Uh oh. Looks like someone still hasn't done enough ass-kissing.
James Dobson has a real problem with Fred Thompson. Back in March, he called the US News & World Report to say that Thompson didn't fit his definition of Christian (and we all know that God gave Dobson final say on that). Now he's emailing his pals to say he won't support Fred.
DENVER (AP) — James Dobson, one of the nation's most politically influential evangelical Christians, made it clear in a message to friends this week he will not support Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson.
In a private e-mail obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, Dobson accuses the former Tennessee senator and actor of being weak on the campaign trail and wrong on issues dear to social conservatives.
"Isn't Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won't talk at all about what he believes, and can't speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail?" Dobson wrote.
"He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to.' And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"
He's right that Fred appears to be the Great Hope of the Republican party (and he might want to be careful about using that particular phrase, as it automatically brings to mind the word "white"), so what will he and his minions do if Thompson is the nominee? And who will he support in the meantime?
Earlier this year, Dobson said he wouldn't back John McCain because of the Arizona senator's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Later, Dobson wrote on a conservative news Web site that he wouldn't support former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani should he win the Republican nomination. Dobson called Giuliani an "unapologetic supporter of abortion on demand" and criticized him for signing a bill in 1997 creating domestic-partnership benefits in New York City.
So Thompson, McCain, and Giuliani are out. I doubt he's going to throw his support behind a Mormon or a Catholic, so Romney and Brownback won't cut it. Mike Huckabee, who certainly meets the evangelical Christian requirement, has been straying from Republican talking points and sounding just a bit too populist lately. Ron Paul doesn't support Bush's holy war in the Middle East. And, oh darn, Newt Gingrich (the "brightest guy out there" and "the most articulate politician on the scene today" according to Dobson, who is apparently willing to overlook Newt's three marriages and history of infidelity) doesn't plan to run in 2008.
Oh, just in case you were wondering how Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization, can endorse or withhold endorsement from political candidates without running afoul of the IRS, he has that covered.
Gary Schneeberger, a Focus on the Family spokesman, confirmed that Dobson wrote the e-mail. Schneeberger declined to comment further, saying it would be inappropriate because Dobson's comments about presidential candidates are made as an individual and not as a representative of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization restricted from partisan politics.
Uh huh. And that's why Republican candidates make pilgrimages to Colorado Springs to kiss his ring and beg for his support -- because he's just a private citizen with no influence over how his followers vote. Well, the people at the IRS bought that line of bull, I mean, argument, so no worries.
Last week, Dobson announced on his radio show that the IRS had cleared him of accusations that he had endangered his organization's nonprofit status by endorsing Republican candidates in 2004. The IRS said Dobson, who endorsed President Bush's re-election bid, was acting as an individual and not on behalf of the nonprofit group.
H/T, Pam
UPDATE: Now Newt says he might run if he can raise a quick $30 million. Oh goody.
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