The Dobson way
An evangelical leader steps squarely into the political ring
Two months after Election Day, it's difficult to gauge just how politically mobilized evangelicals are. After an exit poll found more voters saw "values" as their top issue than did any other--suggesting that evangelicals turned out in force--the finding was attacked for its ambiguous definition of values (chart, Page 66). Still, polling analysis by the University of Akron's Green suggests 78 percent of evangelical voters supported Bush this year, up 7 points from four years ago, and that overall evangelical turnout was up about 3.5 million, though evangelicals constituted the same share of the electorate as in 2000.
But Dobson points out that evangelical turnout--and its support for Republicans--in presidential elections has dipped and swelled according to how socially conservative their candidate was, from strong backing for Reagan and George H. W. Bush's first presidential run to weaker showings for Bush's 1992 re-election bid and Bob Dole's 1996 run. "I am not owned by the Republican Party," says Dobson. "I'm concerned about family and about moral issues." When Dobson felt that the GOP was ignoring values issues in 1998, he threatened to stage an evangelical mutiny (landing on the cover of U.S. News that May) and got actual results from Capitol Hill Republicans.
Even in 2004, evangelical mobilization was probably more of a grass-roots response to events like last year's Massachusetts high court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage than it was a testament to the organizing prowess of the Bush campaign or the GOP. "I'm gratified that [Bush political aide Karl] Rove recognized the importance of the evangelical vote, but [evangelical turnout] was not a result of a strategy from the White House," says Dobson. "People were very alarmed by the moral principles of John Kerry."
With the election over, Dobson and other evangelical leaders say their policy success now depends on keeping evangelicals politically engaged. "The doctor doesn't want to become Chicken Little, saying the sky is always falling," says John Fuller, who cohosts Focus's daily broadcast. "But there is a sense with the election that the troops are mobilized, and we have to keep them active." Even as Dobson loosens his grip on Focus's reins, preparing the organization for a future without him, he's likely to spend more of the equity he's built in calling on supporters to phone Washington. "My purpose in living is not to take a good reputation to the grave," he says. "I want to do what I think God wants me to do, and I want to do it as wisely and judiciously as possible and let the chips fall where they may."
MORAL VALUES: HOW IMPORTANT?
An Election Day exit poll found that more voters cited moral values as their top concern than any other issue. Initially cited as vindication for Bush adviser Karl Rove's strategy to mobilize red state--- largely evangelical---America, the poll later drew criticism for defining moral values too vaguely. But another poll, released by the Pew Research Center, found that moral values did matter, especially for Bush supporters.
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