Broadcaster Repeats Threat to GOP

Religious broadcaster James C. Dobson, maintaining pressure on Republicans in Congress, has reiterated his threat to campaign against the GOP if it does not work harder to pass “a pro-moral and pro-family agenda.”

Dobson’s latest broadside against Republicans was contained in a letter mailed to 2,300 individuals he said contacted him after his earlier criticisms of the GOP.

The Focus on the Family leader maintains that conservative Christian voters gave Republicans their congressional majority. Once in office, he said, the lawmakers all but abandoned such issues as abortion, school vouchers and middle-class tax relief.

“In basketball parlance, [the GOP] legislative strategy is equivalent to a four-corner stall in order to run out the clock,” Dobson said. “If that policy continues, I believe the GOP could lose seats in November and put the next presidential election in jeopardy.”

Dobson’s criticisms are part of a broader attempt by Republican conservatives to push the party into a more confrontational position. Conservative leaders have accused House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) of being too willing to seek compromises with President Clinton.