If you thought the least likely political allies would be liberal U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) and the Christian Coalition, think again: the conservative family group is getting behind Schumer's proposed anti-spam legislation.
"For Schumer, the pragmatic alliance makes sense to tap the conservative group's formidable clout on Capitol Hill," the Associated Press said of the alliance. "For the Christian Coalition, it's a chance to broaden its appeal to the political mainstream."
The two sides announced a joint push for the legislation late last week. Schumer's bill would hit repeat spammers with fines and prison time, as well as force mandatory subject line identification that a message is an advertisement. "I sort of had a brainstorm one night and said, 'Why don't I reach out to the Christian Coalition?"' Schumer told reporters. "I called the lady, and she was very enthusiastic."
The lady, Christian Coalition president Roberta Combs, told the AP the Schumer bill aligns to the group's pro-family image. "It's very easy to support this bill," said Combs. "I'm excited about working with him on this because it's something we need."
"If I can line up a bunch of Democrats, and then she can line up a bunch of Republicans, we can make this happen finally," Schumer told the AP. "If I can outflank the special interests, that's progress. I want to get things done, and this is a good way to do it," said Schumer. "Spam is really ruining one of the great inventions of the 20th century."
