The religious right has no where to turn in 2008...Watch Dobson!!!!

[Perky]

He has already dismissed McCain. He will not support Rudy and Romney willnot gain the support of many baptist in the south. Thyey have no one to call thier own in the top tier. There is a substantial liklihood of the fundies losing their voice for '08.

Dobson could wind up running....not to win. but to be a legitimate power broker on the VP or even the presidential nominee if there is no clear cut leader by Labor Day this year. Not saying he would be a vp candidate but if you look at what a Dobson candidacy does in different states you can easily see a brokered convention occurring. That would be enough to give an RW bloc of delgates very powerful.

[Blackhatjack]

1. Dobson running would be a dream come true .... can you imagine..

what the convention would be like?

The rightwing conservative fundamentalists would be all over the other Republicans, criticizing everything they do, it would be the kind of entertainment that money could not buy....

And the best part is a split convention would result and Republicans would not have a chance of winning anything.

[tanyev]

6. Dobson/Haggard 08!!!!

:woohoo:

[etherealtruth]

7. From my perspective, that would be heavenly

O8)

[FARAFIELD]

2. OH MY

DOBSON RUNNING? Ive wondered about that, I cant see any of the big three for the repukes coming through the primary unscathed as flip floppers et al (if hillary is still in the lead she can just use her money to pick them off when they are most vulnerable) I would LOVE to see DOBSON or some other Loon (is brownback looney enough?) Split the vote and set the repukes back a couple cycles, the More Dobson talks the more I think he THINKS he is all that and a bag of chips. Its the repukes fault remember specter cowtowing to him after the 04 elections. Heck what a dream that would be a third party thing or a in the repuke primary.

[napi21]

3. What about Brownback? I thought HE was the one the fundies were

looking to?

You know, I find it really sad that someone's religion is making this much difference in our naational Government! Shrub & Dobson have made this happen! I'm a Catholic, and I personally would never have an abortion, but I don't want THAT to influence how the of my Country does his job! I want someone who is going to have a "keep your nose out of my business" attitude on foreign policy, even the playing field between employees and employers, kick a little ass when dealing with the insurance companies and pharmas, andBE ABLE TO SPEAK IN FULL SENTENCES WITHOUT AN AH, ER, AND A HMMM! I don't CARE what religion the person is! And I shouldn't have to care, unless he/she brings their own religious principles into the WH with them!

SHAME ON YOU SHRUB for even making this matter!

[Perky]

4. The RW never backs anyone beyond the first tier.

as evidence I offer Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes.

[Blackhatjack]

5. Well I know this will not be popular, but really it is not about religion....

The group that 'leads' the rightwing conservative fundamentalist voting block are simply 'using religion' to promote a political agenda.

IT is all about power, and the use of that power to gain benefits, and 'using religion' is the tool they use to keep 'their flock' following their every edict.

Just like the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention was all about politics, not religion. And look what they have done with it.

BTW there are thousands of Baptists that do not adhere to their fundamentalist agenda, and most are independents and Dems. Just look at how many churches have left the denomination since the takeover. So people need to make sure their negative references to 'Baptists' are not so broad brush as to wrongfully paint all 'Baptists' as being the same. They are not.

[Perky]

8. It is definitely about power butmore fundamnetally it is about relvance in the post modern world.

I understand the motivations and sincerity of the RW but the policies they hatch and ther tactics they employ are wrongheaded and belie the Gospel message in many ways.


They are so aking to the Pharisees that is is scary.

[Blackhatjack]

11. I think the Pharisee comparision is an accurate one, but there is a big difference between...

the leaders of this group(Dobson, Falwell, Perkins, etc) and the members of this group who have been conditioned to vote for a chosen candidate based upon one or more issues that the leaders pick for them.

I do not doubt the sincerity of many rightwing conservative fundamentalists. However, being sincere and being right is not the same thing.

The Bible says a lot more than these leaders put out for their flock to consume, and IMHO they have perverted the message and example of Christ when they tell their members voting for a Democrat is a sin. They have no business injecting themselves into politics, just as Jesus said 'render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's.'

[Pushed To The Left]

9. Excellent points!

There are good and bad people in every religion. By listening to the religious right, one would think that the most important parts of religion is being anti-abortion and anti-gay! This is why church-state separation is important. Not only does it protect the government from having an established religion, but it protects religion from being used as a political tool!

[KharmaTrain]

10. What "Religious Right"???

C-SPAN had a US News stenographer on trying to put lipstick on the Dobson pig...praising how Mucus On Your Family "won" Ohio and what a major influence he was in '06. :puke:

Reality check says that Marilyn Musgrove barely hung on in Dobson's backyard and the GOOP was decimated in Colorado. Some influence there.

Then there's Dobson's pushing of Schaivo that turned into the Waterloo for his ilk...as television paraded the most reprehensible characters all but feasting at the bedside of a dead, invalid woman. Putting Randall Terry in millions of living rooms put the face on the "Religious Right" they've long used to scare the sheeple and raise the money, but not on a national scale. If anything, Boooshie's slide from "grateness" began when these morons forced the House into a late night session to decide issues that virtually everyone felt was a major intrusion into their privacy.

Then there's the Foley/Haggard and various other scandals that Dobson with dismisses or ridicule. While he was quick to jump over Democrats who cross the street without looking, his silence about those who he "supports" (or should I say supported) is some of this hypocrites loudest silence.

There's a big shift going on in the GOOP's big tent. Some fundies are pissed at the GOOP for doing too much, others are pissed because they haven't "repaid" the past favors. Pick a mega church and you'll find congregations no longer united but balkanizing along region, social interests and a rejection of the over-the-top rhetoric of Dobson, Falwell and others that not only have attempted to define whose a "moral Amurican", but also whose a moral xtian.

Supposedly Dobson's given a quiet wink and nod to Mittens, but the US News stenographer admitted few in Dobson's hive would vote for a Mormon. I keep seeing a third party on the right...centered on immigration and economic issues rather than social ones...that will further rip the "Religious Right" apart.

[Blackhatjack]

12. that is why Dobson and Falwell need to run for the presidency....

Let them be subjected to answering some questions they have traditionally avoided, and the public will not only reject them, but they will pull votes from the Republicans.

It would make my day....

[KharmaTrain]

14. They Always Find A Puppet

Rarely do you see any of the "major" religious leaders step forward into the "secular" world...unless it's a comatose, staged Larry King PR session. These guys like being the kingmakers, the power brokers...to be able to operate from the shadows and have others do their dirty work. It insulates their big egos from being held accountable and sets a layer of plausible deniability they can use when they get called on one hypocrisy or another.

Gnewt is hoping he's the GOOP's "Gore in waiting"...and my bets are this is where the Dobsons and various wingnuts will see as the best of the evils. I'm all but convinced Gingrich will run...initially as a Repugnican, but he could bolt if the corporate media and the money feeds his ego enough.

The interesting thing is what will happen to the Religious right...Dobson, Falwell and Robertson will be "called home" soon and the "next generation" really doesn't have a spokeperson of that stature. With the big inroads by Democrats in the West last year, the turf wars for who "speaks for the religious right" will be interesting to watch. It could take decades to sort out.

[LiberalEsto]

13. If only they'd start a 3rd party

and draw off enough votes to soundly defeat the Rethug nominee in 2008.

[nevergiveup]

15. Don't count Rudy out

If they think he can win they will forgive him for past transgressions and proclaim him the savior.