In a scene reminiscent of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine finally revealing himself as the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious, James Dobson has spoken out publicly in defense of corrupt House Majority Leader Tom Delay and his campaign against moderation in American politics.

For those who are not Star Wars aficionados, let me explain. The Star Wars universe was ruled by a Galactic Senate, which was rendered less and less effective by divisive political elements, secretly orchestrated by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Although his works were repeatedly revealed, the identity of the Dark Lord himself was always hidden. The voice of moderation found its spokesman in Senator Palpatine, who was entrusted by the moderating political faction to lead the fight against the Dark Lord's machinations. In defense of "democracy," Senator Palpatine was voted Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, by which means he was legally given authority to do whatever he wanted. He began taking greater and greater powers to himself until he was an emperor in all but name. Finally concluding that Palpatine was not working in the best interests of the galaxy, the Jedi Council confronted him, at which time he revealed that he was the Dark Lord all along. Subsequently, he killed almost all of the Jedi, killed or imprisoned the moderating politicians who had unknowingly aligned themselves with him, and used his absolute power to destroy democracy. It took over twenty years in the Star Wars universe before Darth Sidious, the evil Emperor, was defeated and his oppressive regine deposed.

Which brings me to James Dobson, who hasn't exactly been covert in his machiavellian political maneuvers, but no one seems to have taken notice. Hiding behind the innocuous and friendly sounding "Focus on the Family" organization, Dobson has maintained a low public profile while pulling powerful political strings behind the scenes. I am always amazed by the people who do not realize the crass political machinations behind conservative "Christian" organizations. Now, Dobson has come out in a big way, aligning himself with corrupt House Majority Leader Tom Delay in a Sunday simlucast exhorting all True Believers to rise up and cast out those who disagree with Dobson's radical political-religious agenda.

We can only hope that enough Americans will wake up and see James Dobson for the sly deceiver he really is, twisting the faith of honest Christians to serve dark purposes indeed.