Jack & Jill Politics

Oh, the Irony of it all.

In case y’all didn’t know, the good Reverend and head of “Focus on the Family” got pink-slipped from the organization he founded.  From the Wall Street Journal:

DENVER—Focus on the Family, the evangelical radio ministry that grew into a powerhouse of the religious right, enters a new era this month as founder James Dobson steps down, ceding his microphone to a leader with a markedly different style and set of priorities.

Mr. Dobson, a 73-year-old child psychologist, will record the last of his daily radio broadcasts for the Colorado Springs-based ministry this month.

But, he’s not really gone from the airwaves – he will get another gig, but it can’t be linked to the Focus on the Family Brand:

It is unclear whether the organization will retain its political clout and loyal base once Mr. Dobson leaves. The transition is further complicated because Mr. Dobson plans to launch a new radio show, “James Dobson on the Family,” to address what he called “a moral decline of shocking dimensions” in American culture.

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog ain’t buying it:

I had heard a while back that Dobson appeared to be losing his empire, but this appears to be confirmation.

Dobson is – was – THE leader of the religious right. They didn’t come any badder than him. I remember a Republican friend telling me, only a few years back, that the GOP tended to think of the religious right as nutballs, other than Dobson. Dobson they feared.

Not any more.

A prominent friend and supporter of James Dobson believes Dobson was pushed aside by the new leadership of Focus on the Family, who want the powerhouse evangelical ministry to project a softer image on issues ranging from abortion to gay marriage to relations with President Obama.

“[T]the board of directors voted privately on Wednesday — before we got there — to ask for my resignation, although their request was made with kindness and respect. We can only guess the reason for their decision because frankly I don’t fully know,” Dobson said. “But it apparently has to do with the desire for closure on my tenure and the beginning of another.”

The “friend” quoted in the article is another arch-homophobe mega-Pastor Ken Hutcherson, whom Aravosis gave a beat down regarding MicroSoft and gay rights a few months back.  However, Aravosis is arguing for voting out the Democrats in 2010 and beyond, which raises my ReThug meter, because he tends to forget that the Democrats didn’t usher in deregulation legislation which has lead to the shyt pile now facing the government; St. Ronnie Raygun and his GOP Thugs did that and continued to do it with the help of Bill Clinton and GeeShrubya for the past 30+ years.  I do, however, agree with his assessment that the Democrats cave in all the doggone time, even in opportunities when they can mop up the Republicans with their own petards.

I guess when Pastor Dobson was praying for “Deliverance from the Evil One” he didn’t realize that God heard his prayers and decided the best thing for Focus on the Family was for Dobson to get a pink-slip.

Oh, the irony….