Microsoft Defends Ties to Ralph ReedCritics Want Conservative Consultant Fired
by Charles Pope
WASHINGTON -- Microsoft Corp. is paying social conservative Ralph Reed $20,000 a month as a consultant, triggering complaints that the well-connected Republican with close ties to the White House and to evangelist Pat Robertson may have persuaded the company to oppose gay rights legislation.
Reed, who got his start in politics by running the Christian Coalition for Robertson and who had a senior role in President Bush's 2004 campaign, is a leading figure in the social conservative movement that spearheaded opposition to gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion, gambling and other issues.
Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray said the company has hired Reed on several occasions to provide advice on "trade and competition issues." He said Reed's relationship as a consultant with the software company extends back "several years."
Reed's history with Microsoft, coupled with Microsoft's reversal on a gay rights bill for the state, unleashed a vocal backlash against the company yesterday. The bill, which would have made it illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in housing, employment and insurance, failed in the state Senate last week by a single vote. Supporters said that Microsoft's shift tipped the scales.
"Mr. Reed's policies are not the policies of Washingtonians, nor should they be the policies of a world-class leader like Microsoft," said George Cheung, executive director of Equal Rights Washington, a Seattle group whose stated mission is "ending discrimination of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered persons in every corner of the state."
He added, "Microsoft's reputation as a fair-minded company is rapidly slipping away from them, and if Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer are really interested in running a fair-minded company, they would fire Ralph Reed today."
Invoices show that Microsoft is currently paying Reed's firm, Century Strategies, $20,000 a month.
Murray confirmed that the invoices, which were first reported by the Web log Americablog, were authentic.
But he disputed suggestions that Reed had any part in the company's decision to withdraw its support for the gay rights legislation.
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