The G.O.P.'s Troublemaker

Gary Bauer, the new voice of the Christian right, strikes fear in the party: he won't play nice

For the Republican Party, the Christian right has been a blessing and a curse. It mobilizes millions of voters but alienates a lot of others. In Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, the G.O.P. had a baby-faced, backroom-working pol who wasn't averse to cutting deals with the party's more secular factions. The new leader of the party's Christian troops is Gary Bauer, the longtime president of the pro-life Family Research Council, and all he has in common with Reed is a baby face. "I'm more comfortable pushing from the outside," he says. Translation: he's not averse to bringing down the G.O.P. ship.

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