Even in today’s super-heated partisan climate, James Dobson will raise a few eyebrows. Does anyone else on the political or religious scene preach intolerance with such bluster and gusto?
Dobson, as he’s prone to do whenever he thinks it will help, has played the “gay card” – this time in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. And, as it was once put, he’s played it from the bottom of the deck.
In an e-mail blast to Focus on the Family followers in the suburban Denver district, Dobson demonizes Democrat Ed Perlmutter for hiring gay people to work on his campaign. Young gay people to boot! Shame on Ed.
“Sen. Perlmutter has become a favorite of gay-rights organizations around the country,” Dobson wrote. “They have … even hired homosexual youth to work on his behalf.”
Are there really voters out there who will respond to such a discriminatory appeal? Dobson urges his followers, “Don’t let the abortion industry and advocates of homosexual marriage have their way in Colorado. Make your voice heard!”
In the e-mail, he touts the candidacy of Republican Rick O’Donnell. We have to wonder if Dobson asked O’Donnell to promise not to hire any homosexuals.
Don’t tell Dobson, but the Bush administration has been known to hire gays. In fact, when Mark Dybul was sworn in as the nation’s global AIDS ambassador recently, his partner, Jason Claire, held the Bible during his swearing-in ceremony with Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush as enthusiastic witnesses.
Dobson has been considered an important Christian voice in the United States, but lately he comes across as putting partisan politics ahead of values as he does the bidding of Washington Republicans.
Remember his quick defense for the president’s inexperienced Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers?
Worse, Dobson even found a way to excuse Mark Foley’s repugnant behavior with congressional pages, guessing it was some “sort of a joke by the boy and some of the other pages.”
On this week’s radio program, Dobson blared his usual sirens for listeners who might be thinking about sitting it out on Election Day. A liberal takeover of Congress, he said, would lead to crippling setbacks in battles on social issues and would “paralyze” President Bush in his final two years.
Amazingly, Dobson can’t claim the prize for the clumsiest political comments of the week. He’d have to work extra hard to top Sen. John Kerry. Still, it’s only Thursday.
