All Intensive Purposes

The Washington Post discusses the Christian Coalition's problems, not the least of which is mounting debt. One positive development for the Coalition is its recent settlement with the IRS, which eliminates potential liabilities and secures tax-exempt status going forward. However, the settlement will force "substantial change" in the Christian Coalition's voter guides, to which the Post says are essential to the organization's identity.

[T]he settlement requires the Christian Coalition to allow candidates to write up to 25 words of explanation on each issue in the voter guides. In the past, the guides listed topics such as "unrestricted abortion on demand" or "adoption of children by homosexuals" and described the candidates' positions simply as "supports" or "opposes."

In a letter to state chapters in February, Roberta Combs warned that they, too, must follow the 25-word rule when they publish voter guides for state elections, or else stop using the Christian Coalition's name and logo. The settlement has irritated some conservative activists, who think it will make the guides less effective.

I must not be in the target audience for these voter guides, as I do not recall ever having seen one. They sound more abusive than educational, though this surely made them "effective." These activists probably get irritated by state libel laws, too.