If you wish to help ConservativeHQ reach more readers then donate here.
My dear old friend Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, went to the Lord last Thursday, and his passing has left an almost unfillable gap in the conservative movement and American culture and politics. He was 89 years old at the time of his passing.
The son, grandson, and great-grandson of Church of the Nazarene ministers, but as a child psychologist by training, Dr. Dobson was never formally ordained as a minister, yet he became one of the nation's most influential evangelical leaders through his daily radio program Focus on the Family.
Dr. Dobson first became a nationally recognized figure through the 1970 publication of Dare to Discipline, a book that rejected “soft parenting” and encouraged parents to be firm with children, and to use corporal punishment if necessary.
His video about absent fathers titled Where's Dad? had 100 million views by the early 1980s, long before social media was available, and advocating for the centrality of the traditional family, and opposition to policies that undermine it, were hallmarks of Jim Dobson’s educational and advocacy efforts.
Jim Dobson, along with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and a few other Christian conservatives, made “family values” a defining issue in American politics. However, it was Dr. Dobson, through the success of his Focus on the Family radio and TV programs, who became the face of family values in politics.
An innovator in promoting his ideas, one of Dr. Dobson’s most important contributions to conservative politics was his network of state policy councils to educate and advocate for family-building policy at the state level.
The conservative movement’s effectiveness in such areas as passing state “one man – one woman” marriage amendments to their constitutions and defeating efforts to enact special privileges for homosexuals owe much to Dr. Dobson’s effectiveness as a political organizer through those state policy councils.
Throughout the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s Dr. Dobson’s influence in Republican politics was such that a statement from him could make or break a Republican candidate or bill.
As I outlined in my book TAKEOVER, Jim and I had many friendly debates over how far conservatives should go in supporting or opposing various Republican candidates or Bush era policies.
Although he was loath to break openly with the Republican Party, Jim Dobson was one of the few conservative leaders to say out loud what many (if not most) conservatives were thinking during the Bush years. Speaking at a 2006 “Stand for the Family” rally in Pittsburg, he said “I have flat-out been ticked at Republicans for the past two years… This country is at a crisis point. Whether or not the Republicans deserve the power they were given, the alternatives are downright frightening.”
Jim Dobson was right; it was true that the country was (and is) at a crisis point, but many conservative leaders had already mentally checked out of exerting any effort on behalf of the Republican establishment, even if they hadn’t publicly said so.
Dr. Dobson was concerned that the damage that could be done by an unchecked Democrat administration would be too great to be undone, and as feckless as the DC GOP was, we conservatives should hang on and fight from the inside of the Republican Party. Surveying the damage done by eight years of Barack Obama and four years of Joe Biden as President, history may have proven him right.
In an age when everything seemed to be up for debate, and the great truths of the Bible and traditional western culture – the nuclear family, fatherhood, gender norms and more – had become objects of ridicule, James Dobson brought an unmatched ability to educate and activate millions of people around the world to stand with moral clarity for those values.
The conservative movement and American culture and politics owe Jim Dobson an immeasurable debt and his passing leaves a great void in our movement. Rest in peace old friend.
- Dr. James Dobson
- obituary
- Focus on the Family
- Christian conservatives
- Republican Party
- Dr. Jerry Falwell
- Pat Robertson
- American Culture
- Family Values
- Dare to Discipline
- Corporal punishment
- Radio Show
- Donald Trump
Wanna help us reach more readers?
Since 1999, ConservativeHQ has been providing for free news and information for conservative leaders and activists intended to help grow the conservative movement so large that conservatives will govern America.
If you enjoy our content and wish to help finance the success and growth of ConservativeHQ, then I urge you to donate here, or mail a contribution to: ConservativeHQ, 9625 Surveyor Court, Ste 400, Manassas, VA 20110. Your contribution is not tax deductible, but greatly appreciated!
