Dr. Dobson: I Will Never Vote for McCain

NewsMax ^ | February 1, 2008

[2ndDivisionVet]

While John McCain has risen to the top of the heap among contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson remains adamant that he will not support McCain’s bid for the White House.

Dobson, one of the nation’s most influential evangelical Christians, declared more than a year ago that he wouldn't support McCain under any circumstances, saying McCain didn't support traditional marriage values.

A Dobson spokesman told the New York Times’ David Kirkpatrick Wednesday that he stood by that position, and as a matter of conscience could never vote for the Arizona Senator.

According to the paper, Dobson is joined by a slew of other prominent conservatives who oppose McCain on a number of issues:

Talk radio host Mark Levin urged visitors to the National Review’s Web site to “rally for Romney” to ward off a McCain win, saying: “Conservatives need to act now, before it is too late.”

Talker Rush Limbaugh told listeners on Thursday: “McCain is in a lot of these places not actually the Republican candidate. He is the candidate of enough Republicans, but [also] independents and moderates and probably even some liberals.”

Pat Toomey, president of the anti-tax organization Club for Growth, said in comments reported by the New York Times: “I have yet to see McCain make any attempts to reach out to free market conservatives.”

Conservatives fault McCain for voting against President Bush’s tax cuts and a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and for supporting embryonic stem cell research, looser immigration rules and stricter environmental regulations.

Conservatives were particularly irked when McCain made a deal with Democrats to break a deadlock on judicial nominations, according to the Times.

Anger over that compromise was rekindled this week when Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund wrote that McCain had privately criticized Bush’s Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito because “he wore his conservatism on his sleeve.” The McCain campaign denied that report.

Following McCain successes in early primary states, however, other conservatives are beginning to warm up to his campaign:

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, who previously opposed a McCain nomination, said: “He has moved in the right direction strongly and forcefully on taxes.”

Former McCain foe Tony Perkins, a prominent Christian conservative, told the Times: “I have no residual issue with John McCain,” adding the candidate needed to “better communicate” his stand on social issues.

Richard Land, an official with the South Baptist Convention, agreed, noting that McCain “is strongly pro-life.” He said: “When I hear Rush Limbaugh say that a McCain nomination would destroy the Republican Party, what I want to say to Rush is, ‘You need to get out of the studio more and talk to real people.’”

[jmyrlefuller]

It’s fairly obvious.

Who is the evangelical former pastor in the race?

[lonevoice]

Good post, with which I agree in spite of my admiration and respect for Mr. Limbaugh. But, facts are facts, and the reality is that Rush, to this very day, hasn’t endorsed anyone. “Anybody But McCain” is NOT an endorsement, and only further serves to split the conservative vote...exactly the thing that has brought us to this point.

[nicmarlo]

I’m glad he came out AGAIN and declare that he could never support McCain.

You would have him contradict his statement from a year ago? How is that “too freaking late”? He’s twice uttered the same remarks against McCain now over the past year.

I don’t have a problem with his speaking out.

[Responsibility2nd]

Nice portrait of yourself.

Now dry up and tell me who in the conservative movement has greater numbers than Evangelicals.

Tell me, who has the highest majority of voters if not Christians?

[nicmarlo]

If the Rev. Dr. Dobson is going to weigh in on the Presidential campaign...

Dr. Dobson has not ever been or claimed to be ANY KIND of pastor or reverend.

He was for 14 years an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and served for 17 years on the Attending Staff of Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and Medical Genetics. He has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (1967) in the field of child development.

[Brilliant]

So who does Dobson support?

[Red_Devil 232]

So you would take McCain who would do the same thing?

[Friend_from_the_Frozen_North]

Can't speak for all other Baptists 'cause Baptists disagree with other Baptists just as often as we disagree with other denominations; a friend once told me that Baptists are the only denomination that "multiplies by division". Don't know whether that's true - the part about the only denomination anyway.

I have friends who are Catholic that I do believe are Christian and are "Saved" (but there are still points of theological contention). I have other friends who are LDS who are my friends - I don't enter theological discussion with them as a general rule. I have, generally speaking, only one rule; don't ask me a question if you already know you won't like the answer.

Perhaps I'm not as good a Baptist as I thought I was - I don't like to argue for the sake of arguement.

[snippy_about_it]

looser immigration rules

Looser, heck, it's not looser rules, it's just plain amnesty!

[Beagle8U]

I wont vote for McCrazy either but there was no basis for the way he trashed the only conservative in the race that wouldn’t make any of the various wings of the party barf.

Its too freaking late to make any difference now.

[2ndDivisionVet]

"So who does Dobson support?"

I have no idea. Does anyone here know if James Dobson has endorsed a candidate?

[Williams]

Thank you, if Rush Limbaugh has a beef with anyone, I'd like to be shown who he has ever said to vote for in this process. He STILL won't tell people to vote for Romney, I mean it's kind of eleventh hour here, isn't it? But Rush doesn't want to have backed a "loser" and have folks say his influence is weak.

If you have no direct recommendation to vote FOR anybody, is there much point in screaming and yelling against who does get nominated?

[nicmarlo]

Dr. Dobson has to be careful about singling out and naming a particular individual that he'd support because of his non-profit status. From a September 2007 blog:

Last week, Dobson announced on his radio show that the IRS had cleared him of accusations that he had endangered his organization's nonprofit status by endorsing Republican candidates in 2004. The IRS said Dobson, who endorsed President Bush's re-election bid, was acting as an individual and not on behalf of the nonprofit group (source: The Associated Press).

With this in mind it is only natural that James Dobson would be very wary of endorsing a candidate for 2008. So it is interesting that he seems to be going through a process of implied endorsing - by confirming who he won't endorse. He has just recently ruled out supporting Thompson, and has previously ruled out Giuliani and McCain. Further, last year Dobson commented that because of GOP candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, it would be unlikely that many evangelical Christians would vote for him. So clearly Dobson is reluctant to support Romney.

This effectively leaves Mike Huckabee.... http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/09/dobsons_choice_isnt_fred_thomp.php

[nicmarlo]

Dr. Dobson believed that he had just reasons to exclude Thompson as a choice. I, myself, would not vote for him either, but for other reasons than what Dobson cited.

BTW, see my post #153.

[EternalVigilance]

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, who previously opposed a McCain nomination, said: “He has moved in the right direction strongly and forcefully on taxes.”

Obviously, open borders mean more to Grover than taxes.

Which those who pay attention have known for quite some time...

[MinuteGal]

Hi....I don't believe for a minute that these "big names" like Dobson are simply doing "what they are getting paid (by somebody) to do"

These names have big egos which is how most of them got where they are.....like big-time executives and CEOs. They have their own experiences, education, standards, thoughts, analysis.......and IMO they make their own decisions on the basis of their own intangibles, not from being paid by someone else.

I have no quarrel with this.....however, in this case and in this particular primary, Dr. Dobson was unfortunately very short-sighted as he walked headlong into the valley of death which is the perfect description of major league hard-ball politics fraught with unexpected twists and turns......and there's no turning back if you made a misstep along the way.

Leni

[dbacks]

[Rush, you’re right on target. Keep it up.]

My sentiments, perzackatickaly.

[EternalVigilance]

The chilling effect on political activism created by the tax code is perhaps its most evil effect. And that’s saying something.

[morkfork]

My bad, 2ndDivision Vet. Interpreted your comment wrong.

Completely agree with the thanks and sympathy part. I took what I have seen from many on FR with military taglines and made an assumption about your thoughts.

But to the former military guys that seem to flock to McCain. Why do they do that? Don’t understand it. I’ve done DOE work at a couple of labs but wouldn’t vote for a guy just because he was a Livermore/Los Alamos/Oak Ridge scientist. Makes no sense to me.

[Route66]

I was, and still am, sincerely disappointed in what Dobson helped unleash in this election. His hit on Thompson was the original opening for Huckabee. He contributed mightily to this mess by not supporting the one conservative and uniter that could have saved us from this debacle.