James Dobson

Dr. James Clayton Dobson (born April 21, 1936) is a conservative protestant Christian fundamentalist and psychologist who presents a daily radio program called Focus on the Family on over 6,000 stations worldwide in more than a dozen languages. He is chairman of the board of a nonprofit organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado of the same name, which he founded in 1977. His programs are estimated to be heard by more than 200 million people every day in 164 countrieshttp://www.family.org/docstudy/aboutdrdobson.cfm, and Focus on the Family is also on 80 US television stations daily.

Political Power

Despite his distaste for the compromises often necessary for political success, some say Dobson is the most politically powerful Evangelical in America today as exemplified by this excerpt from Slate.com:

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:"Forget Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who in their dotage have marginalized themselves with gaffes... Dobson is now America's most influential evangelical leader, with a following reportedly greater than that of either Falwell or Robertson at his peak... He proselytized hard for Bush during this last year, organizing huge stadium rallies and using his radio program to warn his 7 million American listeners that not to vote would be a sin. Dobson may have delivered Bush his victories in Ohio and Florida.

Related Topics:
Jerry Falwell - Pat Robertson - Last year - Ohio - Florida

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:He's already leveraging his new power. When a thank-you call came from the White House, Dobson issued the staffer a blunt warning that Bush 'needs to be more aggressive' about pressing the religious right's pro-life, anti-gay rights agenda, or it would 'pay a price in four years.' And when the pro-choice Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter made conciliatory noises about appointing moderates to the Supreme Court, Dobson launched a fevered campaign to prevent him from assuming the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which until then he had been expected to inherit. Dobson is now a Republican kingmaker... Dobson has talked about bringing down the GOP if it fails him."http://slate.msn.com/id/2109621/

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Though initially apolitical, in 1983, he founded the Family Research Council, which served as his political arm, though he initially remained somewhat distant from Washington politics. With LGBT issues becoming more prominent, he entered politics in full force.

Related Topics:
1983 - Family Research Council - LGBT

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On January 1, 2005, newspapers reported that Evangelical leader James C. Dobson was telling Democratic senators that he would prevent their reelections in 2006 if they blocked conservative appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court. "He singled out six Democrats up for re-election : Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Bill Nelson of Florida." In 2004, Dobson played an important role in the 2004 defeat of then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050101-091244-8539r.htm

Related Topics:
January 1 - 2005 - 2006 - Ben Nelson - Nebraska - Mark Dayton - Minnesota - Robert Byrd - West Virginia - Kent Conrad - North Dakota - Jeff Bingaman - New Mexico - Bill Nelson - Florida - 2004 - Senate Minority Leader - Tom Daschle

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