Will John McCain, Sarah Palin and James Dobson Meet Today?

Today, only two days after the Republican National Convention, John McCain and Sarah Palin have come to Colorado Springs to hold a 9 A.M. rally at the Municipal Airport — and possibly to meet with James Dobson, who is sometimes called the most powerful Dominionist leader in the country.

So far as I can find out, Dominionists like James Dobson are evangelicals who plan to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ by first establishing a totalitarian Dominionist theocracy in the United States and then using the military and economic resources of the US to establish hegemony over the rest of the world.  They believe Christ will then appear, pat them on the back for a job well done, and cast all their enemies into hell.

In all likelihood, James Dobson is not only the most powerful Dominionist leader in the country, but also the most powerful evangelical leader in the country — surpassing even Pat Robertson.   Conventional wisdom says he delivered the evangelical vote to George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and that he can deliver the evangelical vote to John McCain this year.   So if conventional wisdom is on the mark for once, then to win in November, John and Sarah need James.  Hence, there seems to be some chance the three might meet today.

Just six months ago, James Dobson could not stand John McCain, and was even threatening not to vote in the presidential election if McCain was nominated.  Of course, James has played that card before.  It seems that most election cycles, he threatens to not support the Republican nominee unless he gets some treats.  For instance, in 2000, the treat was Bush’s promise to appoint only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.

According to Tom Minnery, who heads up Dobson’s political action arm, Dobson came around this year for three reasons:

• McCain’s strong responses at Rick Warren’s summit in California
• The pro-life, pro-family platform adopted by the Republican Party
• McCain’s agreement to pick Sarah Palin as his vice president

By most accounts, Dobson knew more about Palin than did McCain — he, or at least his organization, had been watching her since 2006.  When McCain announced that Palin would be his running mate, it electrified the Dominionists.  Not much could have made them happier.

It seems to me Palin was given the nod — not to attract women or Clinton voters, as some have said — but to attract the Dominionists and the evangelicals.  At first, I thought Palin was such a liability to the ticket that she would be asked to withdraw.  But it turns out she is an asset.  Not only have many people formed a favorable impression of her, but she has energized the Dominionist and evangelical bases.  So I now think she’s on the ticket to stay.

Will McCain, Palin, and Dobson meet today?  It’s possible — neither side has a meeting scheduled, but neither side is ruling one out, either.  My guess is some kind of meeting will take place, but I’m always guessing wrong anyway.

By the way, James Dobson does not wear his Dominionist beliefs on his sleeve and most people seem to be unaware of them.  For that matter, most people in this country have not even heard of the Dominionists, let alone heard the notion that James Dobson is their most powerful leader.

In recent months I have become increasingly aware that so much of what goes on in this country nowadays is unsavory and must be hidden from the American people by those who perpetrate it.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I, for one, am getting sick of these folks who believe neither in the Constitution, nor in the Republic, nor in freedom and liberty for the people, but who instead think they are wiser and know better than us what is good for us.  Am I right to be irritated with them, or should I just have another cup of coffee this morning and forget about it?

REFERENCES:

How the Religious Right Got Back on Board the GOP Bandwagon

Iraq War a ‘Task from God’, Palin said

John McCain and Sarah Palin in Colorado Springs on Saturday

V.P. Selection Brings Focus on Family on Board

SOME RELATED POSTS ON THIS BLOG OF POSSIBLE INTEREST:

A Brief Criticism of James Dobson’s Marriage Advice

James Dobson on Discipline (And How Your Child is Like a Dog)

Pope James Excommunicates Former Sen. Thompson