Labor, ACLU Back Christian Coalition

WASHINGTON — The Christian Coalition picked up support this week from two frequent critics, the AFL-CIO and the American Civil Liberties Union, in its defense against a government lawsuit.

The labor federation, which is closely allied with Democrats, argued that the Federal Election Commission suit against the conservative Christian Coalition threatened free speech.

Attorneys for labor and the ACLU said the threat that the election commission’s charges pose to political advocacy groups outweighs any partisan considerations.

If the election commission’s position becomes law, “citizens and labor organizations of every political stripe will be severely constrained in their ability to speak out on policy issues of concern to their members and to the public,” according to the friends-of-the-court brief filed Tuesday.

The commission has alleged that the Christian Coalition violated campaign laws by spending thousands of dollars to promote the candidacies of such Republican politicians as former President George Bush, Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Virginia Senate candidate Oliver North and House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

The Christian Coalition has argued that it broke no law because its campaign materials didn’t expressly advocate the election or defeat of individual candidates.

The election commission’s argument, however, is that the coalition violated the law by improperly coordinating its activities with Republicans. The AFL-CIO and the ACLU agreed with the coalition that the election commission should not be permitted to make that judgment.