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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Shift To Right Imperils Gop, Big Donors Told

Washington Post

The former finance chairman of the Republican Party, in a bluntly worded letter to major contributors, warned this week that the party’s future “is in jeopardy” because of the influence of the Christian Coalition and the “far right” and suggested big donors shift their money to a new organization that will promote a moderate agenda for the GOP.

The letter by John A. Moran, who also served as Bob Dole’s finance chairman, called the election of Jim Nicholson as Republican National Committee chairman a sign of the Christian Coalition’s growing dominance and said the current trend within the party will make it virtually impossible for the GOP to recapture the White House in the future.

“The Republican Party seems to keep digging a deeper hole among American women,” Moran wrote in the Feb. 10 letter. “Bill Clinton was re-elected by the female vote in this country. … Unless we bring back women and moderates to the Republican Party, it will be a long time before we again see a Republican president.”

Clinton’s overwhelming advantage among women voters last November, along with Republican losses in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, have alarmed party moderates, whose influence has declined in direct proportion to Republican gains in the South and West.

Moran’s letter reportedly was sent to many of the RNC’s Team 100 members, who contribute $175,000 each over a four-year period.