Dobson writes off Giuliani because of abortion

[Lord Zentei]

Christian right leader writes off Giuliani

POSTED: 10:01 a.m. EDT, May 18, 2007

• Focus on the Family's James Dobson says he'll never vote for Giuliani
• Republican candidate has put off conservatives with his position on abortion
• If Giuliani is nominated, Dobson says he may not vote for anyone
• Dobson, heard on 3,500 radio stations, endorsed Bush in 2004

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Religious conservative leader James Dobson will sit out the 2008 presidential election if former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the Republican presidential nominee, he wrote Thursday in an online column.

In a piece published on the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily, Dobson wrote that Giuliani's support for abortion rights and civil unions for homosexuals, as well as the former mayor's two divorces, were a deal-breaker for him.

"I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision," he wrote.

"If given a Hobson's -- Dobson's? -- choice between him and Senators Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, I will either cast my ballot for an also-ran -- or if worse comes to worst, not vote in a presidential election for the first time in my adult life. My conscience and my moral convictions will allow me to do nothing else."

Dobson, 71, is the founder and chairman of Colorado-based Focus on the Family, but said he was writing as "a private citizen and not on behalf of any organization or party."

He endorsed President Bush in 2004, the first time he endorsed a presidential candidate.

Dobson attacked Giuliani for publicly saying he hates abortion but supports a woman's right to have one. Giuliani had been criticized for being ambiguous on his abortion views, but firmly stated last week that he supports abortion rights.

"Is Rudy Giuliani presidential timber? I think not," Dobson wrote. "Can we really trust a chief executive who waffles and feigns support for policies that run contrary to his alleged beliefs? Of greater concern is how he would function in office. Will we learn after it is too late just what the former mayor really thinks? What we know about him already is troubling enough."

Maria Comella, a Giuliani spokeswoman, said that he is aware that his views on abortion may cost him some votes, but that he respects those who disagree with him.

"From the beginning, Mayor Giuliani has been straightforward on where he stands on the issue," Comella said. "It's a sign of leadership to stand by your views in the face of political expediency."

As for Giuliani's three marriages, Dobson wrote that there are "moral concerns about Giuliani's candidacy that conservatives should find troubling."

"Rudy wanted conservatives to believe he had undergone some kind of an election-eve conversion, more or less," Dobson wrote. "Then the contradictions began catching up with him, which often happens to those who play games with words. No, this leopard has not changed his spots."

[Dalton]

Who fucking cares about James Dobson? I'm sick of elections being decided on special interests instead of intellect.

[Glocksman]

Who fucking cares about James Dobson? I'm sick of elections being decided on special interests instead of intellect.

We can argue all day about the wisdom of basing your choice on a single issue, but to say that it's not using your 'intellect' is disingenuous.
For example, I weight the gun issue pretty high when deciding who to vote for, but even then I'd wind up supporting HRC over McWhore..er McCain because the totality of his other stances and past behavior outweigh Clinton's negative on the gun issue.

Of course I'd also hope for a 'redneck' Democrat/Republican Congress to keep anti gun legislation from reaching her desk.

[TheFeniX]

"Can we really trust a chief executive who waffles and feigns support for policies that run contrary to his alleged beliefs?"

Oh God no! A person supporting a cause even though it goes contrary to what they feel on the issue. Tolerance of other view-points is for pussies.

Seriously, most sane people would realize that it takes actual strength of character to say: "I don't support this action, but I realize that not everyone feels the way I do."

[General Zod]

"Can we really trust a chief executive who waffles and feigns support for policies that run contrary to his alleged beliefs?"

Oh God no! A person supporting a cause even though it goes contrary to what they feel on the issue. Tolerance of other view-points is for pussies.

Seriously, most sane people would realize that it takes actual strength of character to say: "I don't support this action, but I realize that not everyone feels the way I do."

Or Giuliani didn't want to risk taking a stance on a controversial subject to avoid the risk of alienating certain voting demographics, which is more likely given his stances on other things.

[Elfdart]

Dobson opposes Benito Ghouliani because the Manhattan Mussolini isn't enough of a Fetus Christer. I oppose Ghouliani because he's a racist, fascist, sadistic thug.

Whatever it takes.

[Cao Cao]

Hardcore religious wanker hates immoral political panderer.
Can't they see that they're both assholes and get along?

[Darth Wong]

Who fucking cares about James Dobson? I'm sick of elections being decided on special interests instead of intellect.

We can argue all day about the wisdom of basing your choice on a single issue, but to say that it's not using your 'intellect' is disingenuous.

When that particular special interest is anything James Dobson says, it is absolutely about not using your intellect.

[Darth Servo]

None of these right-wing assholes seem to have any clue what life for a woman was like Roe v Wade. Legalization of abortion was NOT what made women start getting them. They were being done back in the 1950s but instead of being done in a nice clean clinic, they were done in garages and alleys, similar to the way drugs are sold now.

My mother relates a story of how one of her high school friends got herself killed trying to give herself an abortion with a wire coat hanger.

The choice with the abortion issue is NOT abortions or no abortions. Its between legal clean ones and illegal messy ones that are a far greater risk to the woman's life.