Alabama Christian Coalition third to split from national group

Alabama’s chapter of the Christian Coalition of America dropped out of the national organization Aug. 23, declaring it has drifted from its founding conservative principles. It was the third state affiliate to leave the national group.

Although both sides said they wished each other well, the split was not completely amicable. John Giles, president of the Alabama group, defiantly predicted a mass exodus of other state chapters and the possible organization of a separate Christian grass-roots group with a national presence in Washington.

Roberta Combs, the president of the national organization, was unapologetic and accused the Alabama faction of disobeying legal advice and jeopardizing its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Combs said the Alabama group recently sent out its 2006 candidate survey without getting it cleared by the Washington office, which is required under a recent legal settlement with the IRS. A January letter from the national organization’s attorney warned state chapters that their affiliation could be revoked if the policy was not followed, Combs said.

“We will have another organization in Alabama. We will rebuild in Alabama,” Combs said.

A rift between Giles and Combs opened in 2003, when she campaigned in support of Gov. Bob Riley’s tax reform plan despite the Alabama chapter’s opposition. Giles said he never received an explanation for her intervention. He said the issue divided and confused Christian voters in Alabama and elsewhere, including Iowa, which left the national group in March, followed by Ohio in July.

Giles said the Christian Coalition of America’s arrangement with the IRS was not relevant to the state chapter but any disagreement over the candidate survey was not related to the decision to break away. Instead he said recent positions taken by the national organization were the beginning of a “slipping to the left trend.”

Combs acknowledged changes in the Christian Coalition of America’s goals. “Our mission statement hasn’t changed; we’ve just broadened it,” she said. (RNS)