What’s Behind the Curtain of Giles’ Christian Coalition?
The head of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, Dr. Randy Brinson is suing John Giles, who led the Christian Coalition of Alabama for eight years.
The suit contends that after Giles was asked to resign from the CCA, he has refused to give the group’s current leadership necessary records, including membership and lists of contributors, or to give up its official Web site. The suit contends that the latter has caused confusion, leading many to believe that Giles is still with the organization.
This raises all kinds of interesting questions about why Giles won’t turn over the records. Can you imagine a pastor leaving a church and refusing to turn over the church’s membership records to the new leadership? Can you imagine the outgoing head of a charity refusing to turn over donor lists to the new director?
Why has John Giles so adamantly refused to reveal who has bankrolled the Christian Coalition of Alabama even to the new leadership of the Christian Coalition of Alabama? Would there be more embarrassing revelations like the finding from 2005 congressional hearings that the CCA was using casino money to fight Gov. Siegelman’s proposed lottery? (The CCA claimed they were “tricked.”) Steve Flowers went so far as to say in 2006, “The Coalition headed by John Giles was discredited last year when it was revealed that the group was supported financially by Indian gambling interests.”
And what kind of institution has so little organizational structure that outgoing leadership can prevent new leaders from getting those kind of bookkeeping records? I mean, I can imagine a garden club where an outgoing leader could keep anybody from knowing whose dues were current. But a professional organization?
This really reinforces the idea (suggested previously) that the Christian Coalition has been propped up by donors with a political agenda but has no real organization or membership.
Giles stated “that filing a lawsuit was not the way Christians should handle their differences.” But what is Brinson to do? He’s not asking for monetary damages. Giles has even kept the url for the Christian Coalition’s website (http://www.ccbama.org/) and is using it for his new organization, Christian Action Alabama. The title bar (at the very top of the browser) on every page of the web site except the home page reads “Christian Coalition of Alabama” though the content refers to Christian Action Alabama and has nothing to do with the Christian Coalition of Alabama.
(R) Jeff Sessions (1-19)
(D) Vivian Figures (33-1)
(D) Artur Davis (1-49)
(R) Mike Hubbard (13-1)
(?) David Bronner (OFF)
Now I’m no fan of Giles but I thought he just renamed the CCA to CAA and the Brinson re-started CCA. Is that not right? If that’s the case then it seems reasonable for Giles to keep all that info.
Comment by Steven — May 21, 2007 @ 10:22 am
I don’t think that’s right. Giles resigned from the Chistian Coalition of Alabama, then later started his new orgnaization. In the resignation letter submitted by Giles, he said that he was resigning in order to pursue personal interests in the private sector and to give someone else a chance to run the organization. Giles’ letter stated: “I believe it may be time for a fresh face in this capacity. In my view it is sensible to have new leadership emerge periodically.”
Comment by Roy — May 21, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
Perhaps Brinson wuld like to tell everyone in Alabama about the creditors all over the country who were chasing him all over Alabama before Milton MacGregor retired his debt.
Brinson is a total sellout to gambling. What a sham.
Comment by Clinton no Reagan — May 21, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
My goodness. Why would the good folks at CCA select such a charlatan as their leader?
Comment by Roy — May 21, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
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Pingback by Birmingham Blues » Blog Archive » Christian Coalition Catfight — May 22, 2007 @ 10:03 am
I thought renamed CCA to CAA when he pulled out of national organization. I guess I’m confused.
Comment by Steven — May 23, 2007 @ 10:27 am
[…] What’s Behind the Curtain of Giles’ Christian Coalition? […]
Pingback by BTL: Hissy-fits in Christendom — June 7, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
[…] If you want to see the details of the Christian Coalition suit (discussed at greater length here), you can see the filed papers in a large pdf file (23 MB). […]
Pingback by Three Items on Christian Coalition of Alabama » Doc’s Political Parlor — July 27, 2007 @ 2:52 am
Giles and his board changed the name of the Christian Coalition of Alabama to Christian Action Alabama when they decided to split (in terms of their name) from the National Organization. The National Christian Coalition started down the path of feel-goodism and started monkeying in the minimum wage debate, environmental issues, and other liberal areas that were never a core part of the organization from its inception. The CC of Alabama was a separate 501c4 organization that received no monetary support from the National Organization nor any administrative assistance whatsoever. All assets (including names, databases, mailing lists, website, office equipment, etc…) were owned by Giles and the board. It would be like changing the name of your restaurant from Bob’s Catfish House, to Bob’s Seafood Cabin, and then someone else comes along and decides to use the name of your old restaurant(Bob’s Catfish House) and then wants all your assets. The new joker doesn’t own squat. You flip him a bird and tell him to go get his own restaurant. Brinson’s a retard who’s in the back pocket of McGregor already. Check out the more reliable news sources for the real scoop on the lawsuit. Brinson had to drop the suit because he would have gotten his ass kicked in court.
Comment by WG — August 21, 2007 @ 8:55 am
Thanks, WG. If the new restaurant continued to use the old restaurant’s name on its website, it would create some confusion, and that was part of the issue. Since settling the lawsuit (or as a part of settling it), Christian Action Alabama has removed many of the confusing references that made its website appear as if it belonged to the Christian Coalition.
The old Christian Coalition of Alabama was in an official relationship with the national organization that it felt like it had to publicly and officially sever. Divorces are messy as folks often argue about who gets what. The old Christian Coalition of Alabama no doubt benefited from that relationship with the national group in terms of fundraising and membership. (If there was no benefit, why would they have joined with them.) When the relationship ended, I understand the argument that the national group could make that the local group raised money and gained members under the national group’s auspices.
I don’t think a local chapter of, say, the March of Dimes or Big Brother/Sister, no matter how independent, could disassociate itself from its national parent and not be expected to hand over info like local membership lists for the next incarnation of the local group.
In any case, I’m glad that, as far as I can tell, it seems to have worked itself out.
Comment by Danny — August 21, 2007 @ 3:50 pm