Dobson Leads Religious Voter Registration Efforts genre: Gaylingual & Hip-Gnosis & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

James Dobson

James Dobson, the head of Colorado based Focus on the Family is leading a massive voter registration effort geared to engage millions of religious voters for the upcoming midterm election in November. Dobson has long been associated with Karl Rove and the Bush administration...as was most recently witnessed during the Bush's two Supreme Court appointments. Read the full article here.

The program, coordinated by the Colorado-based group Focus on the Family and its influential founder, James C. Dobson, would use a variety of methods — including information inserted in church publications and booths placed outside worship services — to recruit millions of new voters in 2006 and beyond.

The new voter registration program puts a special focus this year on eight states with key Senate, House and state-level races. Turning out core voters is central to the GOP strategy to retain control of Congress, especially as the party struggles with negative public sentiment over the war in Iraq and other administration policies.

According to the e-mail, county coordinators are being asked to work about five hours a week and would be responsible for "recruiting key evangelical churches."

The church coordinators, devoting one or two hours per week, would be in charge of "encouraging pastors to speak about Christian citizenship, conducting a voter-registration drive, distributing voter guides and get-out-the-vote efforts."

Critics say the practice is potentially illegal, citing tax laws that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activities.

The IRS has launched a program to crack down on violators, with investigations pending against dozens of churches.

The willingness of the GOP and its supporters to conflate religion with politics has proven to be a successful tactic and one that has amplified the polarization and polarity seen in U.S. politics. Many have expressed doubt that the religious right would turnout in 2006 given disappointment with Bush on several issues that motivate such voters. Thought Theater has previously argued that the Rove strategy is to focus on winning the support of religious figures in leadership positions. Clearly, that effort has been successful and there is little reason to believe that it won't continue to be effective in mobilizing those voters that are affiliated with these leaders. Rove is a master at delivering targeted messages to motivate various constituency groups.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the evangelical voter registration drive a "blatant effort by Dobson to build a partisan political machine based in churches."

"He has made it abundantly clear that electing Republicans is an integral part of his agenda, and he doesn't mind risking the tax exemption of churches in the process," Lynn said. "Dobson wants to be a major political boss, and this is his way to get there."

The Republican Party is escalating its own courtship of evangelicals, registering voters at Christian rock concerts, state fairs and other events that draw religious activists and core conservatives.

Democrats need to be mindful that despite opposition to the war in Iraq, religious voters are not likely to support Democratic candidates...especially as the efforts of Dobson and his ilk work to equate the Party with social issues that religious voters will be unable to accept such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and stem cell research. Hard core evangelicals will hear Dobson's message that staying at home due to dissatisfaction with the Bush administration will only lead to further erosion on the issues they seek to impact. Dobson knows all too well the risks associated with Democratic control of the House or the Senate. I expect the dissemination of religious rhetoric to meet or exceed the levels seen in 2004.

Daniel DiRito | August 15, 2006 | 4:06 PM
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