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  <updated>2008-08-07T15:58:29-05:00</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>Dobson’s Nightmare: Thompson and Land Teaming Up</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/dobson%E2%80%99s-nightmare-thompson-and-land-teaming" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/dobson%E2%80%99s-nightmare-thompson-and-land-teaming</id>
    <published>2007-04-19T14:39:16-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-08-07T15:58:29-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Fred Thompson" />
    <category term="James Dobson" />
    <category term="Politics" />
    <category term="Richard Land" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>A few weeks ago, we <A title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/is_richard_land.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/is_richard_land.html">noted</a> that   Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention&rsquo;s Ethics &amp; Religious   Liberty Commission, appeared to be quietly positioning to become one of the   Right&rsquo;s leading powerbrokers and had been more-or-less openly challenging James   Dobson. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In that post, we mentioned that Land   publicly came out against Dobson&rsquo;s <A title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/03/dobson_seeks_to.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/03/dobson_seeks_to.html">gracelessly   obvious attempt</a> to back Newt Gingrich while simultaneously quashing Fred   Thompson&rsquo;s potential candidacy.&nbsp; Land   heaped praise on Thompson as a &ldquo;Southern-fried Reagan&rdquo; while   saying that Gingrich cannot be trusted. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Apparently, we were not the only   ones who have <A title="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r" href="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r">noticed</a> Land&rsquo;s pro-Thompson efforts: </p>
<blockquote><p>Mr. Land   said Mr. Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn, telephoned to thank him for a complimentary   newspaper column. On Saturday, Mr. Thompson phoned to say he wanted Mr. Land   present at any campaign kickoff.</p></blockquote>
<p>In the   past few election cycles, Dobson has been an aggressive campaigner for   right-wing candidates. &nbsp;But in a <A title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801577_pf.html" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801577_pf.html">recent   interview</a> with Reuters, Dobson suggested that politics is a sideline, not his primary concern:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In an   interview, the founder and chairman of the influential conservative advocacy and   counseling group Focus on the Family said that politics was a sideline to his   real passion: helping families via his books, radio show and counseling   services.</p>
<p>"It's not   Focus on Politics, it's Focus on the Family," he told Reuters at his spacious   office that offer breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With current polls showing Giuliani leading the Republican pack,   and <A title="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r" href="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r">some</a> <A title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_041607.html" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_041607.html">polls</a> suggesting that Thompson would   immediately be among the front-runners if he enters the race, Dobson could find himself   increasingly marginalized as a   political power broker. &nbsp;Lucky for him, all that political bullying and   campaigning is not his &ldquo;real   passion.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: <em>The Washington Times</em> issued a <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/corrections/20070419-105627-7208r.htm">correction</a> to the article mentioned above, noting that it was Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder who received the call from Thompson, not Land:<br />
<blockquote> This article incorrectly reported the circumstances of a phone call from former Sen. Fred Thompson and his wife about the possible launch of a presidential campaign. The call was received by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who said, "No date or time frame was mentioned." </blockquote></p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>A few weeks ago, we <A title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/is_richard_land.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/is_richard_land.html">noted</a> that   Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention&rsquo;s Ethics &amp; Religious   Liberty Commission, appeared to be quietly positioning to become one of the   Right&rsquo;s leading powerbrokers and had been more-or-less openly challenging James   Dobson. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In that post, we mentioned that Land   publicly came out against Dobson&rsquo;s <A title="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/03/dobson_seeks_to.html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/03/dobson_seeks_to.html">gracelessly   obvious attempt</a> to back Newt Gingrich while simultaneously quashing Fred   Thompson&rsquo;s potential candidacy.&nbsp; Land   heaped praise on Thompson as a &ldquo;Southern-fried Reagan&rdquo; while   saying that Gingrich cannot be trusted. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Apparently, we were not the only   ones who have <A title="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r" href="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r">noticed</a> Land&rsquo;s pro-Thompson efforts: </p>
<blockquote><p>Mr. Land   said Mr. Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn, telephoned to thank him for a complimentary   newspaper column. On Saturday, Mr. Thompson phoned to say he wanted Mr. Land   present at any campaign kickoff.</p></blockquote>
<p>In the   past few election cycles, Dobson has been an aggressive campaigner for   right-wing candidates. &nbsp;But in a <A title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801577_pf.html" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801577_pf.html">recent   interview</a> with Reuters, Dobson suggested that politics is a sideline, not his primary concern:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In an   interview, the founder and chairman of the influential conservative advocacy and   counseling group Focus on the Family said that politics was a sideline to his   real passion: helping families via his books, radio show and counseling   services.</p>
<p>"It's not   Focus on Politics, it's Focus on the Family," he told Reuters at his spacious   office that offer breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With current polls showing Giuliani leading the Republican pack,   and <A title="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r" href="http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070418-112641-5153r">some</a> <A title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_041607.html" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_041607.html">polls</a> suggesting that Thompson would   immediately be among the front-runners if he enters the race, Dobson could find himself   increasingly marginalized as a   political power broker. &nbsp;Lucky for him, all that political bullying and   campaigning is not his &ldquo;real   passion.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: <em>The Washington Times</em> issued a <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/corrections/20070419-105627-7208r.htm">correction</a> to the article mentioned above, noting that it was Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder who received the call from Thompson, not Land:<br />
<blockquote> This article incorrectly reported the circumstances of a phone call from former Sen. Fred Thompson and his wife about the possible launch of a presidential campaign. The call was received by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who said, "No date or time frame was mentioned." </blockquote></p>
    ]]></content>
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