Is Dobson's Obama Hit Backfiring?

[WhiteTara]

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1818313,00.html

After years of attacking Democrats with relative impunity for their supposed moral failings, Evangelical leader James Dobson surely didn't expect to suffer much of a backlash when he trained his sights on Barack Obama. Over the years, the party had practically cowered in fear and gone into radio silence when the head of Focus on the Family targeted one of its standard bearers. So in a campaign that has already proved to be anything but predictable, the counterattack on Dobson this week epitomized the new, fraught political climate that Christian Right leaders like himself face.

Earlier this week, Dobson used his popular Christian radio program to denounce a 2006 speech the Illinois senator gave about the place of religion in public life. He took personal offense at the fact that Obama had referred to him by name in the same breath as Al Sharpton, using the two to illustrate the range of differences that exist within Christianity. But he also expressed outrage at Obama's assertion that individuals can be moral without being religious. "He oughta read the Bible," said Dobson. Obama, he charged, was "deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview."

But less than 24 hours after Dobson's radio broadcast, www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com was up and running on the Web. The site displays both Dobson's charges against Obama and Obama's own quotes from the 2006 speech. It also features a statement condemning Dobson that reads in part: "James Dobson doesn't speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide; he doesn't speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible."

The website was the handiwork of a coalition of Christian leaders headed by Kirbyjon Caldwell, the Texas pastor and Bush family friend who led the benediction at George W. Bush's first Inauguration. The group came up with the idea for the site a while ago, and figured it was just a matter of time before the good Dr. Dobson would give them an opportunity to unveil it. And they're not the only ones pushing back against the Christian Right leader's broadsides. The Matthew 25 Network is a political action committee formed in early June by Mara Vanderslice, a Democratic strategist who oversaw religious outreach on the 2004 Kerry campaign and remembers well the perils of remaining silent in the face of attacks on that candidate's Catholic faith. Within hours of Dobson's program, the PAC had raised $4,000 for radio ads that will run next week in the Colorado Springs market, Dobson's home turf. Vanderslice and her co-producers at the Eleison Group, a new Democratic consulting firm founded by Hillary Clinton's former religion adviser, Burns Strider, plan to expand to other stations that carry Dobson's Focus program.

Much more...great news in my book!

[cbc5g]

1. Obama is smart to reach out to evangelicals...

I think he may take 40% or more of the evangelical vote this time.

[depakid]

9. 40% ???

If he breaks 6-7% of the white evangelical vote I'll be surprised- and it'll be a major accomplishment.

[AlinPA]

10. Agree. No way they will vote for a person with dark skin. They are also convinced

by Fox "News" and all the TV who spread that lie that he is a Muslim (along with Jews and other religions).

Here's an example of their "zeal":
http://www.mygtv.net/?p=5441

[Recursion]

17. You may be interpreting "evangelical" too narrowly

Remember, only 60% of evangelicals self-identify as "conservative", and 20% self-identify as liberal.

Also, many many evangelicals themselves have dark skin.

[cbc5g]

11. Not true

http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=103

Gore got 30% of the evangelicals, Kerry got 21%


I expect Obama to get around 40% ... he's reaching out to them and they are tired of the far RW fear and hate machine

[depakid]

12. How are you defining evangelicals?

Me, I'm talking the fundie crowd- not mainstream protestants and catholics.

[blogslut]

14. The two terms have been terribly distorted and conflated

To me, a Fundamentalist is the antithesis of an Evangelical. The Fundamentalist claims Jesus as savior but adheres to the hard-ass rules set forth in the Old Testament. The Evangelical is all about the forgiveness and love aspects written about in the New Testament, plus the Jesus. The Evangelical is given the task of spreading the Good News. The Fundamentalist runs around judging others as if they were the Lord God Almighty.

I think this new generation of Evangelicals are trying very hard to reclaim their original intent.

[Recursion]

19. Carter is an evangelical. So is.... wait for it... Bill Clinton nt

[yellowdogintexas]

25. Fundamentalists adhere to the literal inerrancy of the Bible. The first 5 books

of the OT WERE written by Moses. Or God himself, depending on who you are talking to.

Despite the innumerable contradictions in the Bible, it is still all TRUE every single bit of it as God said and did it.

I once knew a man who flatly stated dinosaurs did not exist ever because they are not mentioned in the Bible. That kind of inerrancy, folks.

From this inerrancy belief stems the entire history of opposition to Darwin's Theories, and opposition to all things archeological and anthropological.

[Recursion]

28. Most fundamentalists are evangelical (though not all)

But fundamentalists are only a small fraction of evangelicals. I think people do altogether too much lumping and not remotely enough listening.

[yellowdogintexas]

40. that is true. Most Fundamentalist Christians are from denominations

or sub denominations that consider themselves evangelical in the true missionary sense convert the world or else we have failed.

Methodism began as an evangelical movement within Church of England but you won't find very many Fundamentalists within Methodism and John Wesley certainly does not appear to have been one. The United Methodist Church came from a merger of Methodism with the Evangelical United Bretheren in 1968 ..but many do not see today's United Methodist Church as an evangelical group because of the lumping you mentioned.

[Recursion]

18. Then you're misusing the term

"Evangelical" describes a Protestant who believes that a personal moment of conversion is necessary for salvation, and places scripture on a higher authority than tradition or church hierarchy.

[SwampG8r]

42. protestants are not alone

go and teach the gospel unto all people is a basic tenet of all christianity

[SwampG8r]

41. all christians are evangelical

its part and parcel of the gospel

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. Kerry received 21% of White Evangelical vote in 2004//Gore 30% White Evangelical vote in 2000

http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=103

Indications are that there is a possibility of raising this figure significantly above either Gore's 30% or Kerry's 21%. Even if the GOP still receives the majority of white Evangelical vote - a shift could make a major difference in a general election given that 23% of Americans are white Evangelicals.

Evangelical Vote Shifting Democratic, Poll Indicates

link: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080313b.html

CNSNews.com) - Poll data from the March 4 primary in Ohio show that more than four out of ten white evangelical Christians cast their vote for a Democratic candidate. According to the liberal groups that sponsored the poll, the data indicate that white evangelicals are interested in a broad range of issues and are shifting their voting behavior.

However, some conservative evangelical leaders dismissed the poll's findings as insignificant, and Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed said the poll's methodology was flawed.

The exit poll -- funded by the liberal activist groups The Sojourners, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Faith in Public Life -- is based a telephone survey conducted by Zogby International on March 4. It revealed that 57 percent of Ohio's white Christian evangelical voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates while the remaining 43 percent voted for Democrats.

The poll also showed that 54 percent of evangelical voters identified themselves with a "broader agenda," beyond abortion and same-sex marriage to include ending poverty, protecting the environment, and combating HIV/AIDS. Thirty-nine percent favored a more limited agenda of opposing abortion and same-sex marriage.

[Recursion]

20. "We are not as divided...

...as our politics make it seem."

Obviously Dobson is glaringly at fault for the way he's used religion as a wedge.

On the other hand, a lot of us on the left are way way way too fast to let our assumptions about religious people run away from the facts at hand. And that's only making things worse.

[Recursion]

21. His entire electoral strategy depends on getting at least 35%

Like some others upthread, I expect he can get it above 40.

[Bluebear]

22. .

.

[jobycom]

2. Not to mention, Dobson is weakening the misconceptions that Obama is a Muslim.

The more Dobson engages Obama in a religious battle, the more Obama looks like a Christian. One hand of the Republican party is undermining what the other hand is doing.

[mzmolly]

33. Excellent point.

Well done! ;)

[AspenRose]

3. It most certainly is

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=news.display_article&mode=S&NewsID=6901

[lyonn]

4. Obama does have a way of explaining religion in America

that allows all forms of christianity and others to feel free to express themselves without shame and that the Evangelicals don't have all the answers.

Being agnostic, I totally respect Obama's representation of faith or no faith. Seems that is where our founding fathers were coming from when writing our rules and regulations for this new country.

Edit: Coincidentally, yesterday I was reading the Audacity of Hope, Faith chapter, and read about Obama's religious background. Very interesting. He has a mixture of many ideas and belief that would allow respect for a person beliefs, in my opinion.

[blondeatlast]

5. It seems that way--as much as the RRR try to shout, they are being

silenced by one strong voice.

[WhiteTara]

8. the pendulum of time swings n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. This is the only way to deal with them

I especially like the fact that other ministers are coming out against Dobson and what he's doing.

[yardwork]

7. It is backfiring, for two reasons, I think:

1. People are getting sick and tired of being lectured by the religious right, especially now that they're paying $4 a gallon at the pump. Bigotry usually takes a back seat to selfishness. Even the stupidest people are beginning to notice that, while the nation is still safe from gay marriage, nothing else seems to be going well in their lives.

2. African Americans tend to be strong supporters of their religious faith. When a white guy like James Dobson attacks Obama, it's not surprising that a lot of black pastors will rise up to defend Obama. Once the defense begins, even wimpy white pastors who normally stay quiet when folks like John Kerry are being called atheists will feel protected enough to join in the condemnation.

[Sir Jeffrey]

13. Hopefully...

Quick personal note for encouragement:

My wife just got a forwarded email link from her mother about this whole spat. Her entire family are big time Republicans, so they send out stuff like that every so often. When my wife told me she had an Obama forward, I immediately went to read it and thought about going to his fight the smears page. Oh god, the inlaws think Obama is a closet Muslim terrorist.

I was wrong. The actual article was a fairly bland Fox News piece, and it did present Obama's side of the argument fairly well. I mean, the headline highlighted the differences between Obama and Dobson, but if you actually glanced through the article it was not the type of hit piece one would expect to get forwarded by Bush voters. I left it alone. At least now the 28 percenters (of which it seems as though is made up entirely of my family and my inlaws) are recognizing that Obama is a Christian.

If I was just reading the forward and did not know the political persuasion of the one sending it to me, I would be hard pressed to see it as anything bad for Obama. Send it far and wide, inlaws. I suspect more Americans are sick of James Dobson and his ilk than are scared of electing an intelligent and thoughtful Christian who is paying deep respect to the faith-based community.

[FlyingSquirrel]

16. That's a great site. Spread the word, folks. nt

[Bluebear]

23. Kirbyjon Caldwell offers "Christ Centered instruction for those seeking freedom from homosexuality"

http://web.archive.org/web/20061115103427/http://www.kingdombuilders.com/templates/cuskingdombuilders/details.asp?id=23260&PID=236324

Uggh.

[Recursion]

24. Do you want him inside the tent pissing out...

...or outside the tent pissing in?

[Bluebear]

26. I don't want homophobes touting my candidate.

I don't want to be beholden to him for a damn thing.

[Recursion]

27. Well, quite a few homophobes like Obama. So does Hamas, for that matter

And Fred Phelps campaigned for Jimmy Carter. "Ending divisions" and bringing unity means accepting the fact that many of our fellow Americans believe things that bug the shit out of us.

[Bluebear]

30. "Ending divisions & bringing unity" does not mean we need Fred Phelps or Caldwell

If our fellow Americans believe that gays need treatment or are fags that will burn in hell, I maintain that we don't need that campaigning for the Democratic Party.

[Recursion]

31. Well, political speech is protected

And there's absolutely nothing you, I, or anyone can do to stop them. Which is probably for the best, in the end.

[Bluebear]

32. I certainly don't have to be overjoyed over the fact that we are attracting homophobes,

[Recursion]

34. I'm overjoyed that even some homophobes have figured out...

...that the Republican party is destroying this country, and that using religion as a wedge to divide Americans is a horrible thing to do.

[Bluebear]

35. Yeah, as long as we win, who cares who campaigns for us?

Whatever. Later.

[Recursion]

37. What do you want? An injunction? A cease-and-desist order?

A guarantee that everyone who believes Obama would be the better President will respect you and hold beliefs that don't offend you? Bigots are part of America. The better we make this country (with their help, I'd add), the harder their bigotry is to maintain.

[mzmolly]

36. But they're slowly coming around Bluebear. This person was a Bushie in 00.

"The website was the handiwork of a coalition of Christian leaders headed by Kirbyjon Caldwell, the Texas pastor and Bush family friend who led the benediction at George W. Bush's first Inauguration."

"seeking freedom"? Hmmmmmm, how about those "seeking freedom" from bigotry?

[Bluebear]

38. But Caldwell offers an "ex-gay" ministry NOW :(

After McClurkin, you can understand that we are still a bit tender about "ex-gays" being spokespeople for our next President :)

[mzmolly]

39. I could understand it if they were being paid by our next President.

But, they are merely exercising their right to free speech by supporting Obama in this regard, as I see it.

I don't agree with their stance on this issue of course, but we have to bring them into the tent in order to show them the light.

:shrug:

[mzmolly]

29. "over 10,000 signatures!" on the petition noted in the "dobsondoesntspeakforme" link.

:toast:

[Hamlette]

43. Dobson's influence and finances are down dramatically

The founder of the Colorado Springs-based organization may have reason to be concerned about his influence. At the age of 71 and semi-retired from the day-to-day operations of his organization, Dobson is seeing Focus on the Family's fortunes wane — CEO Jim Daly describes them as "flat" — perhaps an inevitability for a ministry pegged to one towering figure. The ministry's expenses have exceeded its revenues for two years — what Daly calls a "drawdown from reserves" — by $4.1 million in fiscal year 2006 and by $9.9 million in 2005. (Figures for 2007 have not yet been released.)

The ministry apparently has been "flat" for some time. For example, in 1994 Dobson's monthly newsletter had a circulation of 2.4 million copies. Today, that circulation is about 1.1 million. Also, in the 1990s, Dobson was drawing audiences of 15,000 or more to his speeches; but in the lead-up to the 2006 mid-term election, only about 1,000 people heard his anti-abortion speech at the 2,500-seat Mt. Rushmore National Monument amphitheatre. Daly explains that the event was a last-minute invitation and that Dobson rarely accepts speaking engagements.

According to news accounts and audited financial reports posted online for potential donors, the organization's staffing is down (30 layoffs last September). Total donations and number of donors are down as well. Focus orders and resells copies of Dobson's tapes and books, which are the evangelist's personal business; but those purchases have declined from $678,000 in 2004 to $269,000 in 2006. His last book was published in 2001; another is not anticipated until 2009. The whole Dobson family, including wife Shirley, daughter Danae and son Ryan, produce books and tapes, but revenue from all Dobson-family materials are down, from $781,000 in 2004 to $307,000 in 2006.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1706650,00.html

(from link within article linked in OP)

This really is good news.