Writing for the small but influential newsletter put out by The Gathering, Ralph Reed writes about Sen. John Danforth’s book on faith and politics. Danforth argues that the Republican Party is unduly beholden to the religious right. You can read more about Danforth’s book by clicking here.

Here is a snippet:

What so many critics miss is that what makes people of faith unique is not their pursuit of power but their passion for the powerless. They speak up for the dying, the sick, the poor, and the unborn when no one else dares do so. And while they may occasionally be mistaken or their enthusiasm misplaced—for as the apostle Paul said we all “see through a glass darkly” in this world—they are an essential antidote to the politics of cynicism and spiritual emptiness of selfish ambition.

Little written or discussed about Ralph is that while he was head of the Christian Coalition he led major efforts to get the Coalition and its members to give money to anti-poverty efforts (though he met with major resistance and the Coalition’s supporters didnt’ have much interest), to rebuild African-American churches after they had been fire-bombed and actually worked on behalf of the “compassion” agenda. Unfortunately, in the process the other major religious right leaders attacked him for being too soft and too liberal.

So when Ralph writes about the “sick, the poor, the dying…” he can do so because he has at least tried it but I don’t think that can be said of many other religious right leaders.