illegal casinos that violated federal and state law."

Okay, Ralph, please tell us, which one of your rocket scientist "communication experts" wrote this little diddy? Well, whoever it was, they didn't quite understand that the purpose of the CALL organization (Citizens Against Legalized Lottery) was to fight the lottery vote only. It wasn't formed to close-down "casinos" in Alabama, but just fight a lottery initiative. After the vote on October 12, 1999, CALL stopped operating. It would really help everyone understand your whining if you were a little clearer in your protests.

Now, to the point that Century Strategies didn't earn a lot of money on these efforts because "...Nearly 99% of the funds went to buying radio and television advertisements." Yet another inaccuracy.

See, if you're going to produce radio and TV spots, those cost money to make even before they are placed on the air. And, then, of course, there's markup from that which Century Strategies lays on just about every service or product it produces because, they gotta pay bills.

Then, there's the good 'ole "media buy commissions." Never heard about this? We have. It's something usually on the order of 8%-12% paid to the person placing the "buy." So, if the "buy" was 99% of the total money raised (approximately $1.6 million), on average, Century Strategies would collect between $126,000 and $190,000, give or take a few thousand.

Then, there's Ralph's direct mail operation. Which is also a Cost+Markup operation. Hey, this is capitalism, and we don't fault Century Strategies for making a buck...but, it would be good if innocent little Ralph would decide to play honest with the facts rather than avoiding them.

Paragraph #8:"Some press accounts claim Century Strategies was paid $4.2 million in fees for anti-gambling efforts. That is false. The bulk of funds paid for television ad production, television and radio ads, direct mail, and telephone banks to contact grassroots citizens. They were not paid to Century Strategies as fees."

Actually, this sounds like a good point for Ralph to make. There is a difference between "fees" and funds used to make media buys, run telephone banks (like the ones he ran against John McCain in 2000), and getting "50 pastors riled-up" (Ralph's own words, Folks, not ours).

But, why does Ralph choose to only make this distinction in an e-mail to supporters? A list of perhaps 5,000 to 50,000 people? Explaining the difference between fees and funds would be quite a simple letter-to-the-editor to write to correct a record. And, we'll bet the AJC would print one...which would correct the record to, perhaps, 500,000 people. Yet, Ralph chooses to fight the media by only complaining to his list that the media isn't writing his story right. What an amateurish move.

If You Are A Georgia Resident, You Should Really Chew-On This...

The Alabama lottery was proposed in 1999 to be a model like the Georgia Lottery, whereby funds were raised through the lottery proceeds to fund scholarships like Georgia's HOPE Scholarship. The HOPE Scholarship, as a matter of record, was proposed in the early 1990s by then-Governor Zell Miller. The program was approved by the voters and, by all accounts, it has proven to be a great success in providing scholarships to students who meet the minimum requirements.

Ralph Reed joined the effort against the Alabama lottery for...exactly what purpose? Is he, like his fellow launderer-in-arms pal, Grover Norquist claims to be, against all state-run lotteries in general? (Not, by the way, that we believe for one second that Norquist is telling the truth on that score, but we're playing a mental game here whereby we actually take what people say as the truth.)

Based on his letter of earlier this week, Ralph certainly didn't join the fight against the lottery to earn BIG money (because he didn't, according to his claims).

So, we have two possibilities: 1) He joined the fight because he considers state-run lotteries to be a form of gambling, or 2) he joined the fight because he was paid to do so by his other pal, Jack Abramoff, who himself wasn't against lotteries, but was against the legalization of this lottery because other Indian tribes in other states had used a state lottery as a legal basis for being able to legitimize casinos on Indian reservations. Clear so far?

Okay. Let's take the first reasoning. If Ralph is opposed to state lotteries, then what do you think he'll do if elected to the Lt. Governorship in terms of the Georgia lottery? Seems to us that he would work like heck to get that lottery act repealed and shut it down as well, right?

And, he would have many supporters, both in the State House and the State Senate, who would help enable this legislation.

If one is against something due to moral reasons, then one usually is against it regardless of the circumstances. So, perhaps instead of buying Reed's claim that he is a "mainstream Republican," you should look at him more from the standpoint that he is NOT "mainstream" in any way, shape or form. And, his claim of being "mainstream" when he very likely harbors the secret goal of repealing the Georgia lottery and destroying the HOPE Scholarship is just another fabrication of the true Ralph Reed.

Alright, let's take the 2nd possible reason for Ralph joining the anti-lottery efforts in Alabama: Jack Abramoff hired him to prevent the lottery because his Indian clients in Mississippi would have their business hurt by it.

Do you suppose that Jack just called Ralph and said "Hey, I need your help in stopping this lottery. It will hurt my clients. Will you do it?"

Do you suppose that Ralph just said "Sure, Jack. Sounds good. Thanks."

No, Ralph didn't say that, because Jack didn't say that. Do we have tapes? No, but, you can bet that when BIG money is concerned, long conversations, explanations, and strategy sessions take place between people. Especially when it is between friends like Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff, two people who had been friends since their College Republican days in the 1980s.

We know that Ralph really, really expects us all to believe that he had no knowledge of the true purpose of shutting down the lottery in Alabama and the Tigua casino in El Paso, TX (i.e., the purpose was to prevent more competition for casinos that were paying Jack Abramoff to protect their turf by preventing other gambling interests from getting in on the action). But, we're not buying that, and neither should anyone else who has a modicum of common sense.

The few times Ralph has personally spoken to the media on this issue, he has carefully worded his answer to be "I had no direct knowledge"...that the efforts were being funded by competing Indian casino interests.

No "direct knowledge" implies "knowledge." Knowledge like overhearing a conversation between Jack and his clients. Knowledge like visiting a casino and having a big steak dinner on the house with his friend Jack Abramoff. Knowledge like having a Ford Excursion back-up to your office and unloading a pile of cash with a note that says "Ralph, you did great work., Thanks. - Jack" and not ever bothering to ask where the money was coming from.

We suppose that on the witness stand, Ralph will have to parse the words "direct" and "knowledge" like Bill Clinton did with the word "is."

What does any of this discussion have to do with the price of eggs at Publix or the Lt. Governor's office? Quite frankly, everything. We want someone honest in that office, and Ralph Reed's record of high integrity is...well, quite honestly, he doesn't have much of one in our view.

As an example, in 2001, when he ran for the state GOP chairmanship, he announced that his business would receive no business from the state GOP. Later on, in 2002, there was a strong indication that Ralph WAS funneling state GOP business through backdoors to his business interests, and the whistle was on the verge of being blown by the executive committee ("EC").

But, Georgia Republicans experienced great gains that year in the Governor's Mansion, the U.S. Senate, and the State Senate. So, the EC decided to quash the evidence and let Ralph continue his term.

But, we are confident that if he is elected to the Lt. Governor's office, the amount of double-dealing and self-enrichment will multiply by a minimum of 100 times the amount that has ever occured before in that office. And, based on the Democrats who have occupied that office before, that will be quite a lot.