During a lengthy Morning Joe discussion about the growing contraceptive controversy, co-host Mika Brzezinski took issue with the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan saying the Obama administration is “mischievously” misinforming the public on this issue.
Noonan smartly responded with a much-needed lesson on exactly how the White House and the Left are dishonestly twisting this subject for political gain (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
As the discussion ensued, Noonan asked co-host Joe Scarborough, “Do you believe that at this point of this struggle, the White House and the National Abortion Action Rights League and Planned Parenthood have decided that mischievously and for political gain they will put this whole issue and imbroglio forward as simply a disagreement on contraception? The Catholic Church is trying to take your contraception away from you? Those bad men are trying to mess up with your contraception?”
Scarborough responded, “Yeah.”
Noonan replied, “That is not what this issue is about. It is not what the struggle and the imbroglio has been about. But I think you are suggesting, tell me if I'm wrong, that the administration for political reasons is going to muck up the waters in that way.”
A bit later after a commercial break, Brzezinski took issue with this saying, "I do want to ask you about your choice of words, ‘mischievous.’ Come on, Peggy.”
“It is political mischief.” responded Noonan.
“What?” gasped Brzezinski. “Trying to get contraceptives?”
“When you take a serious political issue and put it forward, break it apart in a way that is not true but may excite people who you think deep in your heart are sort of uninformed,” correctly observed Noonan.
Exactly. And this is indeed what this administration and its surrogates in and outside of the media are doing.
The claim is that the Right are coming after people's contraceptives. You hear it all day long on the various cable news channels and the broadcast networks.
Yet that's not what this issue is about for birth control in this nation is as plentiful as liberal propaganda.
Consider that a simple Google search identified numerous condom wholesalers including Undercover Condoms that sells such things for as little as $100 for a case of 1000. That's ten cents each. EBay has condoms available for the same amount per unit cost.
As the average person has sex about once or twice a week, this is a cost of about $10 a year all available with the click of a mouse without having to leave one's home.
For those preferring birth control pills, Planned Parenthood claims these can cost as little as $15 a month.
Heck, you've probably heard in the past few weeks cynical media members pointing out that 98 percent of Catholics use birth control.
If that's the case, it doesn't seem that anyone in our country is having a hard time finding it.
As such, the shifting of this debate away from the first amendment protection of freedom of religion to folks having their contraceptives taken away is indeed mischievous, and all those not only letting the White House get away with it but also aiding and abetting the misinformation are guilty of media malpractice.
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