Your morning jolt: Is Ralph Reed running for Congress?

Ralph Reed at an Atlanta rally to protest health care legislation last August.

Ralph Reed, the former state GOP chairman and head of the Christian Coalition, is expected to announce whether he’s in or out of the 7th District congressional race this morning.

He’s said he’ll make the announcement via his Twitter account.
State Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville) and Rep. Clay Cox (R-Lilburn) are already in and running.

Ten days after U.S. Rep. John Linder announced his retirement, an entry by Reed would be considered late – a candidate’s potency will be measured by a March 30 fund-raising deadline. But raising cash has always been a Reed strong point.

The question for Reed is a) whether he wants to divert time from his new Faith and Freedom Coalition; and b) whether he thinks voters can get past his former association with Jack Abramoff, which sank his 2006 bid for lieutenant governor.

We’ve had some conversations with people close to Reed. They say they have no idea whether he’s in or out. The GOP strategist was in Iowa last night with Rick Santorum at a meeting of the Iowa Christian Alliance.

This account from the Iowa Independent doesn’t sound like a candidate with an eye on Congress:

Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition and a veteran Republican strategist, told a Des Moines crowd Tuesday night that he was helping establish an Iowa-based Christian political organization, and if he could raise $500,000, Hawkeye State politics would be changed for the better.

With that money, Reed said his organization — the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition — can promise results like the nation saw in the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts. Reed said the national version of his organization was highly involved in those campaigns, each of which saw Republican victories on Election Night.

“We need to raise about a half a million dollars to execute that program,” he said. “The program that I just described to you that made history in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, if you want to see it happen in Iowa we need to raise a half a million dollars.”

Roll Call adds this:

But a number of Georgia GOP insiders said Tuesday afternoon they believe the former lieutenant governor candidate will simply be announcing that he will pass on the congressional contest.

According to one source, Reed — a well known conservative voice who lives in the district — has not reached out to key supporters in Georgia about a run. Others pointed out that his trip to New York on Monday for a Fox News appearance isn’t the move of a would-be candidate getting his team together ahead of a congressional campaign announcement.

The Republican candidates for governor gathered in Centerville, Ga., on Tuesday night. Just prior to the forum, U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal of Gainesville joined his fellows on the ethics bandwagon.

Deal announced that, as governor, he would impose a total ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists on his office. From his press release:

“My office in Washington has operated for a number of years under this policy, which is over and above the rules of the House of Representatives,” Deal said. “I think Georgians have made it clear they want open, honest, ethical government and I believe that starts at the top.”

But today’s report on Centerville debate, from the Macon Telegraph, includes this exchange between Deal and former state senator Eric Johnson of Savannah:

Deal recently announced that he will soon retire from his congressional seat, though when exactly he will depart Washington for good seems to be in doubt.

During a segment of the debate when the candidates were given the chance to ask each other questions, Johnson asked Deal if he would resign his seat in Washington on March 31, as he has suggested, or when the health care vote was completed.

Deal left the door open to resigning before the House of Representatives votes on President Obama’s health care proposal.

“I’m still a bit confused,” Johnson responded.

Every now and then, we need reminding that Washington is a very, very different place. The Post does it today, and Saxby Chambliss helps, in a piece that starts like this:

It’s no secret that members of Congress broker deals on the treadmill or in the weight room of the House and Senate gyms.

But former congressman Eric Massa’s accusation that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once berated him in the gym’s shower over his vote against President Obama’s budget left Washington watchers wondering how much business politicians conduct while naked.

The answer, lawmakers revealed Tuesday, is not much.

The private gyms are sanctuaries where lawmakers can huff, puff and disrobe knowing that only fellow members will see them.
If Massa’s shower tableau did take place — a scenario the White House denied — several said it’s far from the norm.

“This morning I talked with Lamar Alexander about a hold” on a nomination during his daily workout, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said. But Tester said, “I don’t go in the shower. I don’t accost people.”

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said he often goes to the Senate gym to do a rubber-band exercise for his arms — the 66-year-old said he has bad rotator cuffs — but that he most loves sitting in the sauna with his colleagues.

“It’s always fun,” he said.

Asked whether he has had shower encounters like the one Massa alleged, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) was interrupted by an aide — “Senator, we definitely have a speaking engagement” — and whisked away before he could respond.

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