Social Conservative Groups Mostly Silent On Robertson Endorsement

Pat Robertson's endorsement this morning of Rudy Giuliani has been met with virtual radio silence from social conservative groups.

A spokeswoman at the Christian Coalition said that Robertson had made the endorsement "in his personal capacity" and so the group wasn't commenting. A spokesman at Focus On The Family similarly told us, "Anything about Pat Robertson we're not talking about." The group's leader, Rev. James Dobson, had warned last month that Christian groups might pick a third party candidate to represent social conservatives if Giuliani was nominated to head the Republican ticket.

Similarly, OneNewsNow, a news website linked to the Christian Coalition of America, published an article headlined "Pro-Family leaders mum on Robertson's endorsement of Rudy." It noted, "OneNewsNow contacted several pro-family leaders to get their reaction to the Robertson endorsement. Some did not return calls, while others said they did not want to comment."

Still, OneNewsNow's Jim Brown was able to find "a close personal friend of Robertson" who "believes the endorsement is "tragic," and that if Giuliani wins the nomination, it "will destroy the Republican Party." So you have to imagine they'll be speaking out in some way soon.

Comments

[Dantheman99]

05:37 PM on 11/08/2007

James Dobson was furious that some social conservatives were broadening their agenda to include global warming and poverty (unlike homosexuality, poverty is something Jesus actually talked about).

What the Pat Robertson's and James Dobson's show us is they really aren't interested in advancing "Christian" values. They were hoping to "use" social conservatives and evangelicals to become power brokers within the Republican Party.

That's the alliance of convenience between Robertson and Giuliani.

What Dobson and company really hate is that they no longer have the power to "deliver" votes. It's only their personal political power or perceived personal power that mattered to them.

Maybe we can actually get some Christian leaders in this country who actually preach, teach, and advocate in our politics actual Christian values like love, compassion, forgiveness, charity and kindness and leave the bigotry, judgmentalism, intolerance and self-righteousness behind.

[Unrepentantliberal]

03:28 PM on 11/08/2007

Let the food fight between tv preachers begin!

[charlietuna11]

12:17 PM on 11/08/2007

MANY PEOPLE IN THIS BLOG REFER TO ROBERTSON AS REVERAND..FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T PAID ATTENTION,MR.ROBERTSON NEVER APPLIED TO BE RECERTIFIED AS MINISTER..I'M ONLY GUESSING BUT I ASSUME THAT SINCE HIS NET WORTH WAS REPORTED TO BE 985 MILLION DOLLARS HE MOST LIKELY FIGURED THAT EVEN THE MORONS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO HIM MIGHT BECOME SUSPICIOUS..AS YOU KNOW,HE ALSO HAS SUBSTANCIAL INVESTMENTS IN DIAMOMD MINES IN SOUTH AFRICA.I'M GOING TO ASSUME THE PROFITS DERIVED FROM THESE INVESTMENTS GO DIRECTLY TO THE POOR..

[WretchedEtcher]

11:42 AM on 11/08/2007

Pat thinks waging war is more important than stopping abortion.

[AcitizenNJ]

10:50 AM on 11/08/2007

Now after seeing Rudy take offense to a Ron Paul comment regarding 9/11 on why some middle easterner's would take such actions to harm the U.S. at the GOP debate last week and this week he accepts the endorsement from a man with his well known views on why 9/11 happened. Please, how can any logical think American want this guy as a possible president.

[rcampbell]

10:25 AM on 11/08/2007

It could be a scene from Pat Robertson's new movie: Desperately Seeking Relevance".

[Purple Girl]

10:21 AM on 11/08/2007

What possible justification Pat is giving to his "majority' I can not imagine. Not McCain, Not Huckabee??? Guilliani- What???
What could possibly put these two in bed together??? It causes goosebumps from fear.

[katlade]

09:53 AM on 11/08/2007

Are we even sure that Pat knew who he was endorsing? Last time I saw someone that shakey was in a nursing home. And did you see those thick glasses? I think he may be slightly senile.

[JimReed]

09:20 AM on 11/08/2007

You can't expect to have a George Bush running in every election. The current Republican field has mixed values, but except for one minor candidate they are all pro war so Christians can be confident they have made a good choice in only considering Republicans. Nobody really likes Giuliani all that much, but he has established himself as the most pro-war of all. Their motives are different, Christians want war for rapture and Rudy just thinks he would make another good war president, so they should be able to set aside their differences and work together.

[VOTER]

08:31 AM on 11/08/2007

GO REV. PAT....WE CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH!

We are looking forward to the Rude One being the
Republican nominee.

[Ping]

02:51 AM on 11/08/2007

"The group's leader, Rev. James Dobson, had warned last month that Christian groups might pick a third party candidate to represent social conservatives if Giuliani was nominated to head the Republican ticket."

Robertson's endorsement of Guiliani may underscore the fact that James Dobson has been marginalized within the fundamentalist Christian community. Dobson's group gave the secular world the gift of Ted Hagarty.

[nualak]

01:34 AM on 11/08/2007

I have always believed the Republican's used the abortion issue when it was convenient, just like it's convenient to keep Osama bin Laden around. (I don't know where he is, I don't think about him too much.) If it served their purpose, it was handy to have the issue around to beat the "base" over the head with. Could it be too much to hope that the "party" has finally fallen on it's own petard.

[balance]

01:05 AM on 11/08/2007

A tool of an agenda endorsing another tool of an agenda.

Balanced, independent, responsible reasoners of conscience are difficult to control and hard to implement as predictable tools of an agenda.

How else would persons who have been elevated to influential positions be full of such extreme crackpot notions. -- Or ignore science, and be proud of not reading the newspaper, or not understand evolution and reject in favor of pure belief, etc...

Thus the nuts and nitwits, or the blackmailed are often found on the throne as the marionettes of an invisible hand.

-- This is not a new phenomenon.

[swift goat pet for truth]

12:55 AM on 11/08/2007

Obviously, McCain has to suck up more.

Hey, John, how about dumping a few more principles?

[Imadashell]

12:26 AM on 11/08/2007

This endorsement just proves what John Dean states in Broken Government. It's all about the Supreme Court. That wacked out Robertson would endorse the devil if he thought the devil would put a fundamentalist judge on the Supreme Court. One more idiot judge like Scalia and Thomas and than we become the theocracy that Robertson and his born again jackasses pray for everyday. Imagine a world where a religious, closed-minded dimwit is in charge? Wait a second we already have one of those dimwits in charge!!!