This is big. Huge. Gigantic. A firestorm.
And Republicans would be idiots for not seizing upon it.
Barack Obama has made the biggest blunder of his political life.
The president’s health-care regulation expanding access to birth control, including abortion pills, impinges on churches that oppose abortion, especially Catholic ones, by narrowly defining their religious activity to teaching only. Government must be wary of determining where the works of faith end.
Reaction came quickly:
Obama administration faces backlash over rule ordering birth control coverage
President Obama’s decision to force employers, including religious institutions, to provide health insurance coverage for contraception is becoming a big problem for his reelection campaign.
GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney launched a petition on Monday against the mandate, arguing it was an attack by Obama on “religious liberty.”
Conservatives, including Catholics such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), are attacking the administration for the decision. And now, nine months before the presidential election, the backlash is growing even among Obama supporters, who say the move was politically tone-deaf.
White House defends contraception rules as criticisms mount
U.S. Catholic bishops have slammed the Obama administration for a regulation finalized on January 20 that would require health insurance to include birth control and other preventative health services for women. The leaders contend that the policy infringes on religious liberty because the Church does not condone birth control of any kind.
Over the weekend, Catholic clergy across the country called for congregations to protest the rule and pressure Obama to back down.
“To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement last month.
Jim Towey, president of Ave Maria University in Florida, who also served in the administration of President George W. Bush, said Tuesday he would fight the provision using “all lawful means at our disposal.”
“Our non-Catholic employees and students understand fully that the University must adhere to Catholic teaching and they do not expect us to provide such services,” he said in a statement.
The White House sensed the rising storm:
Obama administration struggles to contain uproar over birth-control rule
The White House struggled Wednesday to contain the growing uproar over its birth-control mandate, with Democrats peeling off one by one in what has become an increasingly divisive election-year controversy.
Pressure to roll back the new contraception policy mounted quickly as the day wore on, driven by divisions among Democrats, mixed messages from President Obama’s advisers and a constant drumbeat from the GOP.
“It’s becoming a thorny problem for the White House and it appears to only be getting worse,” said one Democratic strategist. “The politically astute move would be to modify this thing, and quick.”
Asked if the administration should shift course, a former senior administration official said, “I don’t see how they couldn’t. It’s pretty bad.”
Leon Panetta was incredulous
“What are we doing here?” asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, stepping outside his wheelhouse to ask about a rising storm involving the Obama administration and the Catholic Church. “What’s the point?”
It was the Fall of 2011 and Panetta had read about a proposed Obama administration rule that would require employers – excluding houses of worship but including religious organizations such as charities, hospitals, and schools – to offer health insurance that fully covered contraception.
Panetta – a Catholic, former U.S. Representative, and White House chief of staff – didn’t quite understand why the Obama administration would be stepping into this conflict.
Panetta’s fears have to a degree been realized as White House officials now find themselves taking heat on a policy debate about conscience and religious liberty; the Obama administration is working to find a way to allow religious organizations to not pay for services they find morally objectionable, while also ensuring that, say, the women nurses and doctors who work at Catholic hospitals have full access to birth control. Some officials are discussing a way to introduce something like the law in Hawaii, where religious organizations don’t have to pay for employee insurance that covers contraception, but they do have to inform employees how they can get it on their own.
Obama then dug his heels in
President Obama “reinforced” his stance on the controversial contraception mandate while speaking at the Democrats’ annual retreat at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. today, Senate Democrats said.
The retreat was closed to media.
Following President Obama’s speech at the retreat, a small group of Senate Democrats, mostly women, left the retreat early in order to hold a news conference on Capitol Hill to counter the Republicans’ news conference today at which they called for the mandate to be overturned.
Democrats said they will “fight strongly” to keep the mandate in place.
That may prove to be a precious gift for Republicans.
Obama is losing democrats
A handful of Senate Democrats have split with President Obama’s controversial birth-control mandate and slammed the administration’s requirement that church-affiliated employers cover contraceptives.
The five Democrats in the Senate expressing concern about some parts of the administration’s policy include, most recently, Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida, who have spoken publicly about their unhappiness with the mandate.
“This was a bone-headed decision by HHS,” Sen. Ben Nelson said of the new Health and Human Services mandates, according to the Nebraska Radio Network.
Nelson agreed with state Attorney General Job Bruning’s decision to file a legal challenge to the mandate.
Florida’s Nelson has also raised concerns. “My position is that church-affiliated organizations should be exempt, not just churches,” Nelson told the Tampa Bay Times Buzz Blog, adding that he has called the White House to express his concerns.
“It’s a matter of religious freedom,” Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin told ABC News.
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan says he was betrayed:
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan says President Barack Obama hasn’t kept his promise, when it comes to the new White House policy on contraception.
Sources told CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer that Archbishop Dolan feels betrayed after his meeting with the president on the issue late last year.
A Catholic group in Alabama filed the first lawsuit against the Obama administration’s new birth control regulations as the controversy got even more heated Thursday.
The president ducked questions about the contraception controversy that is bedeviling his administration. The reason may be the latest attack from Dolan, who, sources told CBS 2, feels he was stabbed in the back by the president after the two met to discuss the issue.
“He was worried about being at odds with the Church, especially when it came to health care and education and charitable outreach,” Dolan told Kramer.
That’s called “willing suspension of disbelief.”
John Boehner cried:
“The federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries. This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand.”
As usual, too tepid and lacking heart.
But Marco Rubio got it right
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0by5YCqVhA[/youtube]
The heat was getting so great that David Axelrod jumped in
David Axelrod, a senior campaign adviser for the Obama reelection campaign, signaled Tuesday that the Obama administration may be open to a compromise on a new rule that requires many religious employers to provide contraception to their employees.
“I’m less concerned about the messaging of this than to find a resolution that makes sense,” said Axelrod on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
But the best news for Republicans? Joe Biden says he can fix it.
Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he is “determined” to find a solution to the controversial birth control issue and that the administration is making “a significant attempt to work this out.”
Biden, who is Catholic, broke his silence on the Obama administration’s new contraception rule and said he is “determined to see that this gets worked out and I believe we can work it out.”
Let us not err as to what transpired here. This is a classic redistributionist action- make someone else pay for something Obama wants.
But it is also makes very clear Obama’s contempt for the Catholic Church. While Obama bows endlessly to Islamic leaders he has no qualms about trashing Catholicism. A so-called compromise has been announced. Drudge called it “caving” but it’s not caving at all. Obama has simply re-framed the debate to make people think it is something other than what it is. Someone else will pay for what Obama wants to give away and it will not be acceptable to the Catholic Church.
The episode is very important from a symbolic perspective. It makes clear what a lame duck Barack Obama would do to the country. Obama is already running roughshod over the Constitution. A second term would be a horror show.
UPDATE: Obama has offered a what some call a “compromise” but in reality is anything but a compromise. What Obama is basically proposing is that religious organizations simply lie.
Under the new policy, religious employers that don’t want to offer contraception could exclude it from their policies. Insurance companies instead would be required to provide access to contraception for plan participants who wanted it, without explicitly charging either the religious employer or worker.
Obama’s plan allows those providing insurance to say that aren’t actually providing contraception but the insurers themselves are. See how easy that was?
This has not gone over well:
Catholic bishops said Friday night that they would not support the Obama administration’s proposed compromise on a controversial rule that requires most employers to fully cover contraception in their workers’ health plans.
Over at Think Progress they believe that contraception is a critical to the fight against global warming:
Any morally acceptable pathway to prevent catastrophic global warming includes broad access to affordable birth control for the world’s women.
Who knew?
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
It could be that Obama deliberately did this to strengthen Santorum’s campaign in the Republican primary. Normally I lean more towards ‘blunders and stupidity’ rather than deviousness when trying to explain his behavior, but it is possible that he did this as a calculated political move.
bbart, I think Obama is delighted with either Romney or Santorum as his foe. With Romney, O’healthcare is pretty much off the table since Romney’s the Godfather of O’s healthcare, and his minions helped analyze and design it. He also has the bonus of being the iconic picture of the evil capitalist 1% who “doesn’t concern himself with the poor”, doesn’t believe in paying more taxes than owed, easy to portray as a heartless corporate raider, and keeps a Cayman’s bank account to avoid taxes.
If it’s not Romney? Hey no big deal. Santorum, whose history of leadership revolves primarily around religious social issues, will be portrayed as a religious nut who wants to ban abortions, loves earmarks, wants Amtrak when he’s in PA and doesn’t when he’s in Washington DC, and thinks the Tea Party and Libertarians are a “concern”.
But I’m sure that Santorum is ecstatic. Since this is one of his backyard issues, he’ll be pushing this “Obama hates Christians” meme fast and furious for the duration. Problem is, I watched Candy Crowley make mincemeat of him this AM on this and other issues. If he can’t come out a winner with a genuinely polite Crowley, I don’t give him a chance in a one on one with Obama. This is ultimately a losing proposition for Santorum, with the approach he is choosing to pursue to enhance his social conservatism.
While Romney is the perfect foil to Obama’s current campaign strategy, it can easily be expanded to include Santorums socio religious positions… and this is the perfect moment. Just portray it all not as a separation of church and state, but as all about abortion banning and the stripping of women’s rights. Santorum, unfortunately, has a lot in his history of speeches to help the Zero out.
So I agree with you. This is a perfect example of creative “let no crisis go to waste” politics. I do believe that this is all political campaign posturing. It’s kind of sad that this is only being made a big deal of now. It, along with a ton of other similar ugly regs and mandates in O’healthcare, has been around for over a year and a half. Think everyone is a little late to complain?
This is only one more reason that the entire bill needs to be repealed. No one has talked about the IMAB enough, instead getting all sidetracked with the “death panel” bit during the process. That very body is quasi legit in itself, usurping Congressional powers, and it was unfortunate that the real “death panel” was masked by the poorly constructed tangent of paying doctors to advise on end of life options.
More will be coming out – far too long after the fact, yet with most touched upon during the health care bill debate (and ignored…) – and each one separately will be made to portray the GOP candidate as a heartless American who doesn’t care about the health “rights” of the poor or women. And with the big bucks behind it… count on it.
The GOP needs to learn to focus on the most important issues in this election… the economy and jobs. This election is not first and foremost about social conservative issues. To abandon those top issues just to chase every little side story is to subtlety agree that Obama’s pouring money down the drain to boost the economy actually worked. They are being led around by the nose.
MataHarley gets it right!
I just want to add that Santorum is a labor union supporter who is opposed to the Right to Work. He has, while in Congress, voted down legislation to initiate open work places.
Leo Gerard, the Canadian Communist who heads the United Steel Workers and is a leading adviser to Obama, is delighted with Santorum, I’m sure.
Voters who are only concentrating on social issues are aiding a candidate who’s past voting record for earmarks and pork does not support downsizing government. Santorum is no a supporter of TEA Party values.
The U.S. is SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT. Right now, at this point in time, we need candidates focusing on the economy like a laser because that is Obama’s weakest and most vulnerable point.
My understanding is that the original statement has already been signed into law. Jesuitical arguments aside, the o lied.
Joy Behar( The View) stated that global warming caused the Haiti and Japan Earthquakes. Think Progress stated that contraception reduces global warming. So Ladies, do use your birth control, it reduces earthquakes.
@oil guy from Alberta: Now Joy Behar is a real mental Giant! I am surprised Rich isn’t referencing her!
Thank you ALL for continually taking the focus off the economy!
Keep it up and with your help, I will win!
Signed, Obama
Obama backs women’s right to practice their religion in SOME cases:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-cairo-university-6-04-09
Well, thank goodness we’ve got THAT right protected!
/off
Regardless of how this turns out with regard to Catholic hospitals, colleges, etc., the argument still misses an important point. How about the Catholic employer who will be forced to include birth control and abortion in his company’s health insurance plan? Even the Catholic bishops don’t seem to be concerned about this. They wanted socialized medicine, and so long as it doesn’t affect their institutions directly, they don’t care about anyone else.
@SpySmasher:
Yeah, ss.
“Free birth control,” won’t cost the economy a dime……NOT!
Our total Fertility Rate has just dropped to shrinkage in our population from zero.
Before the 2010 census we sat at zero fertility rate of 2.1 children born per woman in the USA.
Now we are below that at 2.06.
We are already trying to rectify the situation by importing workers to make up for the lack of people born here.
It isn’t working.
It won’t work, either.
Look at Europe’s failed attempts at the same solution.
Too many immigrants see our Western welfare state and want a free piece of that pie.
Drains the system even faster.
Too few babies is the problem, not to solution.
@SpySmasher: This is going to be a potent issue in the effort to rid ourselves of the Obama plague.
@drjohn:
I believe that Obama and the liberal/progressives are seriously underestimating the impact this will have. The economy will still be the major issue, as it usually is, however, this isn’t taking the focus off of the economy. If anything, it is one more thing highlighting the Obama WH’s heavy-handed “rule” of it’s “subjects”.
The Republicans ARE idiots, so of course they won’t capitalize on it!
@drjohn, it will be “potent” alright… but not in the favor of the Republicans.
Let me expand on what @johngalt says about the economy being the major issue. This is confirmed by exit polls, plus the National Journal poll…. the economy and jobs remains king of the issues. 68% for the Dems, and78% for the Republicans. This can be related to the economy, but so far none of the candidates and bloggers are framing the debate in that fashion.
As a supposed “conservative” who gets on my nerves more often than not – Andrew Sullivan – says it best in his upcoming Newsweek article, and accurately framed via the CSMonitor:
Welcome to the 21st Century… where James Carvelle’s classic and acerbic phrase – “it’s the economy, stupid” – still reigns supreme, and Catholicism’s attitude towards contraception is viewed as not only passe/archaic, but outright rejected by both religious lib/progs and conservatives alike.
If this is a trap… and I think it is, as well as part of the attempt to divert and divide the predominate issue of the economy and the debt/spending… you can count Santorum and Mitt leading the charge into the political abyss.
Dang, I’m getting tired of being played the fool. The GOP has been the political butt so many times… i.e. the lame duck Bush tax cuts negotiations, the debt ceiling farce, and the more than stupid negotiations over the payroll tax cuts being billboard size examples. Why is it that the GOP can’t be smart enough to seize the prime issues… debt, spending, healthcare… and stay focused? Instead, throw the danged dog a bone, and they’re off running into the nether lands.
If anyone wants to make this an issue in a way it *might*.. and I only mean *might*… fly, it will have to be framed primarily as a spending/healthcare issue. ala.. why the heck are we driving up the costs of insurance premiums to provide for what is an extremely inexpensive “medical” drug or cost? This leads into actually controlling the costs of premiums, and providing tax incentive medical savings accounts that cover these small costs and office visits, and help reduce premiums.
If you want to lightly… and I do mean *lightly* … pepper this with a separation of church and state/first amendment (not Christian specific) right… a candidate can only do so in front of a politically friendly audience. The nation, at large, generally finds their eyes glazing over when you start talking violations of the 1st Amendment. And for that matter, so do the courts. Way too lofty for the average voter.
This is, as bbart, myself, Satin Doll and SpySmasher have said, a political diversion to move the topic of discussion away to a losing subject for conservatives, and exploit party differences for social issues instead of all things fiscal .
I’ll say it again, the GOP is being led around by the nose. Or perhaps a better way of putting it, they are being played big time.
The bottom lines once we are past all the religious emotion (all religious persuasions, not just Catholics):
– His action is illegal first and foremost: 1st Amendment.
– His supposed walk-back was also illegal; he just usurped Congress’ sole responsibility to levy taxes. All tax paying citizens who were already illegally forced to buy medical insurance will now illegally be forced to pay higher premiums for all those who would have otherwise paid for their on birth/abortion control. The ones who do not know how to hold a quarter between their legs will continued to get pregnant and then go to Unplanned Parenthood to have their babies murdered.
– We are forced to accept Roe v. Wade and now by Obozo’s sleight of hand we get to pay for the demorat eugenicists to practice genocide on the less able (significantly women of color) among us.
Well there is something you don’t see every day, Republicans screwing up another opportunity to win the political war.
@MataHarley:
Mata, as I said, I believe that the liberal/progressives are making too light of this issue. Of course the major issue for the election will be the economy. As I said, it nearly always is.
This particular issue isn’t simply about contraception, or women’s health, though. This is part of the wider issue of government overstepping it’s Constitutional boundaries, or limits.
The real question is if anyone on the GOP side can, or will, frame this issue in the manner it truly deserves. I don’t believe that any of the GOP candidates for president can. I do believe, however, that there are conservatives like Rubio who could. If the issue was presented the way it should be, alongside the major issue of the economy, it could be a winner. We’ll have to see, though I’m not gonna hold my breath for it.
Your intuition about this being a political diversion may be spot on, though.
Yes, the main issue is the economy, but without countermanding the Obama power grabs, no one can do anything about the economy. Most everything he has done is ruining the economy. Obama care is causing the cost of health care to escalate. The EPA campaign against coal fired power plants will raise the cost of utilities. Canceling the Keystone XL pipe line costs jobs and a reliable source of energy. The administration’s failure to approve Gulf oil drilling and anti-fracking regulations affect the economy.
The European issues also affect our economy. Depending on who you listen to, China is due for a fall. The intrusion of drugs and terrorists across the southern border allowed by this administration has potential to drive the economy further down. Remember 9/11? What if there were 10 shopping malls across the country attacked by terrorists at one time? Would that affect the economy?
Republicans can make a case that all of these issues directly affect everyone. I am not sure why they don’t!
mata I got the letter from the bishops in mass today, I think it has alot of resonance to people who may not see the big picture or think its a big issue, but,
I think alot of people who may have supported obama because they were democrats but may now see the cracks in his facade, they may have doubts as to his true intentions, attitudes and may have the scales dropping from their eyes.
you may not think this is all that important but when you get a letter while sitting in the pew saying obama is trampling on your church it may carry more weight
@rumcrook: Every Catholic Church in Colorado got the letter last week read from the pulpit at every Mass. Needless to say, there are a lot of people who would quietly discuss issues, now becoming much more aggressive. There is a great deal of anger.
Pregnancy is a disease… abortions can cause breast cancer…. Huh???
Oh, yes! This is the newest drama the Left has come up with to “justify” their agenda…
@MataHarley:
While I agree that the economy and jobs are very important issues for this election season, They need not be the only issues. This President’s continual disdain for the Constitution is also VERY important. Although it is advisable opponents not to get mired and distracted, they will need to use every bit of ammunition they have to win against this MSM sanctioned ideologue. A President who repeatedly ignores whatever portion of the Constitution he wishes, shows utter contempt for the highest law of the land (a law he swore to uphold and protect. ) What constitutional right or limit might such a faithless man violate next?
@MataHarley: Mata, you imply that this is the single big issue. I did not. You need not frame your argument under a false pretense. It is a significant issue as it makes add bolsters the assertion that Obama’s Cesarian demands come before anything else, above even the Constitution. I welcome any and all arguments to remove Obama.
There was no exemption for Catholicism, as I pointed out. They simply get to lie about it. It had damned well better be the same for Muslims and Obamacare.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/209933-running-a-huge-risk-with-catholics
When a despot (Obama) declares one “right” (too choose to kill your offspring) to be SUPERIOR to another right (worship and conscience, as per First Amendment)… we soon will learn we have NO RIGHTS at all! Obama’s actions are tantamount to “establishing religion” as worship of government above all other is demanded and forced through Federal coercion! This is not unconstitutional, it is ANTI-Constitutional! BIG LIB, media and Obama have convinced far too many brain-dead Americans, tyranny is a government benefit!!! We hope this is a “blunder” but I speculate Obama’s calculation (IMHO) is that enough Americans have drank the Liberal Kool-Aide, that he can get away with this tyranny.
Call me cynical, but I read this sentiment as follows: Our country has a huge number of baby factories and, unfortunately, a growing shortage of babies. Allowing these baby factories to make their own decision, in a cost-independent fashion, of when (or if) they want to produce babies will further contribute to the country’s baby shortage. Thus, in the interest of the country (at least, the non-baby-producing demographic), we ought to fight against free access to birth control; if baby factories don’t want to live up to their baby-making responsibilities, it needs to COST them.
Surely, that’s not where you’re coming from? Is it?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/10/why-obama-health-care-rule-on-contraception-angers-catholic-democrats.html
Planned Parenthood is the new religion that must be obeyed above all others.
In real terms this costs him virtually nothing. The folks who are anti-abortion didn’t vote for him, and the majority of catholics believe in birth control, and vote democrat every time. So, this might cost him 20% of the catholics who voted for him the first time. . . a negligible voting block which he calculated before doing this.
Mrine72
that cannot be more clear than that, and everyone can understand it,
nobody has any excuse to say, they didn’t know, after the abortion is done, no matter the age.
bye
@MataHarley:
I don’t think so Mata. This isn’t just about religion, religious liberty, separation of church and state, or the first amendment. This is about a law we were told would not change anything. It would only insure those not currently covered by insurance, and reduce the overall costs of healthcare. We were told by the administration and every liberal that visits this board that nothing like this would ever happen. If you like your insurance, you can keep your insurance. The conscious clause if protected by an executive order. The executive branch is not going to have ultimate power to decide your healthcare requirements.
Every bit of it was a lie and now we know the executive branch can do whatever they want to, to shape health care the way they see fit. Health care spending is now over 17% of our GDP. How is this not an economic issue? When the vast majority of private workers saw their insurance premiums go up close to 30% when we were told we would be saving $3k a year, how is this not an economic issue? When the federal government can now tell private insurance companies what they will and will not cover for free, how is this not an economic issue?
The Obama administration floated this little religious balloon to see exactly how much power they could wield.
What’s next? Force insurance companies to provide an economic incentive for people that undergo voluntary sterilization? Don’t laugh, if they are able to get away with what they are doing now, what’s to stop them? What about incentives for the elderly to sign “do not resuscitate” orders?
This is an economic issue; 17% of our GDP issue. It is about jobs; employers now have a whole new set of expenses to deal with courtesy of O’Care. This is about unemployment, because what is to say their next step isn’t going to be free government health insurance in the next unemployment bill.
The executive branch has unlimited power in health care under O’Care and they are out to prove it.
First they came for the Catholics……
@Aqua:
That is the real frustrating thing about the whole debate here, and an example of, as I stated in another post, people not being able to see the forest for the trees. No matter which side of a debate on a specific issue on is on, EVERYONE should be concerned about unConstitutional powergrab by the ObamaWH here.
If this is allowed to stand, meaning the usage of power the Obama WH is wielding, then arbitrary power will be the new normal for our federal government, no matter who is in office.
@Aqua: This is about the 1st amendment. It is a violation of the 1st amendment. The Federal Government has no authority to dictate policy to a religious organization. The rest of your post is also true, but if Obama can violate the religious part of the 1st amendment, then free speech and freedom of the press is next. The he starts on the rest of the amendments!
Sorry to throw water on your hopes, but the only ones who disagree with Obama’s decision are a few Fundamentalist Catholics and Protestants, and a part of the Catholic hierarchy. Check out the statistics to get the facts.
Didn’t Obama run on the premise that he could walk and chew gum at the same time?
(IOW, we can have two big issues.)
We don’t have to ”ignore” the economy so as to fight Obama on Freedom of Religion issues ONLY.
He can handle both.
Heck, from the looks of things foreign affairs are getting very warm: Israel being targeted worldwide by Iranians, Greece melting down, Suicide Bomb BOATS in the Strait of Hormuz, Syria going overboard, the Saudis are proving that freedom of expression has not got a good future either, and so on.
Crickets from Obama might mean that he was being literal about being able to walk and chew gum.
@Liberal1 (objectivity): OK, where are the statistics o wise one! It is making a big stir in Colorado and the pundents say Obama can not win with out Colorado.
First obummer came for the catholics,
Then one of our bishops opened a can of woopass on them when he reminded the catholic members of team Obama that thier souls will stand in judgement for what they do!
Next step for those who side with obummer excommunication
No more pretending thier Catholics to get votes and cultivate their one of the people personas
While glad handing at st. Pattys day, or the local Italian festival
@johngalt: Hang on, John. I’ve got something in the queue addressing exactly this.
@Kevin:
Wow, Keven.
Do you always read false dilemmas where none exist?
No, free birth control has not ever been ”the solution.”
No one ever has respect for a thing if it is free.
Not a girl, not a condom, nothing.
Big fishbowls full of free condoms adorn school offices for students to take.
Clinics hand out free condoms all over the place.
Free is beside the point.
But forcing people of conscience to PAY for something they disagree with completely is the problem.
A bunch of countries have already chosen migrants as their solution to this problem, so most of the ones who could actually be engineers, doctors and nurses are spoken for.
Of our neighbor Canada:
Of course, we can always ”import” dumb people who will further drag our economy down.
@DrJohn:
Liberal1’s post is a well-timed example of exactly what I’m talking about. Instead of being concerned about the arbitrary power Obama is wielding, he continues to concentrate on the specific issue of contraception.
If one is not concerned about the rights of the least amongst us, in this case the Catholic Church and some other religious organizations, then that person had best prepare for when their “favored” rights are infringed upon. And if that same person believes that it won’t happen, they are simply naive and ignorant of history.
I would hazard a guess based on the interest in this topic that it carries some electoral weight.
@johngalt:
I know I’ve heard this somewhere before……
@johngalt:
Is that the only part of my post you read? Did you not read this part?
Did you not read the parts where I said it wasn’t about any one particular thing, but a power grab provided to the administration via O’Care?
@Aqua and johngalt, I am concerned about the abuse of Constitutional authority by the central government. But this again all comes back to spending and debt in the wide circle.
I can sum this johnny come lately foo-fer-rah up in a couple of sentences….
This contraception costs issue, via mandated insurance, is just another reason why the March 23, 2010 O’healthcare bill was an overstep of authority and should be repealed. And why are they overstepping their authority? To pay for the runaway costs of other entitlement programs that are weighing down the debt/spending.
This is not a new development, nor a specific Obama new abuse of powers. This is a part of a law that was concocted by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi under the cover of night in the 11th hour. So if you want to lay the blame, it needs to be correctly attributed to those who constructed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act originally, who voted for it, and the POTUS who signed it. And the idiot who really should be embarrassed is Stupak.
Nor will this be the last abuse of Congressional authority in that law that comes to light, almost two years after enactment. Shall we chase all of them individually? Or just point out that the law is so flawed, it has no redeeming qualities?
Personally I think that getting bogged down in the details of this single issue of that bill, and allowing the Dems and Obama to frame this argument as socially moral and emotional, is a mistake. You can scream 1st Amendment, separate of church and state all you want…. and not incorrectly. But the Dems will be happily translating it as conservatives, trampling on women’s rights and denying them insurance-covered contraceptives because of Christian and Catholic religious oppression.
I do believe, johngalt, that you noticed libzero doing the predictable response in your comment #39. Don’t you think he’s the run of the mill example of those who think like him?
No matter how you spin this, it will appear that those who oppose contraception can deny those who don’t. You’re not going to win that battle on an emotional level.
Your problem? Most people are not opposed to using contraceptives, nor having their insurance programs cover that cost. (And frankly, I find the latter a contributing factor that helps unnecessarily drive up the cost of premiums.)
Therefore 1st Amendment argument is a presentation that not only zips right over the head of so many (ahem… libzero being the perfect example), but will easily be distorted into socio religious issues that traditionally pit the right against the left. You should know by now that when you want to argue with the Dems, you can’t feed them issues where they can turn it into an emotional argument. Most especially those that allow them to demonize Christians and Catholics who want to oppress others because of their more strict beliefs.
How to battle it? What the nation will understand is the majority of mandates and regulations in the O’healthcare bill – of which this is one – actually drive premiums higher (not lower), and therefore demands that the law be repealed. Then another approach can be taken to reduce the costs of providing medical to the patients.
Of course you can battle this anyway you want, and with as much energy as you want. But do not assume that I’m blind to the 1st Amendment encroachment. That’s not the point. The difference between me and a few of you is that I see that it’s only one small part of a larger law that is unconstitutional. Since the audience you have to convince that it needs repealing ain’t all that bright, and have proven themselves to function at base emotional levels, the way NOT to get their support is to suggest you want to take away their “free” contraception.
Repeal the law and this issue is eliminated all together. That should be the larger goal. And you’ll need Dems coming on board with that same goal.
The court may or may not help with that if they find the mandate unconstitutional. That pulls the teeth out of the bill for sure, but it still remains in it’s gutted fashion. The way to get all political walks of life to support a repeal is via the costs of implementation, and it’s increased effect on the cost of premiums. Leave out the lofty religious and Constitutional debates that confuse them. Money and spending is a language common to Dems, Republicans and Indy’s alike.
Nan G
hi,
yes I agree with your comment, It is so sad to forget the roots of the people because they feel it’s easier
to replace them as they aged with foreigners who still keep loyalty to their previous country but none to their new country, because for many, they paid dearly their entry, and you can detect their arrogance very easy seen and felt by the way they conduct themselves in their new acquire jobs, of having power over the real citizens like for instance they being doctor or nurses or same other positions.
bye
@Aqua:
Don’t confuse me with the drive-by liberals who post here, Aqua. I read your entire post. My comment was meant as an addition to your points.
@Randy: Nice thing about the internet, all you have to do is ‘google’ to find an answer: http://www.newser.com/story/139192/catholics-back-obamas-birth-control-mandate-poll.html
@Liberal1 (objectivity): If you are going to do anything besides rant, you need to provide the link!
@Liberal1 (objectivity): Your link said nothing about Catholic employers, now did it? The issue is forcing a religious employer to provide services that are against the tenents of that religion. That is the problem with you liberals. You spread half truths around and actual catch some ignorant fish.
@MataHarley:
I agree with everything you stated, HOWEVER, I do believe that a criticism of the extra-Constitutional power being wielded by Obama’s WH can be effectively argued to the voters.
The list is long on these abuses, and a pattern of behaviour can be shown, not only by Obama, but by the liberal/progressives running the Democratic party as well. The trick is in convincing the voters that it IS an important issue. On the other hand, I have very little faith that any of the GOP candidates could do so effectively.
It is not being framed as a spending/economic issue, Aqua. The bruhaha is all about Obama, personally forcing Christians and Catholics to do something against their beliefs. That’s my point. It’s a losing tactic. You can easily flip that argument – the Dems will – by saying the Christians and Catholics are denying and oppressing others who have no problem with contraception because of their religious beliefs.
The GOP cannot seem to stay focused on the issues that will work best… the economy, spending and debt. See my comment #43 above that it’s quite easy, and far more effective, to stay focused on framing *everything* as spending and economy.