Posted on 01/17/2012 2:50:57 PM PST by VinL
At the now-controversial meeting of evangelicals at a Texas ranch, influential evangelical leader James Dobson made a strong pitch for Rick Santorum's wife — and noted that Callista Gingrich was her husband's "mistress for eight years," questioning whether that's what people want in a first lady, three sources told POLITICO.
The moment left several attendees at the confab at the Pressler ranch stunned, according to the sources.
It came on Saturday, before the group of about 150 conservatives voted on a candidate they wanted to back. On the third round of balloting, the vote went to Santorum, but Gingrich backers and other attendees have argued that the voting was done unfairly, and in a way that seemed to benefit the former Pennsylvania senator.
The meeting was initially described as an event to try to unite behind a single candidate to thwart Mitt Romney, but his representatives also ended up speaking there, and despite the third round of balloting — which took place after some Gingrich backers left, thinking the meeting had ended — broad consensus was never reached, according to multiple attendees.
"Dobson first talked about how great Santorum is," recalled one source, who had first-hand knowledge of Dobson's comment. "[He said,] 'I want to tell you that I've gotten to know Karen [Santorum] and she is just lovely. She set aside two professional careers to raise these seven children. She would make a fabulous first lady role model. And Newt Gingrich's wife, she was a mistress for eight years."
Another source confirmed the account, and said Dobson concluded the sentiment about Callista Gingrich with, "Who do you want as your first lady?"
"It was like a chill [set into] the room," said one source. Several people were offended by the comment, said another source, adding that it was noted among some participants that Callista Gingrich had only been married once.
THANK YOU for your post. I agree with you — if you can’t trust someone maritial vow, how can you trust all of their other vows and sacred pledges. That said, I’ll vote for Newt over the socialist — but I’d be satisfied to have almost any Republicans except Romney and Ron Paul.
I think the people on this thread have acted despicably. Were they witnesses to the Texas meeting and did they hear Dr. Dobson make those remarks? NO. Are they familiar with Dr. Dobson’s life work? NO. But they come out of the woodwork to call him a bastard, a jackass and other vile names. The people like Mariner who have launched these attacks on Dr. Dobson (who has been vilified for years by the left and homosexual activists) are unworthy of shining his shoes.
Sorry you think so. I’d just read that passage yesterday morning.
Frankly, I haven’t ever heard her speak- so it’s difficult. Now, I’m a guy so it’s a little out of my realm— but she stands by Newt and seems rigid (especially with that hair style, imo)— We all know, Newt needs to be “softened” in his public image. Calista needs a little more of that Laura Bush image that says— “ok, if he says something dumb, trust me, I know him, he didn’t mean any offense, he’s a great guy at heart.”
Surprise, surprise I'm going to agree with you.
We won't have a leader that is perfect until Jesus returns. I think Gingrich's committing adultery does reflect poorly on his character, but every candidate is flawed to some extent.
I think it would have been nice to see Evangelical Christians support the one Evangelical Christian still running, Perry. For whatever reason Evangelicals never seem to be as concerned with supporting one of their own as other religious groups.
Yes, Gingrich could use a wife like that. I don’t know how Callista is either.
Dobson is an ignorant political novice who screwed conservatives in 2008 by maliciously slagging Fred Thompson with an "off the record" email that said Fred wasn't a Christian. That action resulted in leaving the GOP with John McCain as their nominee.
Please see my original FR article from January 29, 2008:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961546/posts
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The Death of Conservatism? - 43 Mistakes and the GOP's Dobson's Choice
Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 1:55:19 PM by Sideshow Bob
There have been more than a few recent articles and editorials attempting to affix blame for the demise of the Republican Party. Peggy Noonan blames President Bush. Rush Limbaugh believes a McCain nomination will kill the party. However, even in a worse case scenario, the Republican Party will probably stagger along for several years much like the last decade of the Whigs. Conservative Republicans should probably be more concerned about the impending demise of the conservative movement within the party. Some individuals can be blamed more than others, but this folly has many fathers. The latest blow to conservatives has come from within – thanks to Dr. James Dobson and other egotistical evangelicals. Political doomsayers may be correct and it is likely too late to save the conservative movement in 2008. Conservatives can correct their path to destruction for 2010 and beyond, but only if they look back at recent history, recognize the actions and actors that have brought the party and movement to this point, and to learn from a long series of missteps and mistakes.
Ronald Reagan built a winning coalition of conservatives, independents and establishment moderate Republicans in 1980. A coalition of social, economic and security conservatives had come together to form a plurality within the GOP and wrest leadership of the party from the establishment, moderate GOP. The Iran-Contra scandal (Mistake #1) weakened the coalition and the moderate wing of the party regained control of the GOP (Mistake #2), which led to the election of President George H.W. Bush (Mistake #3).
While the elder Bush had adopted – albeit reluctantly – many conservative ideals, he and the moderate GOP leaders advocated a “kinder, gentler” approach (Mistake #4). Conservatives might have been content to take a back seat to moderate GOP leadership, but they read Bush’s lips and their support and enthusiasm for the Republican Party evaporated after the Bush tax increase (Mistake #5). In 1992 some conservatives were taken in by Ross Perot and his anti-establishment, anti-Washington message (Mistake #6). Others just stayed home (Mistake #7) and helped Democrats elect the Dope from Hope, Bill Clinton, with just 43% of the popular vote (Mistake #8).
The only positive to come out of 1992 was that it helped create an opening for an obscure, but brilliant Congressman from Georgia to lead conservatives to regain control of the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich reformed the three-legged conservative coalition and took an upstart innovative approach of leading the GOP from the House with a 1994 national congressional campaign platform – the Contract with America.
It is important to note that prior to the ’94 elections, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and other establishment, moderate GOP leaders scoffed at and were dismissive of Gingrich and the Contract. Dole and Senate moderates rode the Contract’s election coattails, but made it plain that the GOP Senate did NOT sign on to the program, was not obligated to it, reluctantly followed Gingrich's lead, and worked to water down each and every one of the Contract's provisions (Mistake #9).
By January 1996, Dole was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee (Mistake #10). Dole sought to convince Speaker Gingrich to fold up the federal government shutdown stalemate with President Clinton and allow Dole to lead the GOP via his presidential campaign.
Dole gave Gingrich the choice of single-handedly continuing the shutdown and fight with Clinton and the media with Candidate Dole seeking a different path from the House GOP or deferring to Dole's presidential campaign and resuming the conservative battle together with Gingrich’s friend Trent Lott to keep President Dole honest after the ’96 elections. Gingrich made the wrong choice (Mistake #11). Gingrich probably should have run for President himself in 1996 (Mistake #12).
We all remember what happened. By caving in and compromising on the shutdown, the conservative House leadership lost some of their ability to control their more moderate members (Mistake #13). Bob Dole lost (Mistake #14). Trent Lott built his own voice separate from the House (Mistake #15). And with no help from Lott & the GOP Senate and a Clinton veto looming on all conservative issues, Gingrich, Armey & DeLay focused too much of their efforts on the growing Clinton scandals (Mistake #16).
Gingrich was able to maintain order within the House even during the Clinton impeachment. But after the Senate RINOs failed to do their duty and convict Clinton (Mistake #17), the House moderates began feeling their oats (Mistake #18).
Then, the impact of the missing FBI files took effect. Allegations of marital affairs against Gingrich and Hyde took their toll (Mistake #19). Seeing his conservative House coalition slowly diminish and Lott's desire to set on a different path, Gingrich stepped down as Speaker (Mistake #20). Then his presumed successor, Bob Livingston from Louisiana, was also taken out by a marital affair (Mistake #21).
House Moderates became emboldened and championed the lackluster Dennis Hastert as Speaker to muzzle Armey & DeLay and appear less confrontational (Mistake #22). This effort also helped to clear the agenda of party leadership for the 2000 GOP presidential candidates (Mistake #23). And in 2000, conservatives settled for the "compassionate conservatism" of George W. Bush (Mistake #24). Many conservatives stayed home, nearly costing Bush the presidency and actually losing GOP control of the Senate in 2000 (Mistake #25).
To be fair, conservatives should thank God everyday for W's leadership in dealing with 9-11. But Bush also squandered the opportunity to push the party and country to the right following that horrible event (Mistake #26). The GOP regained control of the Senate in 2002, but based solely on the country’s fears of Democrats’ inability to deal with national security concerns and not on conservative social and economic principles. Meanwhile, the House drifted further to the center (Mistake #27).
Conservative fears of repeating Florida 2000 helped Bush win reelection in 2004, despite the party's overall drift to the center. By now, any conservative elements in the House and Senate were in complete retreat. The moderates ruled the roost in both houses. RINO defections on the Iraq war (Mistake #28), wasteful earmarks (Mistake #29) and ethics scandals (Mistake #29) were now front and center for the GOP. The only conservative victories of 2005-06 were the confirmations of Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court. And it took a battle to defeat Bush on his nomination of Harriet Miers to do it.
By Fall 2006 conservatives had become utterly disheartened. Attempts to make the Bush tax cuts permanent stalled (Mistake #30), the continued treachery of Arlen Spector, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and the Gang of 14 (Mistake #31), increased dissatisfaction with George Bush and the Miers nomination debacle all caused conservatives to stay home in November 2006 (Mistake #32). And the GOP lost both the House and Senate.
Occasionally, the conservative movement can still rise up. The reaction to the Amnesty bill was encouraging. But other than that, conservatives have again been wandering in the wilderness. GOP moderates and RINO's have been resistant to allowing a conservative to assume leadership in Congress. And any potential conservative congressional leader has held back (Mistake #33), in part due to the extremely early start of the 2008 presidential race (Mistake #34).
And what did conservatives get for 2008 GOP candidates? Were there any Reagan conservatives who possessed all three legs of the coalition stool - strong national defense, social conservatism, economic conservatism?
Nope.
Instead, we got Rudy Giuliani. An autocrat who has little affection for social conservatives, but pledged to nominate strict construction judges. Whoopee!
Instead, we got John McCain. An angry RINO maverick who enjoys flouting social and economic conservatives AND even the GOP establishment to gain favor and positive reviews from the liberal media.
Instead, we got Mitt Romney, an uber-wealthy GOP establishment moderate. At least Romney panders to social and economic conservatives with recently discovered flip-flopped positions on issues of importance to those two factions.
Instead, we got Mike Huckabee – the Dope from Hope, part II. While he is just as slick and manipulative as Bill Clinton, Huckabee is nowhere near as smart.
Instead, we got Ron Paul, a true blue, libertarian nutbag. Paul has a few economic bona fides that have pulled away a few non-nut job libertarians. But I'm sorry, Dr. Paul is a kook.
Instead, we got the Obscure Four - Tom Tancredo, Alan Keyes, Tommy Thompson & Duncan Hunter. Tancredo & Keyes are single issue candidates. Tommy & Dunc are well-rounded politicians (especially Hunter), but they lacked the ability to have broad nationwide appeal.
Seeing this morass of blech, Fred Thompson entered the fray expecting to be the savior of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. Fred should have been that candidate.
Unfortunately, Dr. James Dobson and a few evangelical leaders decided to cut off their nose to spite their face (Mistake #35). You see, Fred's not a Bible thumper. Neither was Ronald Reagan. And like Reagan, Fred is a bona fide, all-around, federalist conservative. That wasn’t good enough for Dobson. And when Fred refused to kiss Dobson's ring of evangelical purity, Dobson went shopping for a candidate he thought he could control.
Flim Flam Huckabee seized on that opportunity. Huckabee played Dobson into thinking that Dobson could be a GOP kingmaker (Mistake #36). A handful of evangelical leaders blindly pushed Huckabee as a viable conservative (Mistake #37). The media, who knows a GOP loser when they see one, helped fan the flames of Huckabee's support. For a time, the scheme worked. Huckabee won Iowa (Mistake #38), but eventually the truth of Huckabee's Christian Socialism became evident to most conservatives.
But the damage had been done. Social conservatives were now spilt. Some had been taken in by Huckabee's class warfare (Mistake #39). Some had been taken in by the media's false depiction of Fred as a lazy campaigner (Mistake #40) and settled for Romney, Rudy or, worse, McCain (Mistake #41).
Added into this deceptive mix was the ability of independents and Democrats to participate in and distort the Iowa, New Hampshire & South Carolina Republican primaries (Mistake #42). Media darling McCain was back! McCain – the new Comeback Kid – was ready to lead....the GOP down to defeat. Meanwhile, Fred's race and the ability for the GOP to unify behind a Reaganesque conservative died (Mistake #43).
At best, the GOP could still end up with a George W. Bush-lite nominee like Mitt Romney. He will at least pretend to care about conservative ideals from his Country Club wing of the party.
At worst, the GOP could end up with John McCain. McCain, the perennial thorn in the GOP's side who was once touted as a possible VP running mate for John Kerry!
Who knows? It’s still remotely possible that none of the moderates and RINO’s still in the presidential race will win a majority of the primary delegates. Maybe a conservative nominee could still rise up in a brokered GOP convention. Maybe a conservative national congressional campaign like the Contract with America could still arise in time for the 2008 elections. But really, that’s a fantasy.
The reality is that conservatives will have to wait until 2010 or 2012 to reassert itself as the true and legitimate leaders of the Republican Party. The reality is that conservatives have allowed numerous people to make numerous mistakes which have led the movement to this precarious point. The reality is that conservatives and the GOP are now left with this Dobson's Choice of Romney or McCain. Pass the nose clips and prepare for the worst.
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It's absolutely scary how many of these mistakes I identified in 2008 are being repeated!
Your words define you. You write and think skanky. In your little world you set low standards and force them on everyone near you. In the end, you live in a little tiny place - like a fart in an elevator.
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Actually, you're quite wrong. Dobson's concern for "supporting one of their own" greatly harmed the GOP in 2008.
And now he is clumsily repeating his 2008 Dobson's choice.
Please see post #306 in this thread.
LOL! You don't have a clue about me. You are just pissed because I don't agree with these types that profit off their pseudo-religious activity. Especially those like Dobson who have used the US non profit laws to increase their bottom line.
As far as being able to "force" anything on anyone else that is just retarded. And I don't live in a "tiny place". I live in several places and none are tiny.
The only thing that smells around here are people like you and Dobson who think they have a clue about Gingrich or anyone else when it comes to their marital history or personal lives.
Your red herring defense of Mr. Dobson does not wash. The difference between Gingrich and Bill Clinton is that the former repented of his sins and confessed them.
Read the parable of the Prodigal Son sometime.
This post of yours is confirmation for me as to where we are at today as a Church and a nation. This lesson is very important for us to pay attention to. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is also very relevant. Some of the behavior we see on here is like the son who never left his father who was angry and resentful of the treatment his brother received when he returned and repented.
11 Then Jesus* said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with* the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”* 22But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
25 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” 28Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” 31Then the father* said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
“he was lost and has been found”
thanks for your post, I haven’t read that parable for awhile... the holier-than-thou stuff here sometimes gets a little tough to wade through...
Dobson vs LaHaye?
LaHaye has endorsed Newt.
I couldn't agree more.
Who is the man behind the Gingrich mask?
The Dobson organization once helped me out when EVERYBODY (Including my Church) had abandoned me (My husband and I were victims of scurrilous accusations). That being said, I truly wish Dr. Dobson would stick to that which he does best, which is Ministry to Families. I was very disappointed in him in 2008, and this is also a blow. Surly he can see how fractured the Republican field is, and how his remarks cause further bickering, even here on FR. Does he really want four more years of obama, the Biggest enemy to the Christian Family that America has ever been burdened with?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961546/posts
In that column I identified 43 mistakes made by the GOP since 1984 that have been leading toward the death of the conservative movement. Among those mistakes, I identified Dr. James Dobson’s irresponsible attack on former Senator Fred Thompson (which accused Fred Thompson of not being a Christian) as being responsible for 7 of the GOP’s 43 mistakes on the path to the death of conservatism. In the title and in my column, I coined the term “Dobson’s Choice,” which is a play on words for the common expression, “Hobson’s Choice.”
Per Wikipedia:
A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. As a person may refuse to take that option, the choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it". The phrase is said to originate with Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses, he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.
In August of 2008 Alan Keyes wrote a column for WorldNetDaily entitled “2-Party System: No Choice But Evil”. Keyes’ column also used the Hobson’s Choice/Dobson’s Choice play on words in a paragraph header (NOTE: I’m not accusing Dr. Keyes of appropriating my idea). Keyes used the term to describe Dr. Dobson’s August flip-flop to endorse and vote for 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain.
Prior to McCain’s nomination, Dr. Dobson declared that he could not in good conscience cast his vote for Sen. McCain. He did so in light of the senator’s positions on key issues of moral concern, including his support for embryonic stem cell research and his unwillingness to defend the natural family as the basis for the institution of marriage. Keyes’ column took issue with Dobson’s willingness to abandon an absolutist position on stem cell research. The column was posted on Free Republic by FReeper EternalVigilance at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059761/posts
In the discussion thread that followed I responded to a post by FReeper Lakeshark who wrote:
“I think Dobson is as close to a modern day hero as there is. He has done more than most to preserve values in America than anyone I know, and for that I am grateful.”
I responded:
“Dobson is largely to blame for giving us McCain as the GOP nominee. Fred Thompson didn't return Dobson's calls and was slow to make a pilgrimage to kiss his ring, so Dobson signle-handedly removed the only viable conservative in the race by leaking an email that falsely said Fred Thompson wasn't a Christian.”
“Dobson tried to play kingmaker and lost. He killed Thompson's campaign and steered alot of evangelicals with limited politcal acumen to Huckaphony (not a conservative, but probably a devout Christian). Without a good chunk of those polital-novice evangelicals, a conservative cannot beat a well-financed moderate for the GOP nomination.”
“It was a vain and stupid move by Dobson. In addition to taking out Thompson, Dobson also marginalized every evangelical who is also practicing Republican. Country clubbers and moderates within every state and local Republican party have become emboldened by what they see as the dumb and weak evangelical faction and are challenging conservatives on every platform position, down ticket election and party leadership post.”
“Meanwhile, at the top of the ticket, McCain didn't need evangelicals to win the nomination. And he won't consult them when picking his VP. And if McCain should get lucky and win the election in November, you can bet your life savings that McCain will not be employing conservatives in his Administration or consulting them on policy matters.”
“Yep, you're my hero, Dr. Dobson. You have selfishly set the conservative movement back at least 10 years.“
Later in my debate with Lakeshark I remarked:
“Look, there are 2 types of evangelicals - there are some who are active within their state and local Republican parties and integrate their faith into their politics (a group I identify with) and there are those who simply vote and occasionally integrate their politics into their faith. The latter are the larger group. After Dobson's attack, the 'non-political' evangelicals moved largely to Huckabee with the inferred endorsement of Dobson. Without the 'non-politcal' evangelicas Thompson saw he had little chance to win the nomination and quit (although he would have won the Louisiana caucus had he remained in the race 2 days longer).”
"For 'political' evangelicals that left a choice of Stab-the-party-in-the-back McCain, Massachusetts-Mormon Romney, Pro-choice-but-otherwise-conservative Giuliani and Huckaphoney - all flawed candidates that were unacceptable to one or more factions of the party.”
“Giuliani miscalculated the moderate support he hoped to have in Florida and was next out. With Fred & Rudy out, 'political' evangelicals briefly flirted with backing Romney, but grudgingly coalesced behind McCain after doing the calculations and realizing that the 'non-political' evangelicals would never actively support a Mormon and the country clubbers would never support the Rev. Tax Hike Mike.”
“And that's how Dobson stuck the Republican Party with McCain.”
“What really bothers me is that Dobson didn't speak with Fred directly before leaking the 'Fred's not a Christian' email. As the most visible and politically active evangelical voice in America, Dobson should have known better. Maybe Dobson was irritated that Fred hadn't yet made a pilgrimage to kiss his ring like the other candidates who were courting the evangelical vote. Maybe Fred was dumb for not doing it.”
“My only hope is that evangelical leaders learn from the folly of Dobson's choice and make less arrogant and more intelligent choices in 2012 or 2016. Of course, the politicians will adjust and will make a greater effort to court Dobson and others. And I don't know how I feel about that. Part of me really liked the fact that Fred was willing to tell Dobson and the other Pharisees to cram it.”
And now in 2012, we’re here at the same juncture and that political moron Dobson is at it again making the same mistake.
Dobson makes an “off the record” comment harmful to Gingrich (a conservative who could actually defeat the Establishment moderate Romney). Other evangelicals interpret Dobson’s comment as a non-endorsement endorsement of Rick Santorum (an evangelical conservative who is less likely to defeat the Establishment moderate Romney). The most likely result of Dobson’s comment/non-endorsement is the nomination of Mitt Romney.
What will Dobson do for an encore?
Before the eventual Establishment GOP coronation of Mitt Romney – aka the Republican Party Convention – Dobson will wonder aloud whether evangelical Christians can support a Mormon, but not actually state that specifically. That comment will do predictable damage to Republicans and will cause some Evangelicals to either opt-out of the electoral process or drift to a quixotic third-party challenge by nut job libertarian Ron Paul. After Mitt’s nomination, Dr. Dobson will repudiate his non-statement on whether evangelicals could support a Mormon and suggest (but not say directly) that he will indeed vote for Mitt Romney.
Hey, Dr. Dobson – shut your piehole!! Stick to commenting on religion and stay away from politics. You are a political moron and have selfishly set the conservative movement back at least 10 years!!
Not gossip, just fact. It is merely one of many reasons why Newt would be a disaster for social conservatives if he gets nominated. He has too many skeletons in his closet.
OK your post was 87 percent gibberish and 13 percent clearly anti-Christian.
Thank God that Focus on the Family is big. It needs resources in the battle against the George Soros-funded secular-liberal machine. Thank God for tax deductions.
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