And not a moment too soon. God-o-Meter doesn’t know whether to respect Dobson for declining to back Huck while Mitt Romney was still in the race–sending a message to evangelicals that he remained open to a Mormon and that the Arkansas Governor didn’t deserve evangelical support just because he’s a Baptist preacher–or too laugh at Dobson’s Dobson’s naiveté in believing his endorsement so late in the game, when his archenemy John McCain has all but secured the Republican nomination, still matters. Here’s Dobson’s statement:
I am endorsing Gov. Mike Huckabee for President of the United States today. My decision comes in the wake of my statement on Super Tuesday that I could not vote for Sen. John McCain, even if he goes on to win the Republican nomination. His record on the institution of the family and other conservative issues makes his candidacy a matter of conscience and concern for me.
That left two pro-family candidates whom I could support, but I was reluctant to choose between them. However, the decision by Gov. Mitt Romney to put his campaign “on hold” changes the political landscape. The remaining candidate for whom I could vote is Gov. Huckabee. His unwavering positions on the social issues, notably the institution of marriage, the importance of faith and the sanctity of human life, resonate deeply with me and with many others. That is why I will support Gov. Huckabee through the remaining primaries, and will vote for him in the general election if he should get the nomination. Obviously, the governor faces an uphill struggle, given the delegates already committed to Sen. McCain. Nevertheless, I believe he is our best remaining choice for President of the United States.
9
posted February 8, 2008 at 10:26 am
Foghorn to Dobson:
“Whoooooooooo Caaaaaaaares?”
posted February 8, 2008 at 10:28 am
So, if McCain adds Huckabee as VP will this give reason to James Dobson, and other like minded evangelicals to vote republican without actually supporting McCain. Maybe this is a move to re-unite the republican party, similar to Gov Romneys move to send his support to John McCain as well. Huckabee might also bring support to John McCain from the NRA-type voters who were almost exclusivley Huckabee supporters. Its clear that if John McCain runs agains Obama he will need all the votes he can get.
posted February 8, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Frankly, I’m glad that Mitt is out of the race. I’ve been concerned about the direction he would lean in some important social issues, due to his deep involvement in the Mormon church. I don’t care what folks say about keeping your religion out of politics: if a person’s faith is genuine, it HAS to affect your values and daily decisions. It’s a part of the way you view everything!
I think it’ll take a miracle to get Huckabee the nomination, but if he’s the candidate that God wants to run our country for the next 4 years, the nomination will come.
posted February 8, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Judy:
There is absolutely no way Huckabee can pick up enough votes to win the GOP nomination. There is no way his folksy, guy next door schtick would cut it if he were to compete in the general election. Independents who bought into this goofy Bush strategy in 2000 and were too scared to vote for a Dem in 2004 won’t make the same mistake twice. Huckabee is too polorizing and frankly, a bit of a goofball.
There is a lot of talk about McCain picking Huckabee as his VP running mate in order to secure the social conservative bloc. Interesting strategy, except that would seal McCain’s spineless transformation from independent mavrick to a “flip flop” on social issues. In 2000 the Pat Robertson’s and Jerry Falwell’s were “agents of intolerance” according to McCain. Now, if he’s able to convince them of his incredible transformation, they’re about to become friends and political allies of the senator. Which McCain would actually lead the country anyway? The one who didn’t allow himself to be manipulated through most of his service in the Congress or the one who is doing whatever it takes to placate the far right fringe of the GOP in order to secure his best shot at winning the presidency? He has proven to be no better than any other politician. It’s not about serving the American people, it’s just him being self-serving.
And I have to ask…do you really believe God has a vested interest in who becomes our next president? God gave all of us “free will” and we can choose to make foolish decisions (ie…electing GW Bush, not once, but TWICE!) and as a country, we have to live with the consequences. Look at the economy, national debt, an immoral war (this is what God wants? You gotta be kidding me!) as a diversion to the real terror threats in Afghanistan and Pakistan, unprotected boarders, etc… What a disgraceful display of incompetence!
Consider that the GOP has had complete control of our federal government for the first six of the past seven years (Congress, executive and now the Supreme Court is leaning right) and look at the state of this nation. It’s a disgrace and how anyone can blame the Dems for this administration’s mismangement of our government and the state of the US today is a farce.
So, are you suggesting God wanted GW Bush to be president of the US for the past seven years so he could leave this country in such a shambles? I’m not buying it! You can’t pin this mess on our Creator.
With Romney out of the picture, I’ll be fliping the “donkey” lever in November.
posted February 8, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Personally, I will not vote Republican. If I did, I’d never vote for Huckabee. He critized and condemned Romney for being Mormon. Saying that Mormons aren’t Christian. Then he has the audacity to seek to have Romney’s group support him. Saying that his faith would play with government. So, I’m expected to think Huckabee wouldn’t? He’s already said that the Constitution should go hand in hand with the Bible and I’m sure he means “HIS” interpretation of the Bible.
Next we have Dobson adding his 2 cents. I trust Dobson less than Huckabee and I don’t trust Huckabee at all! We’ve had 8 years of the Bush Administration, talking about his Christian/Religious rhetoric. Where did it take the country… it divided the country. I should hope that the U.S. is tired of the religious right rhetoric. I don’t believe that the religious right has any interest in the country other than controlling it, mind, body and soul. It’s an attempt to base laws off of what they deem as “biblical”. They only seek to establish their belief system as supreme and in full control. Dobson is no better. He is known for his Christian reconstructionist attitude and in seeking to establish a country solely under their religious understanding of law. Huckabee and Dobson, to me, are as Un-American as you can get.
posted February 9, 2008 at 12:24 am
Huck’s political career PEAKED on Super Tuesday when he won five states…
sure, he might win a state or three more…
but…
he has proven himself to be a candidate with a narrow appeal…
only fellow evangelicals seem to be behind him…
and…
the more national media exposure he gets, the more it is seen that he is an intellectual lightweight…
he’s a people-pleasing campaigner for sure…
but there’s very little there mentally that would suggest that he has what it takes to lead anything bigger than Arkansas…
so…
he’s already on a downhill slide…
he’s gotten as close as a distant second to the Republican nominee…
and that’s as close as he’ll ever get…
there have been many other candidates who got that close and faded away…
he’s just one more…
in 2012, it seems unlikely that he’ll do any better…
faith hope love joy peace to all…
posted February 9, 2008 at 10:27 am
So, is the reason that Huckabee’s rank hasn’t changed disdain for the endorsement or forgetting to move the needle?
posted February 11, 2008 at 10:03 am
Dr. Dobson is so ridiculous it is laughable. When he had a chance to affect this election by supporting a true conservative, Sen. Fred Thompson, he was so ignorant of Federalism that he held the fact that the federal government should not be defining marriage in the Constitution. Apparently Dr. Dobson would like to see a totalitarian government on the order of Benito Mussolini, where the government ran everything.
May G-D be with us,
Christo_Gnostic