Bush met with Dobson and conservative Christian leaders to rally support for Iran policy

[IChing]

Source: Max Blumenthal

President George W. Bush met privately with Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman James Dobson and approximately a dozen Christian right leaders last week to rally support for his policies on Iraq, Iran and the so-called "war on terror."

“I was invited to go to Washington DC to meet with President Bush in the White House along with 12 or 13 other leaders of the pro-family movement," Dobson disclosed on his radio program Monday. “And the topic of the discussion that day was Iraq, Iran and international terrorism. And we were together for 90 minutes and it was very enlightening and in some ways disturbing too."

Details of the meeting were disclosed by Dobson during Monday's edition of his Focus on the Family radio program.

Dobson described Bush as “upbeat and determined and convinced,” adding, “I wish the American people could have sat in on that meeting we had.”

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Bush_meets_with_Dobson_Christian_right_0514.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Pray to kill people ya right

[SharonAnn]

36. "leaders of the pro-family movement" want to kill families? What???

[rpannier]

2. I wish the American people could have sat in on that meeting we had.”

No you don't james dumb-son.
But I do.

The American people would be jeering and throwing shoes, popcorn, soda bottles and chairs at the emperor-and-thief.

[rodeodance]

26. most Americans don't count!

[TwilightGardener]

3. He promised them the Rapture and HE WILL DELIVER!

[Initech]

39. Got that right!

[IndianaGreen]

4. Jesus wants us to murder more people to expedite the Second Coming!

I wonder if these sick fucks laid hands on one another and spoke in tongues in the presence of Gawd's Anointed One, George W. Bush.

[JeffR]

5. Bush no doubt did the speaking in tongues thing

Like he does every time he opens his mouth.

[Cobalt-60]

34. ewww..a room full of wrinkly old religious fanatics laying hands on one another?

ewwwwww!

[C_U_L8R]

6. Bush has no friends

he's left inviting charlatans and hucksters over to play.

They're the only ones left willing to kiss his royal ass.

[MadMaddie]

7. So I gotta question....umm if he is discussing these issues

isn't he violating security protocols.....? This is national security and I gotta feeling he is sharing more than he should be.....

[Megahurtz]

16. Good Question.

Just tell everything to the leader et. al. of the Faux-Christian Fundamentalist Cult.
I mean after all they're completely trustworthy!:sarcasm:

[KamaAina]

8. WWJB

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

:sarcasm:

[eleny]

9. I scratch your wallet - Now you scratch mine

[Megahurtz]

17. Lol!

Sick but true!

[TexasLawyer]

10. Jesus v. Dobson

Jesus: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." (Luke 6:27-31. NIV)

Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." (Beatitudes)


Dobson: ‘We are being threatened and we are going to meet this with force -- whatever's necessary.’”

[Purveyor]

11. This is much more 'dangerous' than it is being taken at first glance. eom

[MadMaddie]

23. I agree with you.....

This meshing with the Religious Zeolots is very dangerous...I would even say Treasonous to the Constitution....

[patrice]

28. I'm thinking about Brzezinsky's scenario for how it will go down.

It's soooooo plausible even a chimp could carry it off.

[drm604]

12. "Details of the meeting were disclosed"

"Details of the meeting were disclosed" = "Propaganda was distributed"

[drm604]

13. The "pro-family movement"

I wish these people would stop polluting the word "family" by acting as if they own it and as if anyone who doesn't agree with their beliefs and agenda is somehow anti-family.

[farmbo]

58. First they besmirch the term "Christian" and now the word "family"

These poeple are "pro-war" not "pro-family"

[grilled onions]

14. The New Crusades Have Begun

Would these "pro family" minions be so gung ho for war if the ones they want to overcome were the same religion they were?????

[drm604]

15. Yes, I suspect they would be

if the ones they wanted to overcome were sitting on a large amount of oil. They would probably try to paint them as being not Christian (excuse me, "pro-family") enough.

[Megahurtz]

18. Seriously BLEH!

:puke:

I can't believe Bush drags Dumson & Fundie-Friends into this. This is bad.

[patrice]

19. Make no mistake about it; there people in the street who support nuclear war

"in the defense of the People of God" (Israel). I talked to this real normal looking middle-class young woman this weekend and tried to make sense with her about what BLASPHEMY is, but got NOWHERE.

I have a very bad feeling about this.

[Jacobin]

21. Those freaks are everywhere

They hear it from the pulpit of RW evangelical churches. I live in an area of high concentration of these whack jobs and yes they are scary and they are Bush's base.

[patrice]

24. I'm Sorry to say, as long as they are "in charge",

if human life IS in fact sacred, a women's right to choose abortion is more of a sacrament than a sacrilege.

[Ian David]

20. Why should military policy have anything to do with religious dogma?

Does anyone doubt that this is NOT about oil, but is in fact Bush deliberately trying to fulfill Biblical End Time Prophesy?

[whistle]

22. The best part of that article is at the end....

<snip>
Later in his broadcast, during a discussion about Iran with author and self-proclaimed "prophecy expert" Joel Rosenberg, Dobson drew a parallel between current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Adolf Hitler.

"The world looked at Hitler and just didn't believe him and tried to appease him the way we're hearing in Washington today," Dobson remarked. "You know, the President seems to me does understand this, as I told you from that meeting I had with him the other day, but even there it feels like somebody ought to be standing up and saying, ‘We are being threatened and we are going to meet this with force -- whatever's necessary.’"

Dobson continued, "Some of our listeners might not like that but I tell you, if we didn't stand up to Hitler, we'd be speaking German today."
<end>

Translation: Dobson says we must start World War Three now!

[dansolo]

40. Someone shoulld remind Dobson which side Prescott Bush was on?

I'll even give him a hint, it wasn't ours.

[pnorman]

52. "....if we didn't stand up to Hitler, we'd be speaking German today."

Metaphorically speaking, Dobson & his ilk ARE "speaking German"!!

Here's some food for thought:

The Most Famous Christian of the 20th Century?

Hint: He was born in Austria, tried to take over the world, and no, he’s not the Governor of California.

Here’s a little trivia question for you. Who was the most famous Christian of the 20th century?

Mother Teresa? Nope. Billy Graham? Nope. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Guess again. Albert Schweitzer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, any and all popes, any and all U.S. presidents…Nah, throw ‘em out.

The most famous Christian of the 20th century was Adolf Hitler.

Sure, we call Hitler infamous today. But before he started gobbling up European countries like they were little bratwurst sausages, Hitler was famous as a world leader with high moral values and a distinctly Christian vision.

In fact, no present politician has more blatantly declared his Christianity than Hitler, or has had his faith so widely accepted. Millions of Christians around the world admired the savvy tyrant; a couple of his more recognizable fans included Britain’s Lloyd George and that all-American idol of idols, Charles Lindbergh. The most appealing of Hitler’s “Christian” attributes included:

•His morality. He did not smoke or drink and he abhorred pornography and homosexuality.

•His call for his nation to repent. “Providence withdrew its protection and our people fell… And in this hour we sink to our knees and beseech our almighty God that He may bless us, that He may give us the strength to carry on the struggle for the freedom, the future, the honor, and the peace of our people. So help us God.” (March 1936)

*His stand against secularism: “Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without religious foundation is built on air; consequently all character training and religion must be derived from faith….” (April 1933)

*His war on atheism: “We were convinced that the people need and require faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out.” (October 1933)

*His blending of church and state: “National Socialism neither opposes the Church nor is it anti-religious, but on the contrary it stands on the ground of a real Christianity… For their interests cannot fail to coincide with ours alike in our fight against the symptoms of degeneracy in the world of today, in our fight against a Bolshevist culture, against atheistic movement, against criminality, and in our struggle for a consciousness of a community in our national life…These are Christian principles!” (August 1934)

•His faith-based charity: “With a tenth of our budget for religion, we would thus have a Church devoted to the State and of unshakable loyalty.” (January 1939)

•His God-given mission to cleanse Germany of evil as personified by the Jews, liberals, homosexuals, labor leaders, homeless people, immigrants from inferior cultures, and the weak and sick. “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” And, “We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit… We want to burn out all the recent immoral developments in literature, in the theater, and in the press—in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of liberal excess…” (March 1936)
*
*
*

http://www.somareview.com/mostfamouschristian.cfm

pnorman

[rodeodance]

25. i find this very disturbing! Mr. Dobson!

[patrice]

27. I dont' understand Dobson's objection to Hitler.

Hitler killed a bunch of people; Dobson will kill a bunch of people if he gets a chance.

snip
Dobson continued, “Some of our listeners might not like that but I tell you, if we didn't stand up to Hitler, we'd be speaking German today."

All other things being equal, what would be so horrible about speaking German?

[wake.up.america]

47. How about a president who can speal English? Ich muss ganz ehrlich...

sagen, dass es nicht so schlimm wäre, wenn wir alle Deutsch sprechen müssten

[Skip Intro]

29. those morons are being used and they don't even know it

yeap, I include bush in that group

who is really pulling the strings, and to whom do they answer? that's what I want to know...

[givemebackmycountry]

30. I still can not be convinced that these people swing elections and need to have their asses kissed..

I live and work in freaking Kansas.
I don't know any Christian zealots.
I don't work with any Christian zealots.
I don't have any Christian zealots living around me ( I know everyone in my building).
Christian fanatics like Dobson and his sheep are easy to spot.
They can't help themselves...they can't go 30 seconds without letting you know "I'm a Christian".

"Pro-Family" my ass.
"Christian" my ass.

These people are psychopaths pure and simple and they are about as godly as the Boston Strangler.

[ComerPerro]

31. the Talibornagains haven't realized yet that they are just tools, this won't wake em up

[vankuria]

32. Was Ted Haggert there?

He's cured right?

[Warren DeMontague]

33. It was Disturbing because Dobson found Bush to be even dumber than himself. nt

[Dukkha]

35. This is the campaign focus for '08

This administration's panders solely to the far right fundy wackos. Their idea of pro-family is attacking any other country that doesn't share their theocracy of hate. This does not sit well at all with the real Middle America and they will jump the sinking GOP ship in a second for a more moderate sane theocracy that won't destroy the economy and kill thousands of innocent lives just for one insane Jesus freak's beliefs.

[madrchsod]

37. what`s the difference between

fundamentalist christians and the fundamentalist muslims? not one thing at all.

[Initech]

38. Why do televangelist scumfucks like James Dobson get to dictate domestic policy?

Can someone explain that to me please? :argh:

[kath]

41. WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB???

and WHO WOULD JESUS TORTURE?? What kinds of torture would he like best?

[MetaTrope]

42. Remember that Pat Roberson's "International Love Lift" financed death squads in Guatemala

These bastards are exactly who Bush wants in his corner.

[Janice325]

43. I don't know what to add that hasn't already been said.

Sheesh.
k&r

[Erika]

44. Christ must have barfed on reading this article.

W again makes me ashamed of what this country has become.

[Kool Kitty]

45. So this is what constitutes a foreign policy team now-

a gaggle of religious zealots. This is so wrong in so many ways, I don't even know where to start. Very, very scary. The new "yes" men.

[Straight Shooter]

46. Was Barney in the room?

Did dog-beater Dobson take a stick to him just to show him who's boss and "break his will"?

I swear, I feel like I'm reading a really, really bad novel. It just gets weirder and weirder.

Ahmadinejad as Hitler? Maybe Dobson for once could consider that we're all very weary of the "this person is Hitler" comparison.

[Miss Chybil]

48. Dear Bush: There are a lot more people in the United States than

those belonging to the Christian Right. A lot MORE. You cannot govern for the few. This is a democracy. Perhaps if you really knew what that really means, you wouldn't have screwed this country and Iraq so bad. Ah, but I think you do know what it means and you just don't care. I hope there is a god to judge you and all the rest of your hypocritical cabal.

[kskiska]

49. Dobson just can't keep his mouth shut about his secret meetings

This isn't the first time he's blabbed and bragged about his access to the administration.

He met with Bolton to set UN policy in December of '05:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/dobson-meets-with-bolton-_b_11561.html

(snip)

…A disturbing reflection of Bolton's plans was provided by James Dobson in today's Focus on the Family broadcast, in which he and FoF President Jim Daly described a private, hour-long meeting they and a group of FoF staffers recently held with Bolton in New York.

Here are key portions of Dobson and Daly's discussion of their meeting with Bolton:

JIM DALY: He's a good man. I mean, everything we saw of him in that almost hour we met with him...he's just a solid pro-life gentleman and uh, certainly more meek than what the Democrats portrayed. He's a nice guy.

(....)

JAMES DOBSON: But we had an opportunity to talk to him about the possibilty of Focus on the Family working with the United Nations. That really did excite me.

DALY: Absolutely. I think what came across in the meeting is that he is pro-life and pro-family and he gave us an invitation to work with him in setting some policy there at the UN that would support the values we believe in.

DOBSON: Now we're finding out why the Democrats didn't want him...

DALY: It had nothing to do...

DOBSON: He's pro-life, pro-family, pro-morality and sees things the way we do regarding condom distribution and abstinence and other things.

[badgervan]

50. Holy Shit

Our Government has been taken over by the end-of-timers. Impeach before Iran gets nuked. Start with gonzo, then cheney, then the idiot in the Oval Office who has taken our country so far away from what we have always stood for.

[Hawaii Hiker]

51. This is EXACTLY why we cannot afford any more F-ing Republican Presidents:

People like Dr. Dobson, Tony Perkins (of Family Research Council), Gary Bauer, etc. should NEVER be sitting in meetings with the president....No democrat will give these clowns (and others like them) the time of day, & that's the way it should be....

What a fucking disgrace, a bunch of religious zealots are sitting w/the president to formulate policy...

:puke:

[TexasLawyer]

53. "dress rehearsal for Armageddon,"

Berkowitz: The Religious Right's New Bugbear Iran
Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 11:49 am

Iran: The Religious Right's New Bugbear

By Bill Berkowitz
Mon Mar 19, 2007

Are Conservative Christian Evangelicals Gearing Up to Join the the Attack-Iran Brigades?

As the launching of the Iraq War commemorates its fourth anniversary it is worth remembering that during the lead up to the invasion a number of conservative evangelicals voiced their support for the war: Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, maintained that Bush's action met criteria for a just war; the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents several dozen denominations encompassing more than 30 million American evangelical Christians, openly supported the war; Mike Evans, who heads the aggressively pro-Israeli Jerusalem Prayer Team, pointed out that war with Iraq could be a "dress rehearsal for Armageddon," the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy.

These days, while the Bush Administration and beltway neoconservatives doggedly crank up the volume against Iran, they are again being joined by several notable conservative Christian evangelical leaders.

<snip>

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0703/S00331.htm

[xxqqqzme]

54. I long for the day when reports covering

meetings between the president and rabid, religious whackosno longer happen......now THAT will be a glorious day!

[19jet54]

55. Last Ditch Lame Duck move?

Bush is doing everything he can to rebuild his poll numbers & stop the Congress from limiting War Funding! So like the biblical kings of old, he goes to the prophets of god for their blessing - All the modern day bible thumpers believe this stuff is real - Dobson is a fool and being played by Bush - Bush is the Anti-Christ!

[Diane R]

56. This is why I am now opposed to organized religion.

[B3Nut]

60. No kidding....

I used to be a fairly conservative Christian. I can see now what it's really about...it's about money and power. It's mind control. I'm still active in an evangelical church as a musician (and it's going megachurch, we've got a new building going up on Madison's west side), but my own faith has decomposed and disintegrated to the point that it could be called at best a cynically agnostic deism. I pretty much just can't believe in a personal, interventionistic deity anymore. If God is supposed to be the moral governor and sovereign of the universe, I can't see how He could be doing any worse of a job. If there actually is a god, I'm pretty sure it sure ain't the Abrahamic one.

These stupid morons get more upset about what people do in their bedrooms than seeing real, actually living human beings being killed because of a lie. I thought bearing false witness was a top-ten no-no! But then again, Old Testament Biblegod is all for genocide, slavery, child rape (cf. Numbers 31), sacrificing one's virgin daughter as thanks for being granted victory in war. Nasty stuff. No wonder Dobson et al are so nasty. War is holy. Sex is evil. Get it right, goddammit! :sarcasm:

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[OHdem10]

57. The Good News is These are the Fundamentalists.

and not the Evangelical Movement. They comprise only about
alittle over 20% of the Population. However, this 20 + percent
are the absolutist base and no Republican can win without
their votes.

The bad news is this fundamentalist strain have been (leaders
of various groups) have been having weekly teleconferences
with GWB at WH since the day he was elected. This strain are
the Apocalypse believers. From time to time I have watched
their programs so I would know what is going on with them.
This group take the End Times prophecies very seriously. Rev Hagee
and Televangist Program have been spreading the word about Iran
as part of the battle of Armagedon. His group profess that
Ahmadinajad is the Anti-Christ.(At one time, if you can believe
it some considered Kissinger would be the Anti-Christ--to say nothing
of the Pope as AntiChrist. Jack VanImpe the End Times Guru keeps
audience holding on for dear life waitng for Rapure, Armageddon
and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I think you get the
picture. Most of these people with the help of these Televangelists
and their own pastors see Iraq, as the openig salvo in the
Great Balltle of Armagedon. In other words they have brought
to believe that we are in phase, Wars and Rumors of Wars. They
have been convinced that Iran is bad--the axis of evil.

The bad news is that Bush had to have a conference to run an update
on Iran by them. I am speculating but we have been getting reports
today that the Administration is going to dialogue with Iran.
It is my guess that this did not go over to well with the Fundies.
(Mr. President) do not go messing up our Apocalytic teaching.
(Just teasing here.

The Worst news is that this small but noisy rip can hold the
country hostage. As long as they stay in Bush's corner,
no one can do much to stop him. I suppose that if your worldview
shows Armagedon just around the corner, then you do not have
to be concerned about other things.

"This small group can veto McCain, Guilliani and Rommney out
of the race for president, but not elect the next President"--David Gergen
CNN

As long as this group sticks with him, he will not do too much
changing.

[PassingFair]

59. Haggard was in the "group".

Wasn't he a leader of the band?

[hatrack]

61. Dobson - "We were all aglow with the blazing double-flash of tactical nuclear weapons going off!"

Dobson probably popped the first chubby he's had in decades at the mere THOUGHT of radioactive craters, cesium isotopes and third-degree flash burns.

[Marnieworld]

62. I wish the American people could have sat in on that meeting too

Why would you gather a group of religious people in order to talk about Foreign Policy? It makes no logical sense. It's like inviting mid-wifes to discuss carbon emissions. The only way it would make sense is if the foreign policy was meant to produce a religious outcome (Jesus coming back). Then he would need religious guidance and he would promise a religious outcome.

I say religious not Dobson's euphemism of "leaders of the Pro-Family movement". Something tells me that pro-family Jews and Muslims were excluded as well as leaders of the "Pro-family" organization of Planned Parenthood. But they want to fool us with the Constitutional loophole. No one ever said Separation of "Pro-family groups" and State did they?

In a sane country with an actual media this would be wall to wall TV coverage of outrage or at least confusion and scandal over this. But instead we have the internet press. At least it's something.

[Cass]

63. This really bothers me.

Religious zealotry should have no place in our government. The fact that this President feels it appropriate to hold discussions about critical middle east foreign policy issues with religious fundamentalist zealots makes me question Bush's competency even more.

However, having said all that, I believe that this meeting was an attempt to garner some support for Bush from somewhere. His poll numbers are tanking and even republican politicians are abandoning Bush so he's looking to dig up support somewhere. Bush speaks their language so I guess he thinks they're an easy group to win back.

[DrDan]

64. gosh - I guess his 29% approval is not nearly that high

if he is turning to Dobson for support for his foreign policy, he is really in trouble

[LibertyLover]

65. This story makes me mad in so many ways

First, who the hell are these people that the president of the freakin' US of A should give them a 90 minute personal briefing on foreign relations? How dare a president, who can't even be bothered to address Congress, as representatives of the American people, let alone the country as a whole, on this topic, talk to fundamentalist Christian leaders for an hour and a half? So that they can go back to their radio stations and mega religious organizations and coyly allude to the fact that they have the president's ear and confidence, thereby raking in more money from their flocks. This preference of the Bush administration for briefing fundamentalist Christian group leaders before the Congress and the American people is, to my mind, immoral, illegal and impeachable.

[damntexdem]

66. The only real constituency he has left:

RW Christian theocrats more concerned with power than with religion.