Dobson Reacts; I Am Not Impressed

Msnbc has Dr. Dobson's reaction to Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus victory:

The results of the Iowa caucuses reveal that conservative Christians remain a powerful force in American politics...That had to be a great shock to those on the far-Left! The New York Times wrote a demeaning obituary of Values Voters in an article called 'the Evangelical Crackup.' CNN piled-on, proclaiming the demise of the 'old values'... Sixty percent of the voters in the Iowa caucuses were self-identified Evangelicals, and 45 percent of them supported Mike Huckabee. The former governor may not become the eventual Republican nominee, and I have not endorsed him, but what happened there last night was evidence of an energized and highly motivated conservative community. Not bad for a supposed bunch of demoralized, depressed, disillusioned and disengaged Reaganites.

Sorry, Dr. Dobson, but that is weak. I do not think that having sat on the sideline so far (and continuing to do so to this moment) in this election that you now have authority to speak on behalf of the Evangelicals who have chosen to participate. Values Voters participated in spite of your leadership rather than as a result of it. The Evangelical "followers" in Iowa (the people you are supposedly leading) were clearly convinced that Huckabee is their candidate. The question I have is where have you been?

Dobson Says "Huh?"

The Spectator has updated its earlier story that reported the Dr. Dobson was preparing to endorse Governor Huckabee. From the update:

Tim Minnery, Senior Vice President for Focus on the Family, Dobson's organization, denied on Friday afternoon that Dobson intended to endorse Huckabee in the coming days. Minnery's denial was submitted to the Spectator after Dobson received calls from other social conservative leaders inquiring about the leaked endorsement plans from the Huckabee campaign and Dobson associates. "Dr. Dobson isn't close to an endorsement of anyone in the 2008 race," Minnery wrote in an email to the editor denying there was an endorsement planned.

"Dr. Dobson isn't close to an enodrsment of anyone in the 2008 race." Isn't close? That's too bad, really. Huckabee is the clear choice for Conservatives. If such a high level individual goes out of the way to make such an unequivocal denial on Dobson's behalf, then I would suggest that today's earlier report is flat out wrong. Dr. Dobson has not come around like so many of us have wished he would.

And MSNBC's Firstread reports that the Mike Huckabee campaign has released a statement speaking to the confusion. From the release:

“There is no imminent campaign announcement about his [Dr. Dobson's] support -- and my campaign has not said there is, despite wild Internet rumors and some press accounts to the contrary. I have also spoken personally to him about the matter.”

This is probably going to serve only to make people upset. There were already plenty of people who were upset at Dobson (and others) for not backing the clear candidate for social conservatives. Then today many of those people were elated to hear that Dr. Dobson had come around. Now they find out that Dr. Dobson "denies ferociously" that he is planning to endorse Mike Huckabee. That is just going to remind everyone about how much they have despised the way Dobson and other leaders have handled this election cycle.

Dobson to Back Huckabee?

According to a post at the American Spectator today, there appears to be some indication that Dr. James Dobson has settled on Mike Huckabee as his preferred candidate for President of the United States. The Spectator writes:

Sources close to Dobson say that within the next ten days he is coordinating an endorsement plan with the presidential campaign of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Many people, myself included, have been somewhat critical of Dr. Dobson and other Christian leaders for their refusal to back Governor Huckabee. If this report is true and Dr. Dobson does intend to publicly endorse Governor Huckabee, I have a couple of thoughts.

1. Dr. Dobson's endorsement would mean that Mike Huckabee's campaign would see a significant increase in support. This would likely include, among other things, a significant increase in campaign funding.
2. Dr. Dobson's endorsement would indicate that some significant Christian leaders still do care about the principles upon which they live. Dr. Dobson's endorsement of Huckabee could trigger a domino affect, and his influence could encourage other leaders to hop on board.

If the Spectator report is true, the race for the Republican Nomination could see a significant shift.

Why I Started This Blog

I follow political happenings closely, and while I have supported Mike Huckabee for quite some time, I did not want to take the time to write a blog. But some things have happened in recent days that have caused my blood to boil. Let's review.

1. On October 1st, the New York Times reported that, "a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate." The coalition here referred to was none other than the so-called, media-dubbed leaders of the Christian Conservative block such as James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Richard A. Viguerie.
2. On October 18th, the Washington Post, quoting Chuck Colson, summarizd the seemingly prevalent attitude among the so-called, media-dubbed conservative leaders saying, "...there's no one candidate out there around whom evangelicals and conservative Catholics can sort of coalesce around and get excited about."
3. On October 18th, none other than the fine theologian, Dr. Wayne Grudem, penned an article entitled, "Why Evangelicals Should Support Mitt Romney" in which he argued that Mitt Romney was the best qualified, morally palatable candidate for Evangelical voters.
4. On October 22nd, the Washington Times reported that a meeting of several "conservative leaders" could not find a satisfactory candidate coming out of the "Values Voters" summitt held on October 19-20.
5. On October 21st, Gary Bauer discounted Mike Huckabee on the grounds that Bauer believed that Huckabee is only seeking the office of the Vice President.

These five things have led me to vast disappointment with the people who have been thought to be leaders of the Christian wing of conservatives. One purpose of this blog is to argue that Mike Huckabee is the clear and convincing candidate for those who are considered "values voters." As a Christian I am disappointed, to say the least, that those who have been considered leaders in the fight for Christian values are unwisely and unjustifiably embracing a doctrine of political pragmatism that will ultimately derail the advancement of the very values they claim to be trying to preserve.

In posts to follow, I will examine why I think pragmatism will ultimately fail the conservative movement. But in the mean time, please allow me to introduce you to Mike Huckabee.