JAMES DOBSON MAKES THE CASE: ANYBODY BUT GIULIANI (NOT COUNTING OBAMA OR HILLARY)

Whether you want to call James Dobson a minister of Jesus or, more obviously, an agent of Satan, one thing is for sure: he has a lot of clout with the Republican base. "Dobson, widely considered an important GOP rainmaker, says he will not vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani under any circumstance in the upcoming presidential elections because of his positions on abortion, domestic partnerships for homosexual couples and other moral issues." And it's "an irrevocable decision," says Dobson, who, like the Pope, apparently considers himself infallible.

In a bull, entitled Rudy's Not The One, Dobson writes that "his public pronouncements as mayor of New York, together with his more recent tap dances on the campaign trail, have told a very clear story." Dobson finds that story very disturbing-- but for different reasons than most normal Americans find Giuliani disturbing and unfit for leadership. Dobson doesn't mention the criminal elements that have become part and parcel in the life of Rudy Giuliani and he doesn't mention the brittle, fascist temperament, so accepted, even celebrated, on the far right. Nope, Dobson is on a jihad against Giuliani over women's right to choice.

How could Giuliani say with a straight face that he "hates" abortion," while also seeking public funding for it? How can he hate abortion and contribute to Planned Parenthood in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999? And how was he able for many years to defend the horrible procedure by which the brains are sucked from the heads of viable, late-term, un-anesthetized babies? Those beliefs are philosophically and morally incompatible. What kind of man would even try to reconcile them?

I love when right wing kooks like Giuliani are the victims of gross lies like this by the same right wing kooks who are usually their allies and role models. I hope every brain-dead religionist lemming in America thinks about brains being sucked from the heads of viable, late-term, un-anesthetized babies
whenever they hear the name "Giuliani." Dobson also hates Giuliani for being a philanderer and for being semi-pro-homo, and he finally talks about Rudy being a transvestite.

This self-styled defender of marriage says he is "proud" of having submitted, as New York's mayor, a bill creating "domestic partnerships" for homosexual couples. Admittedly, many liberal Americans will agree with the social positions espoused by Giuliani. However, I don't believe conservative voters whose support he seeks will be impressed. Presidential elections are won or lost by slim margins. Rudy has an uphill slog ahead of him, even though he is the darling of the media.

There are other moral concerns about Giuliani's candidacy that conservatives should find troubling. He has been married three times, and his second wife was forced to go to court to keep his mistress out of the mayoral mansion while the Giuliani family still lived there. Talk about tap dancing. Also during that time, the mayor used public funds to provide security services for his girlfriend. The second Mrs. Giuliani finally had enough of his philandering and, as the story goes, forced him to move out. He lived with friends for a while and then married his mistress. Unlike some other Republican presidential candidates, Giuliani appears not to have remorse for cheating on his wife...

One more question: Shouldn't the American people be able to expect a certain decorum and dignity from the man who occupies the White House? On this measure, as well, Giuliani fails miserably. Much has been written in the blogosphere about his three public appearances in drag. In each instance, he tried to be funny by dressing like a woman. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan, who loved a good joke, doing something so ignoble in pursuit of a cheap guffaw? Not on your life.

My conclusion from this closer look at the current GOP front-runner comes down to this: Speaking as a private citizen and not on behalf of any organization or party, I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision. If given a Hobson's – Dobson's? – choice between him and Sens. 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.

UPDATE: WHAT DO RIGHT WING NUTS SAY TO EACH OTHER?

Neo-fascist Laura Ingraham interviewed holy roller Jimmy Dobson on her hate talk radio show about the presidential race. Dobson dismisses Giuliani's campaign rhetoric as "double-talk" and dismisses him with "I don't think he's a good idea." Listen here. He warns Republicans that radical right religionists will prevent the GOP from winning in '08 if they nominate someone who is unacceptable to him. Dobson doesn't think Giuliani can win Ohio or Florida or Pennsylvania. He also says he couldn't vote for McCain "for a lot of good reasons" (he was for McCain-Feingold and for embryonic stem cell research and "now this immigration bill," and against Marriage Protection Amendment). He doesn't rule out cult member Mitt Romney.