It looks as if the folks at Focus on the Family were a little hurt by Dick Armey’s recent statement that “[James] Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies” who rely on “demagoguery” to manipulate the “intellectually lazy” – so much so that FOF went out and found a few members of Congress who would fight back against Armey while kissing Dobson’s boo-boos and making it all better
Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., who served under Armey's leadership, said it was sad that someone of Armey's stature would call Christians a "gang of thugs."
"That would be your listeners and readers, (he's talking about)," the congressman told CitizenLink. "That would be the many Christians around the United States who devoutly hold conservative moral beliefs — and he's acting like this is just some kind of political game. And it's disgusting. I was incredibly disappointed to read these comments."
Souder said it is important for people to understand something about Dr. Dobson.
"When Dr. Dobson speaks out, he takes the hits and bullets for all of us," Souder said. "He becomes the easy punching bag. And when someone sees trends changing or they want to pick on somebody, by Dr. Dobson becoming a public figure and taking the lead, he will get the criticism, but he's really taking it for everybody."
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Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who also served under Armey when he was a member of the House, said the former Texas congressman and fiscal conservative has no business making such comments.
"I don't know why he's mad now, but his characterization is totally inappropriate," Coburn said. "I'm sorry Dick Armey feels that way.
"Dr. Dobson has done more to advance the cause of moral excellence than anybody I know in this country," Coburn said.
Apparently Armey’s assessment of Dobson and his ilk as a “bunch of thugs” wasn’t entirely accurate – thugs don’t usually get others to fight their battles for them.
