Ideologue for hire

Politics | In Jack Abramoff’s depiction, Ralph Reed fought for ideas “as far as the cash goes” | Jamie Dean, Marvin Olasky

The town of Jena, La., takes its name from a famous battle in which Napoleon Bonaparte led a single French corps to defeat the bulk of the Prussian army in 1806. Two centuries later, the small Jena Band of Choctaw Indians is close to winning in Louisiana a battle that seemed lost just four years ago, when the Jenas ran up against an evangelical campaign prompted by Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition.

Mr. Reed was in the news again last week for three reasons. First, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on June 18 that Mr. Reed was neck-and-neck in his race against state senator Casey Cagle for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in Georgia's July 18 primary. Earlier, Mr. Reed had a large lead in the polls and an enormous lead in fundraising.