RALPH REED vs. ALAN DERSHOWITZ

Wayne Everett Orgar

February 2001

Ralph Reed debated Alan Dershowitz at the 19th Annual Tom McCall Forum on February 22, 2001. The debate was held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon before a capacity audience. Ralph Reed is the former executive director of the Christian Coalition and is now a political consultant. Alan Dershowitz is a well-known author and law professor at the Harvard School of Law, where he was tenured at the young age of 28. The topic was "Religion, Politics, & The Constitution."

If you ever have the chance to hear Alan Dershowitz speak, take the opportunity. He can take a topic like the Constitution and light up the night. In contrast to Ralph Reed's soft-spoken general presentation, Dershowitz speaks with great passion and specificity. It is obvious - he really cares about civil liberties.

Reed tried to put a non-threatening and positive outlook on programs like the faith-based initiative and insisted that he was for the separation of church and state. Dershowitz countered with quotes from Reed, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson that showed the true nature of Reed and his allies. According to Dershowitz, they want to "Christianize" America. Dershowitz said that if you really want to help the poor and the homeless, give them the money directly. He said that the government should not give religious organizations the money so that they can put pressure on powerless people to participate in religious activities.

Reed countered that there would be a choice of secular and religious programs. Dershowitz pointed out that this would not be the case in many small towns and rural areas where a church program would be the only option. He pointed out that many places already have secular programs that need more funding and there is no good evidence that faith-based programs are any better than secular programs.

Reed supported President Bush's position that the Nation of Islam should not receive funds because they engage in hate speech against Jews. Dershowitz pointed out that orthodox Jews could also be conceived as having oppressive practice and speech against women. This places the government exactly in the position of having to discriminate against some religions or even deciding what is or is not a religion. Despite Pat Robertson's recent opinion against the faith-based initiative because it would fund religious organizations Robertson didn't like, Reed said the initiative was as strong as ever.

Reed made the point about how the separation of church and state is not a solid practice in the U.S, citing examples such as the GI Bill and government funds going to the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities to provide services. Dershowitz agreed that the separation is muddled with examples of "In God We Trust "on our money, prayer in Congress, the Supreme Court opening (in his well-turned phrase, "God save us from this court!"), and the city of Chicago paying the Nation Of Islam to police certain neighborhoods. Dershowitz was clearly against this weakening of the wall of separation between church and state.

Dershowitz scored many laughs and applause with his statement that Republicans are for the right to life - until you are born. He said it was an insult that Republicans claim to be concerned about the poor and homeless when they have fought to decrease funding over the past decade for programs to help these people.

Reed continued to use isolated anecdotes of abuses of freedom of speech for Christians. Dershowitz countered with his own examples of oppression of minority individuals by Christians. He pointed out the error of President Bush asking two fundamentalist preachers to pray to Jesus at the inauguration. Reed once again distorted the truth of the Brittany Kaye Settle court case in Tennessee (1). He said that Brittany was given an F simply because she wrote an essay about Jesus Christ. He left out a very important detail. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 1995. It thus let stand the lower court's ruling that the teacher was correct in not allowing Brittany to write on the topic.

Dershowitz seemed unfamiliar with this minor case and when pressed by Reed, finally said he would have represented Brittany. A careful review of the facts and formal court opinion in this case indicates that the student received an F for not following instructions for the assignment and that a teacher had the right to decide what topics are appropriate for research papers. It was thus not a freedom of speech issue under the First Amendment. Still, Reed scored a major point with this myth as he has for the past five years.

Ralph Reed has a Ph.D. in American History from Emory University. This creator of the "Contract With America" and advisor to President Bush is a very clever and articulate man. He pointed out that Jews came to America from the "mother country" in the mid-19th century in an attempt to convey his understanding that our country is a pluralistic nation. He once again left out the more important historical facts. Jewish people first came to the colonies in 1654 from Brazil and were promptly oppressed by Christians (2). They fought in the American Revolution and helped finance it. These facts, of course, would further dispel the notion that only Christians founded our nation.

This Portland audience was very responsive to Alan Dershowitz and applauded frequently. Ralph Reed received some applause from a smaller contingent. Both debaters used humor very well. However, at a few points toward the end of the evening, outright laughter broke out when Reed was trying to make serious points.

In summary, this forum chose a timely topic with excellent representatives for the opposing viewpoints. The evening was well worth the $16 ticket. It is difficult to summarize and report on a debate. With the lights out, my notes were a scrawl at best! I will accept full responsibility for any errors and my obviously biased view of the event.

1. Settle vs. Dickson County School Board, U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit, No. 93-6207, On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Decided and Filed May 8, 1995.

2. Peters, Madison C. The Jews Who Stood By Washington. The Trow Press: NY, 1915.