Some Evangelical Leaders Yet to Receive Invitation to Republican Convention

August 14, 2004

Source: The Washington Post

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002005269_gopreligion14.html

On August 14, 2004 The Washington Post reported, "Religious leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson say they have yet to be invited to this year's convention, only three weeks before the event. Could it be that in a race so tight that every swing vote is being chased like the most popular kid in school, Republicans don't want to alienate moderates with the in-your-face religious oratory of its most partisan supporters? Not so, according to Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and now a national spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. Reed told The Associated Press that conservative Christians will have a central role at the convention, scheduled to begin in Manhattan on Aug. 30." [However] despite talks of such efforts some conservative religious leaders have decided not to attend.