The Regurgence of Ralph Reed
Unfortunately nobody makes a pill for lobbyist reflux.
The standing ovation the other day at a meeting of the Tri-County Tea Party in central Florida was just one sign that Mr. Reed, who has formed a new group with national aspirations called the Faith and Freedom Coalition, is escaping the political purgatory that even many Republicans had predicted and may be gaining some traction as he seeks to emerge as a player in the 2012 campaign.
IN 2006, in his first bid for elective office, Mr. Reed suffered a humiliating loss in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor of Georgia, dogged by embarrassing revelations about his close business ties to Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who went to prison for influence peddling and defrauding Indian tribes.
But the ensuing five years have been a political eternity, with the election of Mr. Obama, the rise of the Tea Party and last year’s conservative victories that have whetted Republican appetites for more. In that time the public-relations savvy Mr. Reed, who once said a factor in his decision to locate his consulting firm in Atlanta was that the city was the headquarters of CNN, has kept an unusually low profile.