With Perfect Timing (Ugh!), Dobson Finally Endorses.....Huck
By Mr. Ed Posted in Endorsements — Comments (34) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Rev. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, will announce tomorrow his personal endorsement for Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Rev. Dobson, all I can say is, "Way to stick your neck out!"
Your sense of political timing is amazing. Is there a moment in this race in which your endorsement could have had any LESS impact?
Just wondering.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/5523667.html
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From his point of view its undoubtedly the right thing to do. Its certainly not the politically expedient thing to do.
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Huckabee is the polar opposite of my political ideology, possibly worse than Hillary, yet I understand Dobson and how it could be the right thing to do, if they are aligned ideologically. It's a matter of principle not expediency or politics. Why can't it be the right thing to do?
"To discuss evil in a manner implying neutrality, is to sanction it." AR
If we are talking past each other, when I used the term right thing I meant in terms of his conscience. In terms of effect, if he was trying to promote the cause the move was less than adept.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
If he stays in to try to take second it will be a hollow second and even if he did gain a few delegates he won't win anymore states.
Mitt stole all the thunder as as the one doing the right thing.
Huck is now holding an empty bag.
I mean there are no paroles or pardons to grant but the job has other perks.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
He basically said on Tues night that he wanted a two man race. He knew it was going to happen and said he looked forward to it. He'll be a good sounding board for McCain and they'll emphasize and articulate the Conservative cause. Having some competition will keep some press on them, especially if Huck keeps winning states, while they won't bicker. Hucks accepted the fact that he might not win.
It will give him a chance to become a 3-dimensional candidate for once. If he drops out now, everyone will forever think of him as a fringe candidate. So he won't just be the Evangelical one.
I'm not saying he's going to win or even come close. Just that he wants the national stage, so he can become more than a 1 trick pony.
I give Huck 11 hours, and he will be out
That would be a reasonable prediction if Huckabee was seriously running for President, if he respected the Republican party and cared about keeping Clinton or Obama out of the White House. If that was really Huckabee's intent, he would conclude that having no chance of winning the nomination means it's best to get out of McCain's way.
However it makes perfect sense for Huckabee to continue running, if his real agenda is to be anointed by the media as the Jesse Jackson of the Evangelicals.
Before Jesse Jackson ran for President, he was a known civil rights activist, but wasn't yet the preeminent "black leader" that his Presidential run made him. Afterwards, whenever the media needed a sound bite for "What do African Americans think of today's big story?" Jesse Jackson was the man to go to. In recent years, Jackson has had to share that role with Al Sharpton, largely due to Sharpton's own Presidential run.
Huckabee wants to have the same media status for evangelicals as Jackson and Sharpton have had for blacks. The media is happy to oblige Huckabee in this, because he fills a role for presenting their caricature of evangelicals.
The longer Huckabee stays in the race, sharing debate stages with McCain (and Paul to make Huckabee seem reasonable in comparison), maybe even winning a few more states, the more media status he acquires. In his symbiotic relationship with the media, they also get added value from increasing his stature. To the extent the media care about their credibility (which may not be all that much), they won't claim Huckabee has much chance of winning; but in order to maximize the value they get from their pet evangelical, they'll portray him as leading a major social identity movement, changing the face of American politics. The media wants Huckabee as their "voice of the evangelicals," and that's exactly the role Huckabee wants too.
Best post I've read today. I think he actually helps McCain by staying in, giving him a sounding board and forcing the media to devote some time to talk about the republican race. I also think he's staying in to build himself into more of a 3dimensional figure. Sure he used the Evangelical angle to introduce himself and create a niche for himself in a crowded field, but I think he realizes that its one of limited success potential.
But your take could equally be true. Certainly, I think you've got the media's intentions nailed.
... I agree that Huck's reasons for staying in the race a while longer are basically self-interested. He clearly wants to raise his national profile, make connections with party activists who can help him next time, and (possibly) raise some money to pay off campaign debts.
That said, his staying in the race doesn't really hurt McCain. Huck has no shot, and everybody knows it. He's not going to go negative on McCain, which would be a total departure from his strategy up to this point. He's not going to win nearly enough delegates to even force a brokered convention, much less win it outright. If anything, staying in forces the media to give the GOP race more free coverage than they otherwise would at this point.
Hang all traitors and secessionists! Hang them high!
- Me
questions. All the coverage will be about his ego to stay in when he can't win.
I think you make some good points, which may prove me wrong that he would be out by Noon today, but I wish he would get out, and I actually like a lot of what Huck stands for.
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
... I should mention that I expect him to pull out after a couple more primary states. He's probably going to try to make a mark in Louisiana and Kansas, but the only one he could win is Kansas.
Hang all traitors and secessionists! Hang them high!
- Me
He's just not adept at politics at all.
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From what I understand, this is the first time Dobson has ever endorsed a particular candidate in the primary.
He did 'un-endorse' McCain and Guilliani and he criticized Thompson for his unethusiastic campaign. However, he hasn't endorsed a particular candidate until today because he believed there were still two conservative choices left. I never heard him say he couldn't vote for a Mormon.
which speaks to the trepidation among SoCon leaders about Huckabee. Essentially they are afraid if they pull for him they will:
A. get blamed if he loses
B. get lambasted that they are only supporting him because he is "one of them"
C. get blamed if he loses.
D. lose clout with whomever wins.
E. get blamed if he loses.
There is simply a lack of understanding on RS on how Evangelicals think and what they believe.
SteveLA:
Dr. Dobson is simply one of the most admired man in the Evangelical community, having spent the greater part of 30 years fighting for the unborn and lately traditional marriage of one man to one woman. To call him a Pharisee is pure ignorance. A Pharisee is someone who sets man-made rules on man that are unattainable and yet does nothing to help that person. In the New Testament, the Pharisees brought a woman who had commited adultery in front of Jesus and asked whether the woman should be stoned in an attempt to trap Jesus. Pharisees were also selling special doves in the temple in an attempt to make money for themselves. How is Dr. Dobson a Pharisee? By making such statements, you have saddened more than 2 million Christians who listen to Dr. Dobson regularly and who undoubtedly vote Republican overwhelmingly. How does that help our cause of trying to retain the White House?
Back in 1987, Dr. Dobson made a promise that he will never cast a vote for someone who supports abortion. He is simply consistent with his beliefs. McCain, by signing legislation that supports embryonic stem cells research is not 100% pro-life as he claims.
St. Louis Conservative: Since when is a man voted the 25 most influential evangelical in 2004, who has a listening audience of more than 2,000,000 irrelevant?
Neil Stevens:
Dr. Dobson is not just a counsellor. By dedicating his entire life to fight for the unborn, he has earned the right to be involved in the political debate, simply because abortion is one of the hot button issue of our political landscape. If he can influence just one voter (he did influence me) to do what is right, he should stay in the discourse.
Darin H:
Your attempt at a joke is in poor taste. Dr. Dobson, an avid opponent to gambling would never have placed a bet on any sporting team.
Gamecock:
For the last two months, you and your kind have been writing Gov Huckabee's political obituary and this time is no exception. 11 hours from now, I expect an apology from you to Gov Huckabee.
Ender:
I applaud you for being able to see that Dr. Dobson was just being consistent with his core beliefs even though you confessed that you are on the opposite end of the political spectrum from him.
Joliphant:
I applaud you too for daring to compliment Dr. Dobson.
Lastly, I just exhort all you guys to show some respect to Evangelicals. We may be "single issue" as far as abortion and same sex marriage are concerned. Please respect us for our beliefs. If nothing else, we have been faithful as the third leg of the conservative stool that you guys have been championing all along.
He had on a serial womanizer in Newt Gingrich and forgave him for his disgusting behavior (divorcing his first wife while she was in the hospital with cancer, oh and he has since cheated on the second and remarried) because he thought he could be important in Newt's future cabinet. Instead he smeared a Christian man he had never met (Fred Thompson) at the behest of a slimeball.
James Dobson has further compromised himself by foisting his lisping tattooed son onto his organization as his heir despite Ryan having absolutely nothing qualifying him for the organization except his last name. Jesus did not give us the great commission to "go and make disciples, and media ministries which you give to your children by creating mini kingdoms."
James Dobson is over, and I am glad that is the case. He was impotent in Colorado politics which have been drifting leftward despite his disorganized efforts. I wish Dobson had either focused on being a good advice giver and helped someone else prepare to take over who could have continued to do the good work Focus has done, or he would have when he first got jealous of Ralph Reed and Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and the others who had more influence figured out how the game is played, built a powerful grassroots organization in Colorado and then nationwide and then done something to help us.
As it is Dobson looks like an angry old man who is whining. When he attacked Fred for Newt I knew he was out of it. I am more disappointed in him now than I was when I listened to hours of him talking about puberty without knowing how to pronounce the word.
I listened to that particular program and it never occured to me that Dr. Dobson was into the business of forgiving someone. Newt talk about his life and his religion and all you can do is listen and if possible look for evidence of his conversion. Really can't tell if he is genuine or still the serial womanizer that you are referring to.
The problem I have is the "my way, all the way" or "anathema" alternative thinking. I mean if Dr. Dobson sees no distinction between John McCain and Hillary (or Obama, who perhaps is even more pro-abortion than Hillary), then Dr. Dobson is the one who has a problem with operating in the political realm.
Aparently, Dr. Dobson has an absolute list of positions which require 100% obedience to constitute the only acceptible defintion of pro-life. (Not to mention he has also a set of gay-related litmus tests such as DOMA, etc. that he also expects absolute agreement with.)
This is well and good if Dr. Dobson has such a high degree of certainty that he wishes to act as a prophetic voice on this matter.
However, the prophetic voice tends not to be a politically effective one in a republic because it brooks no disagreement and cannot negotiate. Thus the prophet either has followers or enemies.
And this is where I have a problem with Dr. Dobson: he wishes to step into the political arena, but does it with a prophetic mind-set - and that's trying to have it both ways - giving a political endorsement from a prophetic framework.
Your attempt at a joke is in poor taste. Dr. Dobson, an avid opponent to gambling would never have placed a bet on any sporting team.
Is Dr. Dobson an opponent to humor? No, I know for a fact that he's not. And yes, it was a joke and had nothing to do with whether Dr Dobson actually gambles or not. If you didn't understand it, that's ok - it's like predicting a team that has already lost will still do great. The nomination is over, there is almost no mathematical way for Huckabee to win.
Interesting screen name you got there, is this your first post since the whole Miers fiasco? Wow, I can't believe it's been 2 years already since then.
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Two thirds of the world is covered by water,
the other third is covered by Champ Bailey.
I am an evangelical Christian, and there are plenty of them around RedState, so you can knock it off that you think either Dobson, you or both, speak for all evangelicals.
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Two thirds of the world is covered by water,
the other third is covered by Champ Bailey.
Maybe just a few million. Which part of my posting besides that part about betting on the Patriots do you, as a fellow evangelical have a problem with? The abortion part? The embryonic stem cell research? The Pharisee part? Do we share anything in common? I certainly hope so.
By the way, I appreciate your sharpness in noticing "pitbull in size six" refers to Harriet Miers.
Like many evangelicals I have a deep affection for this man. A lot of evangelical teenagers and twenty-somethings were, in a very literal sense, raised by Dobson through his children's radio programming, and because their parents used his childcare books growing up. (BTW, millions of parents of diverse religious backgrounds swear by those books.)
As a result, he is never really going to be "irrelevant" to the evangelical community. They will always respect him, and listen to his opinions. That said, I agree with the majority sentiment in this comment strand that his behavior in this primary season has been aggravating and frivolous.
The problem with Dobson is that he really can't decide if he wants to take an active role in politics or not. If he didn't care so much about issues like abortion and gay marriage he'd probably be content to just run the most successful children's ministry in the world. Nevertheless, the "culture war" issues matter to him, largely because he correctly sees them as barometers for the overall spiritual and moral health of the country. So he gets involved in politics largely to have an impact on those issues. But the problem is that politics is a dirty, complicated, dishonest business, and he's clearly uncomfortable in that world. Having spent a lifetime talking to children, and talking to parents about children, he believes people should be principled, honest, and direct. The constant dissembling, compromising, and loyalty-switching that goes on in politics confuses and disappoints him. So when he endorsed Huckabee, and said that he was speaking just as a "private citizen" he's not just protecting Focus on the Family's tax exempt status. He really thinks of himself that way, even though that's a clearly preposterous idea. You don't get to be John Q Public and call a press conference. So, could he use his influence more effectively? Yes, absolutely. Does he make embarrassing political missteps at times? You bet. Can he be stubborn and unrealistic at times? He sure can. But is he sincere and principled? Yes, he is that too.
Hang all traitors and secessionists! Hang them high!
- Me
1. It was appropriate for him to question the faith of a man he had never met?
2. It is appropriate for him to be handing over Focus on the Family to Ryan?
He is no politician, that's for sure.
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
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Two thirds of the world is covered by water,
the other third is covered by Champ Bailey.