James Dobson

Alvin McEwen has been doing heroic work combating the relentless stream of lies about Kevin Jennings, especially the allegations that Jennings' taught "fisting" to a group of children, as Rush Limbaugh claimed yesterday, and that GLSEN was distributing copies of "The Little Black Book," a directory of gay bars.  

McEwen has repeatedly debunked these claims, in all their forms, pointing out time and again that the incidents underlying the claims involved are being completely misrepresented and that Jennings was never personally involved in any of them.

For instance, the "fisting" allegation stems from a dental dam kit distributed by Planned Parenthood at a GLSEN conference, while the "Black Book" allegation stems from a community health group which accidentally left a few copies on its table at a GLSEN conference, and which no students ever received.

And, from that, the Right has declared Jennings "a raging pervert who taught fisting ... to grade school and junior high school students."

Now let's try an experiment:

Remember last year when a vendor was selling Obama Waffles at the Values Voter Summit?

The Family Research Council quickly issued a statement saying it "strongly condemned the tone and content of the materials" and Focus on the Family pledged to "do everything in its power to prevent another such unacceptable situation in the future."

Now imagine if we wrote about this incident by claiming "Family Research Council president Tony Perkins peddles racist paraphernalia" or "Focus on the Family's James Dobson traffics in crude racial stereotypes. " How do you think FRC, FOF, and others on the Religious Right would react?  

Do you think they'd accuse us of flagrant misrepresentation and baseless character assassination?  If so, they'd be right ... and that is exactly what they are doing to Kevin Jennings.   

It seems that Chuck Colson has gathered together a group of right-wing activists and clergy for something called the "Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" in order to create a unified front in fighting the culture war: 

The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the administration of President George W. Bush. The signers include nine Roman Catholic archbishops and the primate of the Orthodox Church in America.

They want to signal to the Obama administration and to Congress that they are still a formidable force that will not compromise on abortion, stem-cell research or gay marriage. They hope to influence current debates over health care reform, the same-sex marriage bill in Washington, D.C., and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

They say they also want to speak to younger Christians who have become engaged in issues like climate change and global poverty, and who are more accepting of homosexuality than their elders. They say they want to remind them that abortion, homosexuality and religious freedom are still paramount issues.

For some reason, the headline of the New York Times article is "Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues" instead of "Right Wing Activists Unite On Political Issues," which would have been far more accurate considering that a significant number of those who signed on to this declaration are standard Religious Right political activists:

Chuck Colson Founder, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

Jim Daly President and CEO, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO)

Marjorie Dannenfelser President, Susan B. Anthony List (Arlington, VA)

Dr. James Dobson Founder, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO)

Dr. William Donohue President, Catholic League (New York, NY)

Dinesh D’Souza Writer & Speaker (Rancho Santa Fe, CA)

Rev. Jonathan Falwell Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, VA)

Maggie Gallagher President, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and a co-author of The Case for Marriage (Manassas, VA)

Dr. Robert P. George McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

Rev. Ken Hutcherson Pastor, Antioch Bible Church (Kirkland, WA)

Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church (Beltsville, MD)

Dr. Richard Land President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC (Washington, DC)

Rev. Herb Lusk Pastor, Greater Exodus Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA)

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY)

Tony Perkins President, Family Research Council (Washington, D.C.)

Alan Sears President, CEO, & General Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund (Scottsdale, AZ)

Mark Tooley President, Institute for Religion and Democracy (Washington, D.C.)

The Declaration can be found here:

While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

Last week we noted that while just about every right-wing leader had endorsed Doug Hoffman's campaign for the House seat in NY-23 over the Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, Mike Huckabee was one notable exception. Huckabee's refusal to take sides on this issue was not playing well with conservative activists, but now that Scozzafava has dropped out, Huckabee has suddenly become an ardent supporter of Hoffman's campaign:

We commend Dede Scozzafava for stepping aside and in light of her very unselfish announcement, we join the RNC and other Republicans in urging support for Doug Hoffman.

And his HuckPAC has announced that getting Hoffman elected is one of its top priorities:

This Tuesday voters will head to the polls and cast votes for three very important candidates: Bob McDonnell (candidate for Virginia Governor) and David Harmer and Doug Hoffman candidates for Congress in California and New York. We need to help get each of these fine men elected.

We are past the point where a donation to their campaign will matter that much, what we need now is to reach as many voters as possible within the next 36 hours and let them know Americans are focused on helping elect elect Bob McDonnell, David Harmer and Doug Hoffman.

Today I am emailing to ask if you will take a moment now to make phone calls to voters. We have set up phone banks for Bob McDonnell and David Harmer and you can begin calling voters immediately. Tomorrow we will launch a phone bank for Doug Hoffman. Even if you can only make a call or two, you will help make a positive difference in the final hours before votes are cast on Tuesday.

Also, if you know friends or family who will have a chance to vote on Tuesday for one of these candidates please make sure they do. Huck PAC volunteers have already made over 20,000 calls in Virginia and helped Bob immensely. I know if we make these final calls we can do more of the same.

Wow, what a bold, principled stance for Huckabee to take, throwing his support behind Hoffman just two days before the election ... and only after his Republican challenger has dropped out. 

Huckabee seems to be have been inspired by James Dobson and is now mirroring his feckless policy of making face-saving, self-serving, last-minute political endorsements.

You have to hand it to Alan Colmes.  Even though I spend my days wallowing in right-wing insanity for this blog, I don't know that I could tolerate the prospect of actually debating any of the people we write about, but Colmes does it day in and day out.

Case in point: his interview last night with Randall Terry about his "Pelosi and Reed Should Burn in Hell" contest.  Terry insisted the contest was "somewhat tongue and cheek" but when the conversation turned toward the issue of covering reproductive health needs in heathcare reform, Colmes informed Terry that Focus on the Family provides its employees health insurance through Principal, an insurance company that covers "abortion services," Terry was shocked by the news and said he'd be contacting James Dobson about it.  So it looks like Focus on the Family ought to be expecting a visit from Terry and his theater troop in the near future.

Perhaps the most interesting exchange came when Colmes asked Terry is he had any sympathy for Scott Roeder, the man accused of killing Dr. George Tiller and Terry went silent, saying he'd never thought about it.  Eventually, Terry suggested that his views on Roeder's alleged actions depended on whether he acted in order to stop Tiller from carrying out more abortions and thereby saving babies or whether he acted in order to punish Tiller for his past abortion procedures.  The latter, Terry seemed to suggest, was completely different from the former and Roeder's actions should be judged accordingly. 

But in the end, the one person for whom Terry has no sympathy at all was Tiller himself, whom Terry called "one of the most evil, damnable, demonic men on the planet, every bit as vile as the worst Nazis" and a "son of a bitch who deserved to rot in hell":

Leesburg Today covered a dedication ceremony of a new building, the Barbara Hodel Center, on the campus of Patrick Henry College, the "Harvard for homeschoolers" founded by Michael Farris.

The featured speaker at the ceremony was James Dobson who praised Patrick Henry College for creating the new generation of leaders that the Religious Right needs to keep waging its battles as the older generation passes away.  And among those Dobson reportedly cited as having passed away were Billy Graham and Pat Robertson:

Dobson drew his remarks from reflections made following the death of minister James Kennedy, after the passing of Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, urging Patrick Henry students to become the new generation of evangelical leaders. "The question is will the younger generation heed the call?" he asked.

"Who in the next generation will be willing to take the heat, when it is so much safer and more comfortable to avoid controversial subjects. Who is going to defend traditional morality in a culture that is sliding into moral decline? Who will call sin by its name and lead the nation to repentance and holiness?" Dobson said. "I pray that the Lord will anoint a new generation--some of the best and the brightest of which are in this room--a new generation of Jim Kennedys, courageous men and women who will not waiver an inch in the defense of truth. I believe we're going to see these leaders emerge in the next few years and that the mantle handed down from my respected and loved friend and others will be received and cherished by those who are willing to die if necessary for what they believe."

Dobson does know that both Robertson and Graham are still alive, doesn't he? 

The Council for National Policy is a notoriously secretive organization, so it came as a bit of a surprise to see that Focus on the Family had posted video of the entire speech that James Dobson recently delivered at the group's annual meeting when he accepted the "Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award."

For the majority of the speech, Dobson recounted his personal history in light of the difficulties those who share his right-wing views and values faced in the 1960s and 1970s and contrasted that with the joy they felt with the election of Ronald Reagan.  Toward the end of his remarks, Dobson turned to the current political environment, lamenting that President Obama is opposed to everything that Ronald Reagan stood for, alleged that Obama believes in "peace through appeasement" with the nation's enemies and compared him to Neville Chamberlain, and declared that the nation is in "greater danger, right now I think, than at any time since the Civil War."

Dobson closed by laying out the recipe for conservative (and Republican) political success in the coming elections and "save America from national disaster," warning that efforts to purge the Religious Right from the GOP will lead to disaster and proclaiming that what the movement needs "are political candidates who love conservative principles, who believe in them, who can articulate and defend them to the public, men and women who cherish liberty and are willing to give their very lives for it, and will oppose the evil of liberalism, and will speak with conviction about the institutions of marriage and parenting, and will revere and uphold free enterprise and defend the Constitution.  If American patriots will do this and then bathe their efforts in prayer, as did the Founding Fathers, then they will restore our country to its heritage and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity":

At lunch yesterday, I was having a conversation with a colleague about the apparent merging of various factions of the right-wing movement under President Obama, noting how right-wing supergroups like the Freedom Federation were bringing together organizations like Concerned Women for American and the Family Research Council with outlets that they had never really aligned themselves with before, like Americans for Prosperity and Morning Star Ministries.

We also commented on the fact that the Heritage Foundation is sponsoring this year's Values Voter Summit, which is a first, as far as we can recall, and that James Dobson has started having people like Rick Scarborough on his radio show, which was also a rather new development.

But I didn't realize how fully integrated the right-wing movement was becoming until I saw this:

This is actually just the first part of a scheduled two part interview. You can listen to part one here or here.

The other day, Jeremy at Good As You noticed that Religious Right groups organizing behind the anti-marriage equality effort in Maine were suddenly distancing themselves from Mike Heath of the Maine Family Policy Council.

I assumed these groups were trying to avoid being seen in public with Heath because of the rabidly anti-gay insanity he's been spreading recently.  But, as it turns out, these groups just trying to avoid being seen in public period:

The Stand for Marriage Rally is being organized by Focus on the Family, The Maine Jeremiah Project, Family Research Council and Stand for Marriage Maine, which includes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

Bishop Richard Malone is expected to address the crowd, along with religious leaders from Maryland and California.

James Dobson of Focus on the Family will provide a video message, [Rev. Bob Emrich] said.

The event is free, but tickets are required. Emrich said members of the media will not be allowed inside the event.

The most recent campaign finance reports from Main showed that of the money raised by the Religious Right groups fighting marriage equality in the state, the amount that came from actual residents of Maine constituted a mere .1%, whereas the amount donated by national Religious Right groups like the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family made up the other 99.9%.

These groups sure do seem to be dumping a lot of time, money, and effort into this campaign while simultaneously trying to keep the people of Maine in the dark about it.

From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:

Newly disclosed Bush-era White House visitor records suggest leading conservative Christian leaders may have had a significant voice in President Bush’s administration, and many seem to have had the ear of the president himself. The White House produced these records in response to CREW’s request for the visitor records of nine individuals beginning in January 1, 2001.

Only one record indicates a visit after October 4, 2006, the date of CREW’s request. The data is summarized below.

• For the period April 2001 through June 2006, Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman Emeritus James Dobson visited the White House 24 times; 10 of those visits were to President Bush.

• Andrea Lafferty, Executive Director of the Traditional Values Coalition, made an astonishing 50 visits to the White House starting on February 1, 2001, and continuing through March 16, 2008. Six of those visits were to President Bush.

• Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, made 43 visits to the White House between May 2001 and August 2006. Four of those visits were to President Bush.

• Gary Bauer, President of American Values, made 10 visits to the White House, starting with a January 6, 2003 visit to Vice President Cheney and ending with a July 20, 2006 visit to President Bush.

• The late Jerry Falwell, of Jerry Falwell Ministries, made eight visits to the White House between May 2001 and September 2004. Three of those visits were to President Bush.

• Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council, visited the White House 14 times between February 2001 and June 2006, including two visits to President Bush.

• Louis Sheldon, Chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, made 19 visits to the White House between March 2001 and September 2006, including two visits to President Bush.

• The late Paul Weyrich, the Founder of Free Congress foundation, made 17 visits to the White House between May 2001 and July 2005, including six visits to President Bush and one to Karl Rove.

• Donald Wildmon, Founder of the American Family Association, made three visits to the White House between July 2001 and March 2003, including one visit to President Bush.