Friday, February 27, 2009

Focus on the Family Leader, James Dobson Resigns!


Juicy stuff!

Evangelical leader and cultural terrorist, James Dobson has resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family. However he will continue to host their radio program, write their hateful newsletter and spew hate speeches.

AP reports:

Dobson's resignation as board chairman "lessens his administrative burden" and is the latest step in a succession plan, the group said. Dobson began relinquishing control six years ago by stepping down as president and CEO.

"One of the common errors of founder-presidents is to hold to the reins of leadership too long, thereby preventing the next generation from being prepared for executive authority," Dobson said in a statement. "... Though letting go is difficult after three decades of intensive labor, it is the wise thing to do."

While Focus on the Family emphasizes that it devotes most of its resources to offering parenting and marriage advice, it is best known for promoting conservative moral stands in politics.

On political matters, Dobson "will continue to speak out as he always has — a private citizen and not a representative of the organization he founded," said Gary Schneeberger, a Focus on the Family spokesman. He said the nonprofit ministry and Focus on the Family Action — an affiliate set up under a different section of the tax code that permits more political activity — will continue to be active on public policy.

Dobson has a devoted following. His radio broadcast reaches an estimated 1.5 million U.S. listeners daily. Yet critics say his influence is waning, pointing to evangelicals pushing to broaden the movement's agenda beyond abortion, gay marriage and other issues Dobson views as most vital.

1.5 million folks? Wow, that's not cute. But it's nice to hear that his influence is waning. Maybe if he tackled real issues like poverty, failing schools and community outreach, people would listen and perhaps...have a purpose to follow him? Who knows.

Thanks to Pam for breaking the scoop

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Consider there are currently 300,000,000 people in the United States and 1,500,000 is the number of his listeners. That comes out to one half of one percent of the population. I'm sure if we sliced and diced to make it the total universe of radio listeners the percentage would rise, but not quit about a percent or two.

Todd HellsKitchen said...

I hadn't heard this! You are my guru!

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.