New York Times Poll: Evangelicals Agree with Dr. Dobson

CitizenLink.com ^ | 10-8-2007 | Jennifer Mesko

[monomaniac]

New York Times Poll: Evangelicals Agree with Dr. Dobson

by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor

Majority only will support a presidential candidate who shares their values.

A New York Times/CBS News poll shows white, evangelical Republicans agree with Dr. James Dobson.

Nearly 60 percent of those who plan to vote in the primaries said they could not support a candidate they didn't agree with on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Eighty-six percent said presidential candidates should be judged on both their political record and their personal life.

Dr. Dobson has taken a beating in the media for promising to vote only for a candidate who shares his basic values, even if that means supporting a third-party candidate.

Last week, he wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times to clarify his position: "Speaking personally, and not for the organization I represent, I firmly believe that the selection of a president should begin with a recommitment to traditional moral values and beliefs. Those include the sanctity of human life, the institution of marriage, and other inviolable pro-family principles. Only after that determination is made can the acceptability of a nominee be assessed."

Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America, a Texas-based group that has a network of 5,000 pastors willing to mobilize their churches to vote, said evangelicals are not bluffing.

“I am not going to cast a sacred vote granted to me by the blood of millions of God-fearing Americans who died on the fields of battle for freedom, for a candidate who says it’s OK to kill the unborn,” he told The Times. “I just can’t.”

WATCH DR. DOBSON ON TV
Dr. James Dobson will be a guest on Hannity & Colmes on the Fox News Channel tonight at 9 ET. The program re-airs at midnight ET. He will offer his views, as a private citizen, on the 2008 presidential election.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read Dr. Dobson's op-ed that ran in The New York Times last week.

[Archon of the East]

Look for the slimes to run positive Christian unifying stories if Rudy gets the nomination.

[dawn53]

What I don’t understand is this: Dobson is against Guiliani, against Thompson, I’m assuming against Romney? Who is he for???? It seems he’s left himself no option but a third party candidate because he’s already dismissed the top tier as unsuitable.

[Mogollon]

God Family Country That’s just the way it is.

I wonder how a guaranteed win for Hillary Clinton is serving God? She will appoint three pro-aborts to the supreme court.

[Taggart_D]

May I remind everyone that a few weeks ago, Ann Coulter when asked who she preferred as GOP nominee she said ANY GOP NOMINEE had to be prolife and against gun control and Rudy would really have to change his tune dramatically on those issues. What’s wrong with Dobson putting his foot down? The GOP has NO backbone, maybe a kick in the rear will do the GOP some good. I don’t think Dobson is self-serving in this one....time to take a deep breath and relax.

[gscc]

It is the Republican party that is leaving the Evangelical community. To be very honest it is becoming ever more difficult to differentiate the parties, whether it is the social issues, spending, etc. It seems to me that Souter, Stevens, O’Connor and Kennedy were nominated by Republicans that were supposedly pro-life. Two of these are part of the pro-abortion minority on the bench and the other two were almost as bad. Are you telling me that Giuliani, who favors abortion, will nominate a Supreme Court Justice that will overturn Roe?

[gscc]

It is the Republican party that is leaving the Evangelical community. To be very honest it is becoming ever more difficult to differentiate the parties, whether it is the social issues, spending, etc. It seems to me that Souter, Stevens, O’Connor and Kennedy were nominated by Republicans that were supposedly pro-life. Two of these are part of the pro-abortion minority on the bench and the other two were almost as bad. Are you telling me that Giuliani, who favors abortion, will nominate a Supreme Court Justice that will overturn Roe?

[donna]

If God wants to stop it, He will.

[mek1959]

Politics and principle don’t always dance well together, one always has to lead the other.

As for me, I cannot forsake my principles for pragmatism and this may just more rapidly precipitate the coming amicable divorce that’s already brewing. There are certain principles for which there can be no compromise:

1. Excessive taxation (theft)- are we really principled when we stand for a little less theft as republicans. Not me, I’d slash the federal spending by 65% if I could. Will RudiMcThomsoney?

2. Abortion - The pro-life movement doesn’t believe someone has a “choice” to kill someone - penumbra’s aside.

3. Gay marriage - You’re either for it or against it and you think it matters or it doesn’t.

Etc etc.

Republicans have been retreating for years and will continue, just as we did in the 30’s. Want proof - look at the 3 TRILLION dollar budget floating up there in the den of theives called the Congress. We republicans really made principled stands on the average taxpayers money didn’t we! Republicans shouldn’t puff their chests out to big because they reduced the rate of spending increase from 10% down to 6%. What COURAGE. At least FDR, LBJ and Hillary had/have the courage of their convictions. They intended and intend to bring in socialism. Do you think RudiMcThomsoney will stand forcefully on the issues I listed above and stop the move towards socialism - hardly.

Prediction: If by some odd chance that one of them wins, as typical with republicans, I can already hear RudiMcThomsoney pontificate how they won one for the average American by “forcing” the democratically held congress to only increase the federal budget by 7% instead of the 10% they wanted. And as the frogs in the kettle we are, the heat will increase another 10 degrees.

I say lets get the inevitable over with. I dare say that had the new media been around in the 30’s, we’d have been the North United States and the South United States then.

[buccaneer81]

Dr. Dobson has taken a beating in the media for promising to vote only for a candidate who shares his basic values, even if that means supporting a third-party candidate.

He's a damn fool. Based on his recent pronouncements, he wouldn't have supported Reagan because he had been divorced.

It's time to stop listening to preachers and acting like independent, free-thinking conservatives.

As the Gipper once said, if we agree on 80% of the issues, we are united.

[SE Mom]

Dobson’s on H & C right now.

He is keeping a door open for Romeny.

I can’t believe this- but he’s quite willing to give the White House to Hillary.

[gondramB]

>>what is this, a loss-leader to boost their credibility?

New York Times Poll: most people fall down, not up.<<

The NYT is hoping against hope that Dobson crowd will “Nader” the Republican nominee.

And they are playing right into it by spending their time threatening to walk instead of working together to get a conservative nominated.

It is not at all unlikely the Perot, Nader and Dobson will be remembered together.

OF COURSE, we shouldn’t support abortion. Conservatives have never supported abortion, why would we start now?

But the primaries haven’t even started - this is the time to work instead of focusing on taking the ball and going home.

[Mogollon]

Evangelicals need to go back and read about all the imperfect people that became God's greatest servants: Moses was a murder, David was an adulterer and murderer, Mary Magdalene an adultress, etc., etc.,

I don't want Rudy as the nominee either but I'm pragmatic enough to vote for him rather than let 'She Who Must Not be Named' win.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Liberals have no problem accepting incremental change. They will even accept short term set backs in the interest of achieving overall success. Conservative evangelicals cannot do this.

This will ultimately be their undoing. Many place their hopes in political institutions rather than God. They are engaged in politics which invariably involves compromise and negotiations. If one's principles trump one's politics, you will be frustrated in success and frustrated by defeat.

If one wants to play the political game, one has to play by political rules. You have to WIN elections to have a place at the table. If you consistently lose and maintain your principles you have nothing and will get nothing out of the political game. You become irrelevant.

Dobson and other evangelical who bolt and cause the GOP to lose will become less not more relevant.

[Kimberly GG]

Dobson on Hannity tonight....Hannity trying to convince Dobson is A OK. LMAO. Not happening Sean.

[dmw]

What did Dobson say about Romeny? I missed that part.

[gscc]

My pragmatism does not extend to voting for an abortionist. Sorry about yours.

[CaptainK]

He just told Sean Hannity he won’t back Fred.

[Kimberly GG]

Dobson on Hannity tonight....Hannity trying to convince Dobson that GUILIANI is A OK. LMAO. Not happening Sean.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Let's see what's better....a guy who is with us on about 80 to 85% of what matters or get a witch who is with us on maybe 5% of what matters?

BTW, I am a Bible believing conservative evangelical and I like Dobson. But he does not speak for me and I resent any so-called christian leader who presumes to do so.

[SE Mom]

Actually- that was a reference on my part to something he said the other day when he interviewed Dobson on his radio show.

He clearly left the door open for Romney.