Posted on 11/15/2004 1:04:53 PM PST by hinterlander
Republican senators who support Sen. Arlen Specter's bid to chair the Judiciary Committee could face retribution from disgruntled conservative and Christian voters, warned Dr. James Dobson in an interview Monday with HUMAN EVENTS.
Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family Action, a political group he organized to help re-elect President Bush, said Specter is frantically trying to save his spot atop the Judiciary Committee after suggesting Bush shouldn't bother nominating pro-life judges.
Specter has since distanced himself from his November 3 comments, but the protests against him haven't diminished. For the second straight weekend, he appeared on Sunday morning news programs trying to allay fears voiced by activists like Dobson.
"It may not be possible to derail Senator Specter," Dobson conceded to HUMAN EVENTS, "but if they [Republican senators] don't do that, I think it ought to be very clear that when the senator reneges on his promise to do the right thing, it's going to be remembered."
Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee are expected to meet with Specter this week, which will be followed by a secret vote taken in January to elect a chairman. Their offices have been inundated with phone calls protesting Specter's possible promotion.
GOP-imposed term limits are forcing Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah) to step down as the committee's chairman. Next in line is Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), who would rather lead the Finance Committee than Judiciary, leaving Specter with the most seniority.
"He's been out there for the last week on every show that would invite him," Dobson said of the Pennsylvania senator. "He's been trying to save his chairmanship by bobbing and weaving and telling us that he didn't mean what he said when he said what he meant."
Dobson has used his radio program, which reaches 7 million listeners per week, to rail against Specter's possible ascension. Other conservative and Christian interest groups are protesting as well, including a scheduled demonstration Tuesday at the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.).
"We're certainly going to do everything we can to let people know that Senator Specter not only threatens the court, but he is also the champion of stem-cell research and he is opposed to protection of marriage within the Constitution," Dobson said. "This man is going to be in an extremely powerful position to oppose most of what President Bush was elected to do. That is irritating a large number of people."
Dobson said Specter owes his victory to Bush, who chose to campaign with him instead of his more conservative Republican primary opponent, Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter narrowly beat Toomey by a little more than 17,000 votes in the April primary.
"He was very clear about what his intentions are," Dobson said in reference to Specter's November 3 remarks. "It's not only the court, he stands in opposition to just about everything the President ran on in terms of the moral and social agenda. How arrogant is that?"
Robert B. Bluey is Assistant Editor for HUMAN EVENTS
I sense a dogpile occuring on Specter......
Dobson shut the hell up... we'll take care of Arlen in our own way.
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Bump to that.
Thank you! I wondered how long before someone noticed that he needed to stop acting as if he were President.
And BTW I am a Christian.
Who's this "we" you presume to speak for?
Does one perform good acts for sake of performing good acts or does one perform them for the sake of entering Heaven? Should one vote for a particular candidate because he is better serves the nation or should one vote for a particular candidate in expectation of a particular agenda?
It is the LIBERAL FASCIST of this world that says 'everyone should have a voice....except the Christian'. Wouldn't you agree?
Hey Mikey. YOU shut up.
Very nice..but perhaps BETTER done as his epitaph on a political tombstone..
They're ashamed that evangelicals have an opinion. "Yeah you pretty much got Bush elected now shut up." Typical.
The vote for chairman is anonymous, so how are they going to retaliate if they don't know which ones voted a certain way?
What does this say about Senator Specter?
Not true; Bush's numbers increased across the board, not just with Evangelicals.
Did you say something similar when Dobson was working to get out the evangelical vote?
I'm a supporter of James Dobson, but what he's doing has the potential to backfire.
He ought to be communicating this privately.
A lot of us worked to get out the vote; and most of us aren't making threats.
So if evangelicals stayed home, Bush would still have won?
Because we can speak for ourselves.
And I don't like threats.
Michael Barone and the Pew Research say that Evangelicals voted in approxmiately the same numbers they voted in 2000. Other groups had a higher percentage of new voters.
FYI..just heard that Robert Bork will be on with Lou Dobbs tonite..6pm est..CN
LOL but you're speaking for a group (what group you're speaking for is still a mystery).
The single issue voters who think one issue is more important than any other are getting tiresome.
And their threats of blackmail bely their Christianity.
Amen. Dobson is fast trying to become the "Michael Moore" of the Right. Dobson- Shut Up and Preach.
Here you are again, downplaying the role of evangelicals in the election, and criticizing their role in speaking out against the ascension of Arlen I-never-met-an-abortion-I-didn't-like Specter.
Is this a new crusade for you?
Don't include me in your "we".
I'm grateful for James Dobson's help. He has millions of listeners and access to many media forums. He also fights for what he believes and has been a soldier in the trenches for freedom for many years.
I'm not speaking for myself; I was under the impression that conservatives didn't have to be in a herd OR be told what to think.
You, on the other hand, just shut up.
I fail to see the threat in that statement. He's warning of a possible consequence, not threatening to cause one. And he's right. We'll find a whole bunch of disgruntled - and very vocal - folks right here on FR if Specter gets the chairmanship.
Dobson speaks for a lot more people than you do.
Don't quite see how it's blackmail to say that we will remember their votes when we cast our votes, and will cast them accordingly.
I'm not downplaying anything; I'm stating the facts.
One has to wonder why, in spite of the facts from credibile sources, you wish to pretend those numbers don't exist.
And one wonder if, since the Hispanics voted in greater numbers than Evangelicals did, you'll be quite so willing when the Hispanics "come calling" with their demands.
There is only one thing that has ever come out of Arlen Sphincter... OK, two things.
And "threats"? Where are "threats"? I don't see any.
Unlike so many other Christian leaders who have sat idly by and just prayed for some magic solution to the continued growth of government arrogance and decay of our society, Dobson has finally had enough and is now standing up and speaking out. For this, you wish to spite him? It's no wonder the political left has gained so much ground.
Dobson, who put you in charge?
Let's not pretend this is the first "warning" coming from the religious right.
That's good. So it's ok if someone has a different opinion than you. That's good to know. That's exactly the opposite to how you're acting on this thread.
Well, so do Hugh Hewitt and Rush Limbaugh, but I don't see them issuing these kinds of statements.
Who are you to think that you should have a voice while Dobson shouldn't?
we'll take care of Arlen in our own way.
Are you a Senator?
That is one of the most nonsensical statements imaginable...lol...
And besides, Dr. James Dobson is not a preacher.
He's a psychologist and pro-family activist.
He has as much right to petition his government and to make his views known to Americans as you do.
And millions of Americans pay attention, too.
Dobson is a very wise and honorable man...one of the finest in our country today.
What specific words and/or actions of Dobson make you say this?
No, it isn't at all; I'm expression MY rights to disagree with his approach.
Well, if we don't matter then, what are y'all so excited about?
>> Dobson shut the hell up... we'll take care of Arlen in our own way.
Who exactly comprises "our own way"? You sound like an elitist. James Dobson has been working very hard for conservative causes. Your wimpy voice will not silence him.
I doubt you say the same thing when Ann Coulter has an opinion on something. Your disdain of evangelicals is seeping through.
You are a master at mischaracterizing others words to prolong an argument.
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