According to a report on Fox news October 9, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family said, “If neither of the two major political parties nominates an individual who pledges himself or herself to the sanctity of human life, we will join others in voting for a minor party candidate.” Of the some 50 colleagues in attendance, agreement was almost unanimous. source

The reports of a schism among Republicans has gotten a lot of press in the past few weeks, none more stunning than Dobson’s announcement. Dobson says he has decided to make a stand on principle. So be it. This is still America.

It got me to thinking about an article I wrote several months ago, not long before Jerry Falwell died …

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson : the Left’s favorite targets for pointing out the undeniable truth that Christians are both human and flawed.

I thought about these three men when reading Howard Fineman’s piece on the Orlando conference of religious broadcasters. Mr. Fineman’s headline labels them the “Three Kingmakers”. Each of the men have had moments in their lives in which the glare of the spotlight has magnified their spoken words, causing the casual observer to wonder who these men think they are, and the committed left to have their worst fears confirmed, and even supporters to question the wisdom of their seeming interjection of personalities into principles, personal influence into the political arena.

Falwell used to rub me the wrong way when I was a young man. Thinking back, it was probably the whole “Baptist thing”: the “once saved, always saved”, and “you can’t be sprinkled, you’ve gotta be dunked”, and other pecularisms that to me seemed just so much dogma; a way of putting the traditions of man before the spiritual principle of Salvation by faith. Robertson seemed like the tent-revival preacher who was apt to say whatever was on his heart, or on his mind, and mostly unable to distinguish between the two. Dobson was the newer guy on the beat, talking about themes of family, discipline, and modeling behavior. I read his book The Strong-Willed Child, at a time when the challenges of raising a strong-willed boy was a difficult challenge for this young father. It’s hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since I read that book, and that the little boy is now a young man. The time does get by.

It’s interesting that those pecularisms that used to seem so important to me have lost their ability to rub me the wrong way. Have Falwell, Robertson and Dobson changed that much? Probably not. I guess, I just realized that it’s not about them. As long as they preach the Gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus, the rest of it really isn’t that important, including which candidate they endorse. And, I suspect that there are many more on the so-called Religious Right who agree with my assessment rather than with Mr. Fineman’s. It is enough to live usefully, work productively, and give generously, proving all things by the Eternal Standard, trusting that they do indeed work for the good of those who believe.

I respect Dobson’s intentions, but I believe he is terribly wrong.

For the record, I support the candidacy of Mike Huckabee. I believe he has a realistic chance to win the nomination. Further, I have no doubts that if nominated, he will defeat the Democrat nominee in November 2008.

So, I want to thank Dr. Dobson for going public with his decision. It certainly lends a sense of urgency to the Primary season, and makes me want to work that much harder for Mike. The campaign needs money. I’m going to hit his Tip Jar for $100 tonight. Won’t you join me?

See also: Newsweek interviews Mike