Dobson projects...

James Dobson seems to think that John McCain has somehow divided the GOP.

In that, he is being grossly dishonest. Dobson needs to cast his eyes a bit closer to home. Specifically, he needs to deal with the fact that in dividing the GOP, he and his followers, particularly those who have demanded hard-line "no compromise" positions have been just as divisive, if not more so, than people like McCain.

Dobson, for instance, endorsed a candidate who made very liberal use of the politics of religious identity. He also seemed to be utterly unwilling to throw his support behind Mitt Romney when his support could have been very helpful, instead waiting until after Romney was out to make an endorsement. At the same time, when Huckabee's playing to anti-Mormon bigotry went on, he failed to say one word in opposition - probably to avoid upsetting his wife (which probably explains why he wouldn't endorse Romney in the first place).

Now, explain to this Mormon why the fuck I should trust James Dobson, or back someone he is inclined to support.

Of course, I will get the usual claims from Dobson backers that he was acting on principle, that Romney was not "really" a conservative, or some other bullshit explanation. But the problem is that Romney was the best shot to see those principles enacted in 2008.

So, this November, I'm pulling for McCain to win. Dobson will now have to kiss McCain's ass if he wants anything, and Republicans will be able to re-define certain relationships. Yeah, it's spite on my part. But I think I have some good reasons to feel that.

My vote, and why it went as it did.

It's official. This morning, I cast my vote in Virginia's Republican primary election. It will be said that I cast my vote for John McCain, and that is how it will likely be tallied. But in reality, it was more a vote AGAINST Mike Huckabee.

In some ways, I guess I was naive. I thought that Americans had gotten over religion as a barrier to the Presidency. That was arguably a question settled by John F. Kennedy.

I was wrong.

The New Republic seems to have hit the nail on the head:

Southern states have GOP primary electorates dominated by evangelical Christians, specifically by Southern Baptists. And many of those Southern Baptists are committed to blocking the ascension of a Mormon to the presidency.

This is not to say all of them are. Nancy French at Evangelicals for Mitt and John Schroeder at Article 6 Blog backed Romney. So did MacRanger, who I had the pleasure of talking with in a number of shows (albeit after a flirtation with Fred Thompson).

But there is just too much evidence that they are a minority among evangelicals:
* James Dobson's maneuvering, discussed earlier in this blog.

* The admission from Huckabee's research director that many evangelicals would grab on to an issue like "flip flop", but would really be voting against Romney because he was Mormon.

* The Vanderbilt study contains statistical backup of the anecdotal evidence.

* The increase in anti-Mormon sermons in the run-up to the South Carolina primary.

* The comments on Huckabee's official campaign blog.

The preponderance of the evidence points to anti-Mormon bias among evangelicals as a primary factor in the failure of Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign.

Sorry, but I feel like I've been given the finger by values voters. Never mind that I have a lot of agreement with them on a number of issues, they simply have decided that a Mormon should not be president, and have made it clear that any Mormon who is too uppity will be taken down.

To quote Mase from "Will They Die 4 You" on the South Park Chef Aid soundtrack:

[Someone] smack me, I'ma smack 'em back
If it lead to the guns, then that be that

So, I sent them a finger and a hearty "fuck you" in return. Spiteful? Yeah, to a degree, it was. And I think, given the evidence, I'm entitled to take a shot or two. But there's also a cold, rational way of thinking about this situation.

Quite frankly, I trust religious conservatives about as far as I can throw a Nimitz-class carrier. I'd rather have a moderate like McCain than a religious bigot like Huckabee. In the future, an endorsement from James Dobson and others of his stripe will be a negative in the primary - and I will keep options open, including sitting out a general election if I do not like the choices.

That's pretty much where I am now.