Fong Gave to Religious Coalition

U.S. Senate candidate Matt Fong, who has sought to position himself as a moderate Republican, donated $50,000 to a conservative Orange County religious coalition that seeks to outlaw abortion and block gay-rights laws.

Fong spokesman Steve Schmidt said the money was given earlier this year to the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition because Fong is a friend of the coalition’s chairman, the Rev. Lou Sheldon.

“Rev. Lou’s group is about voter participation and involvement, and Matt Fong supports people being involved in the process,” he said.

Fong, who is in a close race with incumbent Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer, spoke at an Orange County Republican rally in Costa Mesa on Saturday. He did not mention the donation or the coalition during his brief speech.

The coalition is an umbrella group of 32,000 religious organizations that lobbies for tougher anti-obscenity laws, supports school prayer and favors a public school curriculum that includes a Biblical description of creation.

Sheldon has likened abortion to murder and is a strong opponent of gay rights.

By contrast, Fong supports hate-crimes legislation and abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. He also supports President Clinton’s choice for ambassador to Luxembourg, James Hormel. The coalition opposes the appointment on the grounds it would advance a “homosexual agenda.”

Fong’s donation does not signal an endorsement of the coalition’s complete agenda, Schmidt said. “Rev. Lou and Matt are friends, they have been for a long time. They agree on some issues and disagree on others,” he said.

“The fact is that Matt Fong is very much in the mainstream,” Schmidt said.

Sheldon said the $50,000 was a “pro-family donation” and would be used for an initiative to ban gay marriage. When Fong made the donation, he was locked in a close primary battle with conservative Darrell Issa, who alerted fundamentalist broadcasters to the fact that Fong had recently been endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay group.

In May, Sheldon came to Fong’s defense, releasing a letter that accused Issa of a “vicious attack.”

Sheldon said the donation was unrelated to his letter on Fong’s behalf.