James Dobson and the Implosion Factor

[rodeodance]

I wonder if this would split the Repug vote? If so, good.


http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/10/12/1045/5888

James Dobson and the Implosion Factor
Is the Christian Right's threat to consider supporting a third party candidate smoke and mirrors?
Bill Berkowitz, Talk2Action, October 12, 2007

Despite its oft-written obituary -- particularly in the mainstream press -- the Christian right wing in the United States is alive and ... uh, alive.

It continues to be the most significant sector within the Republican Party; it still brings in large sums of money for its various religious and political enterprises; and it still has a well-oiled infrastruture to go along with high-profile well-connected leaders.

Over the past few years, however, the Christian right has suffered more than its fair share of setbacks including the demise of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition; the deaths of movement leaders, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy; Pastor Ted Haggard's sex and drugs scanda; Ralph Reed's connection to the jailed Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff; and a roster of front-running Republican presidential candidates who are less than desirable to so-called values voters.

Now, Dr. James Dobson is threatening to leave the party.

MORE @ http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/10/12/1045/5888

[MADem]

1. Well, all these bastards are just ripened fruits of a poisoned tree

Rotting and falling off the vine.

I love the "We'll take our ball and go HOME!" threat aspect to this whole exercise. Please do!!!

There's no question that the leaking of information about the "secret" meeting has created media buzz. But is it an empty threat? A well-placed leak to force the party into rejecting Giuliani?...Bear in mind that Dobson has been down this road before. He periodically threatens to bolt the party over one issue or another. The threat could be seen as a way to force the party into putting a candidate acceptable to the Christian right, such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, on the ticket as vice president. Huckabee, who has performed well in recent polls but is still sitting in the second tier of candidates, is a Baptist minister who opposes abortion and gay marriage, making him an attractive candidate to Dobson, et al.

Successful political movements -- and the Christian right has been both successful and decidedly political for nearly 30 years -- encounter their ups and downs. Key leaders pass on, member organisations overreach and lose their focus, the unaffiliated public loses interest in what they're selling, and internal differences develop.

The threat leveled by Dobson and other leaders of the Christian right against the Republican Party could be seen as a politically savvy stare down, or a desperate attempt to hold onto the levers of power within the party. Dobson is betting that Republican officials will blink.