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Friday, September 21, 2007

James Dobson Is Waiting For Godot

I'm not a big fan of JamesDobson, the founder of Focus On The Family. I don't dislike him, nor do I wish him ill, but his organization is no more representative of all Republicans or Conservatives any more than György Schwartz's MoveOn is representative of all Democrats or Liberals.

The AP reports Dobson's remarks about Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson:

    In a private e-mail obtained by The Associated Press, Dobson accuses the former Tennessee senator and actor of being weak on the campaign trail and wrong on issues dear to social conservatives.

    "Isn't Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won't talk at all about what he believes, and can't speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail?" Dobson wrote.

    "He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to.' And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"

Dobson is entitled to Free Speech as much as anyone else. But the point he misses is that there is no perfect candidate, not for either major political party. If Dobson doesn't like, or want to support, Republicans or Conservatives because they don't fit the ideal model of what he thinks a Republican or Conservative candidate should be, well...who is he going to vote for then, a Democrat?

The real disservice done by Dobson is to his flock, those of whom fully agree with him, never bothering to question what he preaches. He's treating his members as if they are a cult instead of free-thinkers listening to his message. This is what Al Gore, Junior expects of his sycophants who believe humans are the causation of so-called global warming. "Take what I say as the truth and don't question me" -
this is how the Left treats its members.

One needs to determine a half-dozen or so issues that are most important to him or her and decide which candidate best meets and matches those qualifiers. I'm not for or against any candidate yet - it's too early. I have written in the past I would not vote for John McCain, and even though I respect him, I could not hold my nose and vote for him. In retrospect, it seems way too early to decide who one will or will not support. I suffered from 2008 presidential campaign fatigue six months ago and I don't expect this ailment to go away anytime soon.

Most people fall somewhere within the mainstream of the political center of the spectrum, leaning slightly right or slightly left of center. Fewer people fall within the Extreme Right or the Extreme Left whose voices scream the loudest because they are in the minority. MoveOn claims its membership is - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt - around 4 million people. That amount of members is a small percentage of the population. They may sway a small amount of voters one way or the other, but MoveOn was impotent and powerless in electing Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.

People like Dobson are free to vote or not to vote. They are free to voice their opinions. But if folks like Dobson think they are going to assert their authority over Republicans or Conservatives any more or any less than folks like MoveOn will assert their authority over Democrats or Liberals, they are sadly mistaken.

Anyone can sit around, waiting for the perfect and ideal candidate of their choice to surface, but it'll be a long, long wait. One has a better chance of Godot showing up.

©2007

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