Evan Thomas Calls Obama's Contraception Edict 'Crazy'
Politico's Evan Thomas on Friday made perhaps the best observation about the Obama administration's edict requiring the Catholic Church to provide contraception for its employees.
Appearing on PBS's Inside Washington, Thomas said, "It seems crazy to me what they are doing" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
GORDON PETERSON, HOST: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." First sixteen words of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. When the Obama administration orders Catholic universities and colleges, Catholic hospitals, Catholic charitable institutions to offer birth control under their healthcare plans, when the administration does so in spite of the Catholic Church's teaching that birth control is morally wrong, is the administration prohibiting the free exercise of religion? Evan, you are a historian, a graduate of a fine law school. How about it?
EVAN THOMAS, POLITICO: I’m sure they polled this. They must have focus grouped this to death, because it seems crazy to me what they are doing. Sure to infuriate the Church, I think the Church does have a point here. I don’t know what the finer points in the law here. I think this is more about politics than law. But all I can say is the White House sure must think that women are going to lap this up because they’ve really irritated and rightly so the Catholic Church.
The craziness on display is twofold.
First, this was guaranteed to offend all but the most jaded Obama sycophants. Those with any regard for the Constitution were sure to be riled by this.
But to do it in an election year when the economy was appearing to improve and the President's poll numbers are moving up indicates either an arrogance or ignorance at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that should scare the heck out of voters of all political and religious persuasions.
What the White House has incompetently done with this startling misstep is put social issues front and center this election, and that's not something anyone would have imagined just two weeks ago.
This should have been a week when the administration and their media minions did a victory lap over the stronger than expected headline numbers in January's unemployment report.
Instead the nation spent the week discussing contraception and the first amendment.
Crazy indeed.
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Comments
not just "crazy"
Submitted by spepper on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 10:39am.
"Crazy" is a start, but it hardly scratches the surface of the completely evil, unconstitutional, and offensive nature of the current occupant's "edict" against the Catholic healthcare providers. Of course it violates the religious freedom clause of the Constitution by DEMANDING that Catholic providers violate their own religious teachings and principles to satisfy this administration's healthcare rules. Obama has subsequently attempted to shift the legal and moral liability by "accomodating" Catholic providers-- but that "accomodation" is made by also DEMANDING that the insurers to whom the Catholic providers are assigned, provide the "contraception services" AT NO CHARGE. This will directly result in the insurers specifically dropping ONLY the Catholics as qualified providers, since they are prevented by this administration from recovering the costs of providing the services. SHAMEFUL AND OUTRAGEOUS.
will not fade
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 10:42am.
All the church leaders know that a second term of obama could be devastating.
obama is an arrogant political idiot
⇒ Church leaders?
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 4:16pm.
Church leaders have not been particularly effective at converting those Catholic precepts into an instilled way of life in their flock.
paying double
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 10:44am.
If insurers are already mandated to provide free services to women why do we continue to fund Planned Parenthood?
an excellent question
Submitted by spepper on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 10:59am.
...to ask your representative in Congress.
While some might have been
Submitted by celator on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 11:08am.
While some might have been surprised by this latest Obama stunt, I doubt many NB readers were all that surprised. We've learned that the Obama administration's hallmark is to careen from one self-made political catastrophe to the next self-made political catastrophe. It's an endless chain of political quicksand pools for Obama.
You name it: the Middle East affairs, energy exploration, the economy, crony capitalism, crushing of Constitutional traditions, gun running, foot-in-mouth declarations, lavish vacations that would be the envy of any Maharajah in a time of economic trouble; slow, inadequate responses to international events, a White House staff in chaos, refusal to speak to Congressional leaders. The list is endless.
Nope. No surprise that Obama would tick off the Catholic Church in an election year. No surprise at all.
Wedge Issue to Strengthen Social Conservatives
Submitted by happi on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 12:42pm.
Obama and his team are doing this in a very calculated attempt to raise issues that will rile up social conservatives. They WANT social issues raised because they believe (rightly or wrongly) that this will help drive independents away from the eventual republican nominee. The LAST thing they want is for the campaign to focus solely or mainly on economic issues, where the independents will gravitate to the republicans. Thus, they need a distraction from the economy.
Agree with you . . .
Submitted by WingletDriver on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 12:59pm.
on the Obama administration needing a distraction. However, this is more than just that. They have moved the bar on what the First Amendment really means. The Constitution recognizes INDIVIDUAL rights. Why are we focusing on the rights of religious institutions? You and I are the ones supposedly protected by the Free Exercise Clause.