Dobson's propensity toward line-in-the-sand challenges are part of why his popularity is waning. He continually paints himself into corners, such that his threats do not have credibility.

He would be better off simply working with McCain and meeting privately on this issue, offering positive public reinforcement for moves in the right direction.

Posted by: kevin s. | April 1, 2008 10:54 AM

Marcia - Marcia - Marcia -

There are so many people that make a statement and then because the paradyme changes - they have to change too. Did you think that Dobson would vote for Hilary or Obama if McCain won the Rep. Primary? Paint himself into a corner - I don't think so. I think Dobson knows that if would be productive to work with McCain than either of the other two. Why don't you write about the supporters of the other two? Of - write about the other two - tell me who you believe will still be standing in a few months and why?

Conservatives do care about life - but it is not the only issue we care about.

Blessings -
.

Posted by: Moderatelad | April 1, 2008 11:22 AM

Moderatelad,

Actually, I doubt she thought he would vote for Clinton or Obama. Maybe she thought he wouldn't vote - after all, that's what he said he would do, isn't it?

Dobson, quoted from the above link: "Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life."

That's not a paradigm change - it is the definition of painting yourself into a corner. Things turned out exactly as he described them in the quote. Either he bluffed and it didn't work, or he made an absolute statement that he shouldn't have made and now has to go back on what he said. Either way, not one of Dobson's finer moments.

Posted by: Jake | April 1, 2008 11:36 AM

Posted by: justintime | April 1, 2008 11:33 AM

They also give it away more than liberals. (I am not talking about Obama - although that is a good example)

Blessings -
.

Posted by: Moderatelad | April 1, 2008 11:39 AM

"[Conservatives] also give it away more than liberals. (I am not talking about Obama - although that is a good example)"

Wealthy conservatives have more money to give away to their pet charities which may or may not be other than advocacy shells that are designed to shore up their own interests, but whatever they give, it's unlikely to match the widow's mite that was her all, that Jesus speaks of.

Public philanthropy really isn't so much selfless generosity as it is self-promotion.

Yes, there are plenty of hospital wings and univeristy halls named after the rich person who endowed them - with just that naming as a requirement.

Some of them are named after the gigantic crooks on Wall Street who've now been bailed out to the tune of government billions, courtesy the common taxpayer who doesn't have so much to be genberous with after paying those taxes on their behalf.

Since Christians are called to "sell all they have, give it to the poor, and follow Me" - there is a whole multitude of religious hypocrites out there.

Posted by: N.M Rod | April 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Posted by: carl copas | April 1, 2008 12:11 PM

Maybe 'paradyme' was not the best word to use. But it did not play out the way he thought or hoped it would. Even I commented on this site a long time ago that I thought that Dobson went out on a limb. I would have rather seen one of the other two as the Republican Canidate - but now I have McCain - oh well. There is a lot that I can agree with him on. Good grief - I don't agree with my wife on everything - thats life.

Blessings -
.

Posted by: Moderatelad | April 1, 2008 12:21 PM

I don't much care for Dobson - like so many who claim to speak for the religious right, he has a bad habit of speaking without thinking. I gave up on him when he declared that eating cherry pie was a sin.

But I am a bit annoyed at the schadenfreude of this post. Dobson is just twisting in the wind as are many conservatives these days who see nothing but difficult choices in the upcoming Presidential elections. It isn't at all surprising that he would be a bit inconsistent at this point.

Posted by: Gordon | April 1, 2008 12:30 PM

Posted by: Jake | April 1, 2008 11:36 AM

Either way, not one of Dobson's finer moments.

In agreement - but people can change their mind. I would like to know why in most cases. Like I said before - I posted on this site that I believed that Dobson should not have made the statement he did at that time.

Blessings -
.

Posted by: Moderatelad | April 1, 2008 12:34 PM

"Prove it."

Arthur Brooks' book, "Who Really Cares?" does precisely this. What you know of conservatives comes from Dailykos.

Posted by: kevin s. | April 1, 2008 2:35 PM

Justintime wrote: "From what I can tell, the issue 'conservatives' care most about is money - their own money."

Justintime, please remember the Beliefnet guildines:

"Disruptive behavior may include... making statements that are deliberately inflammatory..."

Please refrain from deliberately inflammatory comments.

I'll try, but please remember that progressives have feelings too.

Posted by: justintime | April 1, 2008 3:20 PM

"In "Who Really Cares," Arthur C. Brooks finds that religious conservatives are far more charitable than secular liberals..."

Well, duh.

The problem with the book (which has been heralded and promoted by religious political partisans, for obvious reasons, which are far from disinterested) is that the breakdown is based on a single survey, which demographics don't match the larger population and in fact show that "moderates" - the larger middle - are far less giving than either liberals or conservatives whose giving levels are far closer to each other.

Skeptics have questioned the underlying accuracy of basing so much on the SCCBS, in large part because it reports that liberal families make more money than conservatives and it is not clear from Brooks’s book whether the survey is of a representative national sample. By contrast, the 2000, 2002, and 2004 General Social Surveys, which are representative samples of the US, show conservative families making $2,500 to $5,600 a year more than liberal families in each one.

From the book itself:

"When it comes to giving or not giving, conservatives and liberals look a lot alike. Conservative people are a percentage point or two more likely to give money each year than liberal people, but a percentage point or so less likely to volunteer [citing the 2002 General Social Survey (GSS) and the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (SCCBS)]."

To me, it seems a lot like this is another "Bell Curve" sort of book, heralded by certain conservatives, which supposedly proved assumptions about different inherent intellectual capabilities among America's racial communities that account for the continued discrepancies in economic and educational performance, "proving" that no amount of the hated "affirmative action" policies will ever make any difference and are therefore simple government waste.

Posted by: Sojourner Truth | April 1, 2008 3:36 PM

"Before signing off with Hannity, Dobson made it clear that McCain's support of the pro-life and pro-marriage planks in the Republican Party platform was not enough; he wants assurances from the Arizona senator that he will oppose embryonic stem-cell research as well. "That's a major one for me," Dobson said. "You can't really call yourself pro-life if you're going to kill those babies.""

This guy is full of CRAP! And the candidate for any public office he endorces is inconsequential to his alleged holy commission. That he's on Fox Noise with that halfwit Hannity takes away from his credibility as a man of faith. Dobson is just anhother religious whore straddling the beast of the state, who, when the beast has had its fill of spiritually adultrous fornication, will be thrown off in public humiliation before all the world. Dobson needs to exit the political arena while he still has a following.

Posted by: rage | April 1, 2008 4:00 PM

Duh --

McCain's in a bit of a corner himself. He needs the religious right to win -- he needs every vote he can get to win. People who are liberal at all are pretty drawn to Obama -- and will be more so if he gets the nomination.

I liked Dobson a lot better before he got into politics -- but he still has a right to voice his strong views. His views are news or we wouldn't be reading them here. Seems like the "more loving side" of Christianity enjoys beating him up.

The conservative right is still there -- they may evolve a little, but they won't go away before the end of this election.

Posted by: Connie | April 1, 2008 5:35 PM

justintime;;nasty, nasty.+ progresssives have feelings too. duh! for whom? when? do you really think mod, wolfy and jesse speak for all conservatives? do all conservatives think the same way?

narrow minded non conservatives griping about people with money. thinking that our whole economic system only enriches the rich. look into all the billion dollar benevolent/endowment trusts and see who funds them and where the money goes. who benefits from the businesses that are so evil, like jobs, retirement, medical benefits, etc., etc. ignorance of how our economic system works is rampant. believing that government can make everyone better somehow, is a mistake.
i guess n m rod thinks we would be better off without all those hospital wings.
right on gordon; thank goodness we have the dems. spouting consistency. lets see if we can find any more republicans/conservatives who are inconsistant.
marcia throws out a cheap observation about an easy target, going nowhere with the comment. i ask her - so what?
is it important whether or not dobson votes? how will we know?

Posted by: jerry | April 1, 2008 6:55 PM

"who benefits from the businesses that are so evil, like jobs, retirement, medical benefits, etc.,"

Well, the manufacturing and many other sectors continue their slide as those businesses offshore and outsource our jobs. There are fewer benefits like retirement and medical insurance all the time for whatever remains.

"i guess n m rod thinks we would be better off without all those hospital wings."

Not necessarily, of course - depending who gets to access them. The issue was what motivated the giver - altruism or shameless self-promotion or a deduction? Most hospitals are now businesses pure and simple, so the accounting might be complicated as to how the benefits to an interested donor might play out.

Posted by: N.M. Rod | April 1, 2008 8:34 PM

Bye, bye Jimmy...
I agree with another writer that James Dobson of course has the continued right to be a leader and to share his opinions. We cannot discount the people who have been helped by his writings and counsel, but once he entered politics he lost me completely. He has tried to influence by demand, by control and by repeated claims to take his toys and go home, all of which is so irritating and damaging to believers seeking dialogue. My hope is that he just quietly casts his private vote and that people stop begging for his opinion as the only voice of conservatism.

Posted by: Karen | April 2, 2008 8:40 AM

If Dobson wants to be a man of his word then he can not vote for McCain, however he also knows that if McCain somehow loses this fall in a very close election while Dobson held his support from him then Dr.Dobson my be blamed by many conservatives for helping to elect Clinton/Obama. I hope he holds to his convictions and does not support McCain, I will respect him if that is what he elects to do. Just as I hope true progressives hold to our convictions and cast a vote for Nader. peace to all.

Posted by: Steven | April 2, 2008 9:42 AM

Posted by: Ernie | April 2, 2008 9:02 AM

So - if you do support war - you are not a Christian? Don't think that one works.

whatever -
.

Posted by: Moderatelad | April 2, 2008 10:18 AM

Sorry, moderatelad, but I never said supporting war equals not being a Christian (though it's very important if you read the Sermon on the Mount), I only said supporting war equals not being pro-life, and especially not being one who can lecture others on how to be pro-life (which is Phariseism at its purest). Now if being pro-life means being pro-embryos only, I agree that Dobson is pro-life. But in this case I guess it must be up to anybody to define what life is and then proclaim themselves whatever they like. And if one can be a Pharisee and a follower of Jesus at the same time, that is a whole new discussion.

Posted by: Ernie | April 2, 2008 12:40 PM

Do liberals give more?

In the first place it depends on what you mean by liberal and what you mean by conservative, Kev.
You're more radical than I am on some things and I'm more conservative than you are on other things.
Do you have more or less money than I do?
I don't care about that.
Do you give more or less of your monetary income to worthy causes than me?
I don't care about that either.
'Do liberals give more or less than conservatives?' is unprovable and silly to argue.

However I do care whether corporate entities are benevolent or predatory on a scale of performance.

Posted by: justintime | April 2, 2008 3:02 PM

The pendulum is swinging! One generation of leaders
wanes and another is sent to fill the vacancy. God's will is going to be done. Its all about Him!
God Bless James Dobson. You've done well.

Posted by: Larry Koppen | April 2, 2008 4:59 PM

I was disappointed when James Dobson decided not to try and cure his neighbor, Ted Haggard of gayness.
Especially after bragging that his deprogramming methods cure homosexuality.
This would have been a chance for him to prove his methods to the world.
Did he lose faith?

Posted by: justintime | April 2, 2008 10:00 PM

James Dobson in the April 2 Wall Street Journal:

I have seen no evidence that Sen. McCain is successfully unifying the Republican Party or drawing conservatives into his fold. To the contrary, he seems intent on driving them away.
To my knowledge, he has not reached out to pro-family leaders or changed any of the positions that have troubled them. He still believes, for example, that federal money should be allocated for laboratory experiments with tiny human embryos, after which they would be killed when they are no longer useful. He continues to favor allowing each state to create its own definition of marriage, potentially giving the nation 50 different legal interpretations. It would create chaos within families.
One of his senior advisors asserted recently on Fox News that 'the right' can just go its own way, stating that McCain can win by attracting moderates and crossover Democrats. That seems to be the strategy. These are not the policies and pronouncements of a man who is seeking to 'unify the party.' Indeed, they appear to be fracturing an increasingly divided constituency.
...
Will Dobsonites boycott McCain?
I certainly hope so.

Posted by: justintime | April 3, 2008 1:37 AM

justintime: "Will Dobsonites boycott McCain?
I certainly hope so."

Me too, ardently.

Posted by: carl copas | April 3, 2008 1:11 PM

I think we're giving Dobson too much credence. We need to seriously lay off the straw-man attitudes towards conservatives. His listeners don't do exactly what he says. They're smart people just like the progressives. The Church needs to seriously get back together and agree with one another. We're not different, we're just looking at things from different perspectives.

We talk a lot about a "prophetic voice" speaking into the political climate concerning poverty and justice. This is an important issue that has been ignored by the Church over the years, but at the same time we shouldn't be attacking our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are also speaking prophetically concerning the sins of sexual immorality and abortion. Both sides do need to make sure it is just a prophetic voice and not try to shove any agenda into politics and say "tis thus or naught." Rather we should speak in a unified voice to the nations of the world, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." Turn from your wicked ways, your idolatry, your sexual perversions, you oppress the righteous and the poor, you ignore the plight of the widow and the alien. The good news has arrived, and it is forgiveness of your sins!

Posted by: Steven Kippel | April 3, 2008 6:34 PM

If James Dodson was really upset with the
Republicans over abortion and stem cell
research and really wanted "to send a
message" he would endorse and support
the nominee of the Constitution Party.
I disagree with much of what that party
advocates but they definitely are "for
real" and have principles. But don't
hold your breath waiting for that to
happen. My hunch is that Dobson will
raise a fuss but when it comes down
to it he will join Rush Limbaugh and
vote for McCain.

Posted by: RJ Hayes | April 4, 2008 10:49 PM