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Dobson and the Religious Right Rally for McCain/Palin
It was not so long ago that pundits were busy telling us that the Religious Right is dead, dying or irrelevant. The selection of Sarah Palin is proof, in case anyone actually needed any, that the Religious Right remains at the center and at the top of American public life.
Palin is the most ostentatiously and authentically Religious Right major party candidate for national office in American history (with the possible exception of Jack Kemp.) Reagan was good, but he did not attend church (and it later turned out that he and Nancy consulted and astrologer on his daily schedule); Dan Quayle was good, but well, he was Quayle; George W. Bush seemed good (and from their point of view in some ways he was) but he is viewed as having betrayed the conservative movement and they are not shy about saying so. Richard Viguerie has a whole book about it titled "Betrayed." (And David Kuo's book could have very nearly had that title.) We also now know that much (but not all) of Bush's religious history was manufactured by his political inner circle.
Sarah Palin is, in the view of the Religious Right, the real deal. James Dobson had repeatedly said that he would not under any circumstances vote for John McCain. Today, he said the selection of Palin had helped him change his mind. |
Let's start with James Dobson who said on his radio program today:
"If I Went into the Polling Booth Today, I Would Pull the Lever for John McCain"
He said of Palin: "A genuine reformer. A deeply committed Christian."
Citizen Link, the political communications unit of Focus on the Family Action reported:
On a special Focus Action radio broadcast, Dr. Dobson said Palin has helped change his mind on McCain.
"If I went into the polling booth today, I would pull the lever for John McCain," he said.
Dr. Dobson applauded the Republican Party's strong platform plank against destructive embryonic stem-cell research, which uses much stronger language than in years past.
The broadcast also featured Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, Kelly Shackelford and Tom Minnery, who expressed unanimous support for McCain and Palin.
"I don't remember this kind of electric moment since I went to the inauguration of Ronald Reagan," Dr. Dobson said.
Palin will speak at the Republican National Convention tonight at 10:30 EDT / 7:30 PDT. Most networks are expected to carry the speech live.
Next weekend, the action moves to Washington, D.C., for the annual Values Voters Summit. Confirmed speakers include Newt Gingrich, Lou Dobbs, Star Parker, Phyllis Schlafly, Bill Bennett, Chuck Colson and many more.
Palin and McCain have been invited to speak, as has Sen. Barack Obama.
Here is the entirety of Focus on the Family Action's press statement on the Palin choice:
Colorado Springs, Colo. - Focus on the Family Action founder and chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today after learning that Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, had selected Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.
Dr. Dobson will further discuss McCain's pick tonight at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.
"Sen. McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring tto the conservative base of his party. She is a strong executive who hates corruption and puts principle above politics. After floating the names of Tom Ridge and Sen. Joe Lieberman in recent weeks - selections that would have created consternation among pro-family Republicans - Sen. McCain has chosen a solid conservative who has a reputation for espousing common sense."
"Gov. Palin's views align with Sen. McCain's own stated position that human life is precious and must be protected - and that gives us confidence he will keep his pledges to voters regarding the kinds of justices he would nominate to the Supreme Court and the way he would conduct our nation's domestic and international affairs. This selection by Sen. McCain is a very encouraging sign for his campaign."
Win or lose, the religious right has kept its seat at the table of power. And those whose understanding of American politics and religion was premised on the idea that the Religious Right was dead, dying or irrelevant -- have been proved smashingly wrong.
I say this because it is important to learn from our errors. And this error is one that has been repeated many times over the past few decades as premature conclusions about the Religious Right have been too often drawn based to be generous, on dubious or highly transitory evidence: A scandal. An electoral setback. The death of an aging leader. Or worst of all, excessive reliance on polling data. Too often however, I think such concluclusions have been based on wishful thinking.
The Religious Right has built an extensive infrastructure of media, political organizations, institutions of higher learning including law schools -- and raised-up several generations of leaders who have found their way into their roles in public life.
Whatever else one may think of Sarah Palin: first as governor of Alaska and now the GOP nominee for Vice President -- she epitomizes this reality. |
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