Dobson and Henninger claimed Foley scandal is "sort of a joke" & "prank" by pages

[DarrylS]

These guys the watchdogs of the family and the right, are at it again.. exhonerating Foley and excusing his behavior, playing the Clinton card over and over again.. I guess it differs with Carters view of how sex is defined and theirs.. I guess Savage and Rush are pretty influential on these religious right folks.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200610060004

Summary: James Dobson and Daniel Henninger both echoed a claim previously made by Matt Drudge and Michael Savage that the sexually explicit communications that Rep. Mark Foley allegedly engaged in with former congressional pages were "sort of a joke" or a "prank[]" on the part of the former pages.

On Focus on the Family, Dobson was responding to a New York Times column by Paul Krugman, in which Krugman wondered how Dobson would respond to the Foley scandal given Dobson's earlier criticism of former President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. From Krugman's column (subscription required):

It will be interesting, by the way, to see how Dr. Dobson, who declared of Bill Clinton that "no man has ever done more to debase the presidency," responds to the Foley scandal. Does the failure of Republican leaders to do anything about a sexual predator in their midst outrage him as much as a Democratic president's consensual affair?

In response, Dobson again criticized Clinton and then suggested that the sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent by Foley to underage male pages were the result of "sort of a joke":

DOBSON: We condemn the Foley affair categorically, and we also believe that what Mr. Clinton did was one of the most embarrassing and wicked things ever done by a president in power. Let me remind you, sir, that it was not just James Dobson who found the Lewinsky affair reprehensible. More than 140 newspapers called for Clinton's resignation. But the president didn't do what Mr. Foley has done in leaving. He stayed in office, and he lied to the grand jury to obscure the facts. As it turns out, Mr. Foley has had illicit sex with no one that we know of, and the whole thing turned out to be what some people are now saying was a -- sort of a joke by the boy and some of the other pages.

[Harry Boy]

These two A$s Holes are probably afraid of "Offending The Homosexual Community" (Political Suicide) because Foley is an "Admitted Homosexual"

Sexual Background Checks For All Politicuans, don't let this sh!t happen again.

[patsfan13]

Why not go directly to focus on the family and show Dobson's complete quote rather than out of context spin from a left wing site?

[patsfan13]

Here are Dobson's comments from a non pay non commercial site very different from the spin placed on it by Media matters, he certainly is adopting the prank take on this matter, but is skeptical on the attempt to smear Hastert.

Put Hastert and Pelosi under Oath and let's see who knew what and when they knew it. The fact that Pelosi and Emmanuel and Pelosi would sign a sworn affidavit or take a polygraph or allow Freeh to conduct an independent investigation speaks volumes.

"What Congressman Foley did was inexcusable, reprehensible and morally depraved," Dobson said. "Let there be no question about the position we have taken on this."

Speaking on his nationally syndicated radio program, Dobson made a point of distinguishing between the actual behavior of the former Florida congressman — who resigned after sending inappropriate e-mails and messages to teenaged pages — and the scandal the media is trying to generate while seeking the ouster of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

"A representative who has been a closet homosexual for years, apparently, was finally caught doing something terribly wrong and when the news broke, he packed up his things and went home," Dobson said.

And that, he said, should have been the end of the story. But it wasn't.

"As we know, the media and the Democrats saw an opportunity to make much, much, more out of it," Dobson said, "impugning the morals and character, not only of this disgraced congressman, but of entire the entire Republican Congress — and Christian conservatives, including me."

Dobson said the liberal media is bizarrely — and wrongly — trying to somehow connect evangelicals with this scandal.

"Somebody is going to have to tell me what in the wide world this indiscretion by a member of Congress has to do with evangelical Christians. And in my case, especially me," he said. "What in the world is the connection there? And yet the media is trying to link us somehow."

He quoted from a New York Times editorial with the headline "Conservative Coalition appears to be Coming Apart at the Seams" that was written by Paul Krugman.

"It will be interesting to see how Dr. Dobson," Krugman wrote, "who declared about Bill Clinton that no man has ever done more to debase the presidency — responds to the Foley scandal. Does the failure of Republican leaders to do anything about a sexual predator in their midst outrage him as much as a Democratic president's consensual affair?"

Dobson emphatically said he stands by his assessment of President Clinton's scandal. As for Foley's action …

"In fact, it does outrage me, Mr. Krugman," Dobson said. "We condemn the Foley affair categorically. And we also believe that what Mr. Clinton did was one of the most embarrassing and wicked things ever done by a president in power.

"Let me remind you, sir," he said, referring to Krugman, "that it was not just James Dobson who found the Lewinsky affair reprehensible. More than 140 newspapers called for Clinton's resignation. But the president didn't do what Mr. Foley did in leaving — he stayed in office, and he lied to the grand jury to obscure the facts."

Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said what Krugman and the rest of the liberal media basically want is for Dr. Dobson — and by extension, all Christian conservatives — to vindicate themselves by condemning the entire Republican Party "or risk being seen as the biggest of all hypocrites."

"They see this only in political terms," Minnery said. "Not in terms of illicit sex, not in terms of the evil of somebody going after a young person with salacious e-mails, they turn it immediately to the party — and they do that only because we're now a month before a very important election."

Dobson said the liberal media's fixation is based on nothing but politics at its basest. He said even the timing of this "scandal" is suspicious.

"(It was released by liberals on) the last day of the session of Congress, when it couldn't be responded to do — the last day," he said. "It is the day you would not want something like this to break. And they've known it for years. They've held it for years, and then they threw it out there on the last day of the session demanding that the speaker of the house resign."

At heart, Dobson said, what the liberal media and some Democrats have been trying to do in the way they played this story, is to suppress the turnout of values voters on Nov. 7.

"What they really want to do is to convince (value voters) that 'all of Washington is wicked and evil, and there is no sense in your even voting, because one's as bad as another,' " he said, "and to impugn the character of those who are trying to live a righteous life, even if imperfectly.

"None of us is perfect. None of us can claim to have any perfection. If we did, we wouldn't need a Savior."

Dobson says the liberal media despise the significant role religious conservatives played in the 2004 election.

"Two years ago, (the media) didn't see it coming," he said. "They didn't know the values voters were going to come out in great numbers. And they were shocked when it happened. And they've been determined ever since then to make sure it didn't happen again — and this is part of that effort."

For those in the media who are making allusions between the Foley situation and the 1980s scandals of televangelists Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, Dobson has a message:

"I'd like to remind everybody that Mark Foley was not an evangelical Christian, he was not a pastor, he was not an evangelist — he wasn't even really part of the pro-family movement, he was a closet homosexual."

Dobson encouraged his listeners not to be duped by liberal members of the media into staying home on election day, especially since there may be another Supreme Court opening or two in the next two years and the results of this election will determine who gets to confirm the president's nominees.

"If the values voters come out again," he said, "it will turn the direction of this country, and maybe forever."

[Harry Boy]

Auntie Pelosi is afraid to testify under oath, WHAT IS SHE AFRAID OF?

You would think she would want to testify if it would help Bury Hastert.

Could it be that Auntie Pelosi knew all the time also and kept it quiet.

Why Haven't We Heard From Uncle Teddy, Pant Suit Hillary and Billy Blue Dress on the subject of Filthy Foley, where is Barney Frank, where are the Outrgaed Democrat Hollywood Wife Swappers.

SPEAK UP YOU F-CKING DOUBLE STANDARD PHONY HATEFUL SCUM SH!T FOUL MOUTHED DIARRHEA FACED RATS

[DarrylS]

I believe in the constitution and all of it's aspects including separation of church and state, my issue with Dobson is that he is using his religious position to attack the Democrats. I have a real problem with him offering commentary on anything political, conversely I would have the same issue with any politician trying to offer commentary on his church and the way it is run. Using the pulpit as a political stance, goes against his exemption afforded to him by the IRS.

BTW thanks for posting the whole thread, however I does not change my mind that this is none of his business..

[patsfan13]

Originally Posted by GJAJ15

I believe in the constitution and all of it's aspects including separation of church and state, my issue with Dobson is that he is using his religious position to attack the Democrats. I have a real problem with him offering commentary on anything political, conversely I would have the same issue with any politician trying to offer commentary on his church and the way it is run. Using the pulpit as a political stance, goes against his exemption afforded to him by the IRS.

BTW thanks for posting the whole thread, however I does not change my mind that this is none of his business..

Dobson is not an elected or appointed offical. so he is not involved with the state, waht separation of church and state? They seem very separated in this case.

Leftist seem to have no issues with separation of church and state when dem pols speak at the pulpit in black churchs that support dems, even during elections.

Leftist Hypocrites or clueless?

[DarrylS]

Originally Posted by patsfan13

Dobson is not an elected or appointed offical. so he is not involved with the state, waht separation of church and state? They seem very separated in this case.

Leftist seem to have no issues with separation of church and state when dem pols speak at the pulpit in black churchs that support dems, even during elections.

Leftist Hypocrites or clueless?

The separation of the church and state has to do with the Tax Exempt status of Dobson's org..he cannnot preach specifics i.e mention Democrats, if he does he is supposed to pay taxes.. it if very simple. If this happens in black churches, as you claim with no supporting documentation, they should also loose their tax exempt status as well.

[patsfan13]

If you haven't seen dem events involving Algore, Kerry and so on during elections youeither aren't payig any attention to the news, are senile or dishonest. Does one really need to show links to those events?

[DarrylS]

Originally Posted by patsfan13

If you haven't seen dem events involving Algore, Kerry and so on during elections youeither aren't payig any attention to the news, are senile or dishonest. Does one really need to show links to those events?

This thread is about the Republican Right Wing Religious Nuts, talking from their station in life not to vote Democratic... somehow it degenerates into RW Republican talking points.. I provided documentation of a specific incident of the violation of the separation of church and state, you rely on anecdotal information to support your argument. I do not think I am a hypocrite or clueless, I don't know everything, but I do not go off on anecdotal arguments without documentation.

Bottom line is Dobson and Denninger should STFU.. if they do not they should as should every religious organization who do the same, or loose their tax exempt status.