It’s not just Limbaugh — Dobson weighs in against McCain

February 5, 2008

There’s ample evidence that far-right GOP activists and talk-show hosts have been surprisingly vocal in their opposition to John McCain’s presidential campaign, but in some ways, they’re Johnny Come Latelys — the religious right hated McCain before hating McCain was cool.

In 2000, James Dobson went so far as to issue a personal press release, specifically to “clarify his lack of support for Senator McCain.” Dobson said, “The Senator is being touted by the media as a man of principle, yet he was involved with other women while married to his first wife.” He also cautioned that McCain’s character was “reminiscent” of Bill Clinton’s — possibly the ultimate insult in conservative circles.

That, of course, wasn’t too long after McCain had condemned Dobson’s religious right colleagues as “agents of intolerance.” Since then, McCain has at least made overtures to the Taliban wing of the Republican Party, showing up at Liberty University and flip-flopping a bit on issues like gay marriage and intelligent design creationism.

Has it made any difference? Apparently not — Dobson has a long memory, and this week issued a statement similar to the one from eight years ago.

“I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has at times sounded more like a member of the other party.

“McCain actually considered leaving the GOP in 2001 and approached John Kerry about being Kerry’s running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does not make the medicine go down. I cannot, and I will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience.

“But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should John 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 the 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.”

Drama aside, this isn’t especially surprising. Indeed, I’m confident that Dobson will work to undermine McCain at every opportunity the rest of the year.

As I suggested last week, he doesn’t have much of a choice. Dobson has political power in conservative circles based on the perception that he can a) ruin Republican lawmakers who break ranks on issues important to the religious right movement; and b) elevate lawmakers to higher office who play by the movement’s rules.

McCain is in a position to peel pack the curtain and make Dobson and his cohorts look powerless. Indeed, he’s already made Dobson look pretty feckless by surging to the front of the GOP back and becoming the presumptive nominee.

How will Dobson be able to threaten Republican officials into submission if pols can thrive just fine despite drawing Dobson’s ire?

Josh Marshall argued today:

If McCain can win with Rush and Coulter and the rest of them openly and volubly against them, it will mean that they’re paper tigers. And their juice in GOP circles will be greatly diminished. Not that people won’t still listen to Rush’s show and he won’t make money selling racist songs on his subscription only website, but GOP pols will feel much freer to ignore him. The fact that he’s on track to win the nomination is bad enough. They can only recover if he loses the general. Then they’ll argue that it was because he bucked the Movement conservatives.

Josh didn’t mention Dobson, but the same dynamic certainly applies. In fact, it’s arguably worse for Dobson than it is for Limbaugh — Rush will continue to be some radio clown, making money off of advertisers. Dobson, on the other hand, collects checks from donors who expect him to help drive the Republican agenda. If he can’t even stop an annoying senator from getting the Republican nomination, why would his followers bother sending him more money?

On a related note, of course, Republican leaders won’t be afraid of him anymore, because they’ll see his threats don’t amount to much. Why jump when Dobson demands it if he has no real electoral influence?

With that in mind, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Dobson became a very active campaigner during the general election, working to undermine McCain at every turn. If Dobson is successful, and McCain loses, Dobson will say, “See? I still have power, and you still need to take me seriously.”

And if McCain wins in spite of Dobson’s enmity, Dobson’s power will probably never recover.

I suggest that the Neocon talk show hosts are spouting verbiage for their corporate media overlords, who don’t like McCain.

Corrupt,corporate cronies, bought and paid for, can be found abundantly in corporate media and in our increasingly corporate legislature.

  • Next thing you know, expect the conservative operatives to call for a boycott of the polls on Election Day, or–alternately–supporting some third-party fringe candidate to such an extent that it unwittingly tips the result to the Democrats.

    Remember Ross Perot’s 1992 Presidential bid swaying the election to Bill Clinton?

    And Another Thing:

    You’ll never guess what would turn out to be the end product of Americans falling for the Greater Conservative Agenda come November.

  • This is beginning to look like a classic “Head Fake.” Slam the person that you want to see nominated. The masses will vote for him and then he wins just “to show Rush that we ain’t gonna take his shit,” and McCain wins.

    I’m just sayin’

  • “And if McCain wins in spite of Dobson’s enmity, Dobson’s power will probably never recover.”

    That’s almost enough to make me cross party lines and vote for McCain.

  • Hey James Dobson, how did that Sanctity of Life Amendment work out for you? The Federal Marriage Amendment, has it been ratified yet? Oh, that’s right, in six years of top to bottom Republican government they were never passed were they? Ever think, James, that they might just be yanking your chain? Ever even consider that you’re trying to assert influence that you never really had?

    Tool.

  • Dobson is an ass, but he knows what pisses off the wingnuts.

    “The Senator is being touted by the media as a man of principle, yet he was involved with other women while married to his first wife.”

    “Values voters” are supposed to vote for a guy who at age 44 screwed around on his wife and then dumped her for a woman 17 years younger than he was?

    Reap the whirlwind, jerks. LOL.

  • I think fatguy @3 is on to something. Flush and Blobson know they’re so toxic that the only way they help McCainiac is through negative press.

  • In fact, it’s arguably worse for Dobson than it is for Limbaugh — Rush will continue to be some radio clown, making money off of advertisers. Dobson, on the other hand, collects checks from donors who expect him to help drive the Republican agenda. If he can’t even stop an annoying senator from getting the Republican nomination, why would his followers bother sending him more money?

    I disagree. I’ll go so far as to say I strongly disagree.

    Rush is a media gasbag. He has two things going for him – the appearance of being a “kingmaker” in GOP circles AND a large audience of listeners that he sells to advertisers. Rush is putting his second asset on the line in service of the first and could end up losing both. He’ll keep his hardcore Rushbot dittoheads, sure, but he’s been getting the general “Republican” listener as well. His constant drumbeat against McCain is starting to tick off partisan Republicans I know and they’re starting to turn him off. If McCain loses the nomination or the general because of something that can be tracked back to Rush, he may never get those listeners back. That’s a real threat to his income, and so it surprises me that Rush is so wrapped up in the illusion of his own power that he’s willing to put the long-term health of his “media empire” on the line like this.

    OTOH – Dobson’s schtick is purity – he doesn’t sell himself as a “Republican” at all, he sells himself as a religious man. Despite shilling for the Republican party for the last decade or so, Dobson’s schtick is to fleece money from the credulous religious folks. By holding a hard line on his demand for a “pure” candidate Dobson only looks better to his followers. McCain, Clinton, Obama, Romney – it doesn’t matter WHO among this group gets to be President, Dobson can scare his followers equally with any of them – and generate donations for his next project at the same time.

  • ***If he can’t even stop an annoying senator from getting the Republican nomination, why would his followers bother sending him more money?*** Two words: Jim Jones. The guy who led his followers into the jungle and convinced them all to partake of the sacraments by drinking poison. Dobson’s fanatical base aren’t all that different from Jones, or David Koresh, or those black-sweatsuits-and-tennis-shoes lemmings that offed themselves for a chance to ride a spaceship hiding somewhere near Saturn.

    Or was it Jupiter?

    Dobson’s also put himself between a rock and a hard place. It’s all but impossible now, after spending all this time and energy (and cash) hammering McCain “because some big invisible guy-in-the-sky with a penchant toward smiting unbelievers by the bushel told him so,” to suddenly recant and go the other way.

    What? God was “wrahw-ung?” why, old “Dobbie” would never live it down. Besides—changing his tune now makes him meaningless to everyone—including his faithful—NOW. Standing his ground just makes him look the fool afterwards to all us “heathenish nonbelieving satanists”—and that’s if McCain doesn’t win both the nomination and in November….

  • Did Dobson ever out Newt Gingrich for his philandering? Seems I remember that Newtie was a favorite of Fundie part of the wingnuts.

  • McCain, the conservative Republican’t whom conservative Republican’ts love to hate.

    Is he authentic, in which case he’ll rule like Boy George III, or is he a liberal in rat’s clothing, in which case he’s not authentic.

  • I was listening to Rush for a brief time today and the way that man was ranting and raving about McCain, I swear, I thought he was going to have a heart attack right on air. If McCain is nominated, I wonder if Rush will be able to survive.

  • Believers may follow Dobson generally but not specifically. I doubt his telling his followers not to vote for a particular candidate is accepted at face value. If the candidate is not 100% but still better than the alternative in their minds, I doubt they will follow Dobson and just not cast a vote.
    Is Dobson supporting another candidate, or just telling followers who he is against?

  • Choices, choices.

    If Steve is right, and a McCain win would destroy Dobson and his ilk, that would be a great thing for America.

    But if McCain wins, then McCain would be President, and that would be bad for America.

    Which is worse?

    . . . .

  • wvng, a McCain win would weld the unfolding disasters Bush has unleashed on this country to the ReThuglican’s laps.

    Now, I know, there will always be some slack-wits who blame it on the Democrats or try to say Bush was a stealth liberal or what have you. I think that may explain some of the McCain is Just Like Hitlery! screaming you hear now. However the end result would be the utter destruction of the nightmare that is the modern GOP and the ideas it espouses. No oversight? Get the hell out of here. Shitting on the Constitution? Die. Stacking the administration with your unqualified pals? StFu. and on and on. Maybe we’ll reach the point where every town has a pot full of hot tar and a barrel full of feathers for people who talk about family values.

    Now, the process might be bad for you and me and the rest of the population, but I think the process is going to be bad no matter who is in office. However, letting the GOP finish the process of self-destruction would be great for America and possibly the rest of the planet.

  • Ann Coulter said this week that she not only would vote for Hillary Clinton if McCain was the Republican nominee, but she would also campaign for her. Probably just Ann Coulter being Ann Coulter, but still, very interesting.

  • Hey Orange (#15). Interesting points, except I don’t think we have more years to give the reThugs in their experiment in self immolation.

    And anyway, I know McCain’s not a GOPer, that boy are a maverick, cause I done sawded it on the teevee.

  • Poor Rush…Cannot have his way. Typical complainer who never has been under fire in reality. All talk, no action. Rush Windblow….this time the answer is NOT blowing in the wind. Get a life Rush. Dobson is useless, powerless and meaningless. Who really cares about either of them. Go McCain.

  • First let me get this out of my system: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..how does it feel to be marginalized by your party of choice gents? The rabid rightwing nutjobs are hating the fact that inspite of all their hard work..McCain is running away with it.

    Sort of reminds me of how the Democrats, DCCC and DLC marginalize the leftwing or liberal side of the party.

    Dobson and Limbaugh are such tools..perhaps they will realize how little power they have.

  • This is comedy and tragedy all in one. Tragedy that we’re reduced to this at all, and yet a comedy now that we’re here… Obama’s got my vote, but part of me wouldn’t mind seeing McCain win just because of the apoplexy to which it would reduce these worthless whoreson bastards.

  • I have to say that, if John McCain did win, and the result was the death of the American Far Right, that would be something I could live with.

    As long as we had 62 Democrats in the Senate, not counting Joe Lie, and 279 Democrats in the House, that is….

    Watching all the shitheads who have given me grief the past 10 years go crawling back under their rocks would be a lovely sight indeed.

  • It occurs to me that, with the heavy tilt towards a probable Democratic victory in November, it may be a deliberate calculation to slam the Republican nominee so these “kingmakers” can claim to have had a hand in his ultimate defeat.

    The fact that their gripes are consistent with their prior positions lends credibility to their criticism, but we’ve seen them distort the records of their preferred candidates before, when they wanted to give support…

  • Rush et al are still laughing all the way to the bank. And most of the posts above prove his point–that the left generally doesn’t have one, outside of ranting and name calling.

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