Toxic "Spongedob" Pushed Out?

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Mar 11, 2010 at 08:46:08 AM MST

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson was pushed off the Focus radio show by the organization's board of directors. The board told Dobson that his last "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast would air Feb. 26. Dobson was disappointed. He didn't want to leave his radio show. That's when he decided to start "Family Talk with James Dobson," set to air on radio stations May 3.

Or so goes the account by Rev. Ken Hutcherson, a high-profile conservative evangelical who leads the Antioch Bible megachurch in Kirkland, Wash. Hutcherson has made a name for himself for his flamboyant manner and opposition to abortion and gay marriage (and as a former NFL linebacker).

On Tuesday, Hutcherson's editorial called "I Lost My Focus on the Family" was published  online at World Net Daily. In it Hutcherson says he knows that Dobson was pushed out of Focus, claiming to have talked to Dobson and Focus president and CEO Jim Daly about it.

Focus on Wednesday denied Hutcherson's assertions, but Hutcherson didn't back down.

"I am not speculating. I know what the truth is," Hutcherson said in an interview today with World Net Daily...

In the editorial, Hutcherson expresses his disapproval of Focus' new kinder, gentler approach on hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage.

The politicization of Focus on the Family under James Dobson, which ultimately led to large sums of money poured into political battles while the organization's "core mission" of family counseling shed its workforce, is a well-known story we've discussed in this forum many times.

What's really going to be different remains to be seen, but this public spat is an indicator that at least some on the religious right are afraid that Focus is giving up its hard political (spelled GOP) edge--while others, possibly including the board of Focus on the Family, welcome the change.

SpongeDob Resigns as FOF Chairman

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Feb 27, 2009 at 14:20:23 PM MST

Conservative evangelical leader James Dobson has resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family but will continue to play a prominent role at the organization he founded more than three decades ago, The Associated Press has learned.

Dobson notified the board of his decision Wednesday, and the 950 employees of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry were informed Friday morning at a weekly worship service, said Jim Daly, the group's president and chief executive officer.

Dobson, 72, will continue to host Focus on the Family's flagship radio program, write a monthly newsletter and speak out on moral issues, Daly said.

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.

Bush Consults SpongeDob on Iran Policy

by: Colorado Pols

Wed May 16, 2007 at 10:05:54 AM MDT

No, this is not a joke. As Raw Story reports:

President George W. Bush met privately with Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman James Dobson and approximately a dozen Christian right leaders last week to rally support for his policies on Iraq, Iran and the so-called "war on terror."

"I was invited to go to Washington DC to meet with President Bush in the White House along with 12 or 13 other leaders of the pro-family movement," Dobson disclosed on his radio program Monday. "And the topic of the discussion that day was Iraq, Iran and international terrorism. And we were together for 90 minutes and it was very enlightening and in some ways disturbing too."

More follows after the jump.