Why Hillary Clinton Should Go a-Knocking on Ralph Reed’s Door

Speaking to a religious-right group wouldn’t win Hillary Clinton one vote, but it would be her smartest play—and here’s what she should say.

I see by the papers—make that Politico’s “pixels”—that Governor Chris Christie will speak at a major conservative “pro-family” group on June 20. In appearing before Ralph Reed’s “Faith and Freedom Coalition” gathering in Washington, Christie—according to a “longtime Republican strategist”—is signaling that he’s serious about seeking the nomination in 2016, and that he’s not going to concede evangelical or pro-family voters to others.

For a Northeastern more-or-less-moderate Republican, this courting of the right is a familiar path. Mitt Romney actively and expensively courted Iowa’s evangelicals in 2008 and 2012. So sure, if you’re contemplating a run for the GOP nomination, you’re going to have to be at least acceptable to what Reed likes to call “faith-based conservatives.”

But here’s the question I’ve been asking for years: why hasn’t Hillary Clinton appeared before the Faith and Freedom Coalition—or the Family Research Council’s “Values Voters’ Summit,” headed by Tony Perkins—or any group with a similar focus?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/15/why-hillary-clinton-should-go-a-knocking-on-ralph-reed-s-door.html|