Dobson and McCain

Last week it was all over the news-- James Dobson would never vote for John McCain because McCain doesn't value the traditional family.

I was terribly bothered by this, not just because Dobson is perpetuating the "there are only two issues Christians should care about" nonsense, but also because it is absolutely wrong. Here, is something more accurate:

McCain has said gay marriage should not be legal, but he has angered some conservatives with his opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. He said the issue should be left to the states.

This is the John McCain that I've heard and the John McCain that Dobson heard. Dobson isn't misreading, but rather has given away his political ideal. To Dobson, it is not whether one supports the traditional family but rather whether one supports the government at the most fundamental level defining the family at the most fundamental level. In other words, this isn't about Dobson the moral champion. The moral doesn't matter. This is about Dobson the fascist. You're only on his side if you think the government should be controlliing people.

Worse, though, it's Dobson the fascist hiding his fascism under a blanket of morality. I doubt that anyone from my church besides me noted Dobson saying "McCain doesn't support the traditional family" instead of "McCain supports the traditional family but not a constitutional amendment against gay marriage." Dobson twisted McCain's political ideals into moral ones, something that will make a huge pile of Americans think something different from the truth, and the bastard should repent for it. Christians should be examples of truth and honesty, not shady dishonest slippery morons polluting the public sphere with crypto-fascist crap under moral blanket.