Walter Cronkite, the former television news anchor once known as “the most trusted man in America,” is lashing out at the religious right.
In a fundraising letter for the liberal Interfaith Alliance, Cronkite sharply criticizes the Christian Coalition, calling it a “lavishly funded” group with “harsh right-wing views” and a “militant ideology … one that encourages deep hostility toward those who disagree with its agenda.”
Cronkite, who once interviewed Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed for a cable TV program, urges recipients of the fund-raising letter to say “no” to Reed, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, and Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell. “I work very hard at being a Christian,” he writes. “And certainly, the Christian Coalition does not speak for me.”
Christian Coalition spokeswoman Monica Hildebrandt noted that Cronkite has every right to express his views, but observed that the Interfaith Alliance doesn’t seem to have an agenda of its own. “Their sole objective is to criticize us,” she said. “They’re welcome to do that.”
E.P. News
