Prostitute for Christ

Georgia's own Ralph Reed was shocked, shocked to learn that he was a whore for online gambling companies:

Ralph Reed, who has condemned gambling as a "cancer on the American body politic," quietly worked five years ago to kill a proposed ban on Internet wagering -- on behalf of a company in the online gambling industry.

Reed, now a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Georgia, helped defeat the congressional proposal despite its strong support among many Republicans and conservative religious groups. Among them: the national Christian Coalition organization, which Reed had left three years earlier to become a political and corporate consultant.A spokesman for Reed said the political consultant fought the ban as a subcontractor to Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's law firm. But he said Reed did not know "the specific client" that had hired Abramoff: eLottery Inc., a Connecticut-based company that wants to help state lotteries sell tickets online -- an activity the gambling measure would have prohibited.

Watch as Ralph bears false witness to avoid time in the slammer:

Some anti-gambling activists reject Reed's contention that he didn't know his work against the measure benefited a company that could profit from online gambling.

"It slips over being disingenuous," said the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, who worked for the gambling ban. "Jack Abramoff was known as 'Casino Jack' at the time. If Jack's doling out tickets to this feeding trough, for Ralph to say he didn't know -- I don't believe that."

You and everyone else, Father Tom.

Watch for Ralph to come down with an advanced case of Saint Ronnie's Syndrome as the law catches up with his pal, Abramoff:

In an interview last month about his consulting business, Reed declined to elaborate on his personal and professional relationships with Abramoff. At one point, Reed was asked if Abramoff had hired him to work for clients other than Indian tribes.

Reed's answer: "Not that I can recall."