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Democrats bailing on Obama - War against the Catholic Church heats up Anonymous2000 Send a noteboard - 09/02/2012 04:03:35 AM
Not looking good for Oblunder:

White House struggles to contain uproar over birth-control mandate
By Amie Parnes and Sam Baker - 02/08/12 05:54 PM ET

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.”

With the consternation rising to a fever pitch, Republicans announced a plan to move a bill soon that would repeal the mandate. And prominent Democrats are breaking with the administration over the policy, which requires some religious organizations to cover contraception in their employees’ healthcare plans.

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) urged the White House last week to broaden the exception for religious employers. Several of their Democratic colleagues have piled on since.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said Wednesday that the Health and Human Services Department “misstepped” in adopting the new policy.

“I just don’t think this is a fight that should have been picked and I think it needs to be fixed,” Connolly said. “I have every confidence that the administration will do so.”

Tim Kaine, a former Democratic National Committee chairman running for Senate in Virginia this year, also said the White House should revisit the rule’s exemptions for religious organizations. The current policy does not apply to churches, but institutions such as Catholic hospitals and universities have to comply.

“I think the White House made a good decision in including a mandate for contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act insurance policy, but I think they made a bad decision in not allowing a broad enough religious-employer exemption,” Kaine said in a radio interview, according to a transcript provided by his campaign.

Democrats who support the White House policy dug in Wednesday.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said there’s no need for the White House to adopt a wider religious exemption. Carving out churches and other strictly religious employers “was in itself a compromise,” she said, noting that eight states have contraception mandates without religious exemptions.

Twenty-three pro-abortion-rights religious groups also backed the White House policy Wednesday, saying it protects the individual choice of whether to use birth control.

Still, one senior Democratic aide said the plan has put some lawmakers in an “awkward position.”

“A lot of Democrats just don’t want to talk about it and be in the position of defending it,” the aide said. “It’s horrible timing.”

The aide said the issue has become “great messaging” for Republicans, especially those who want to court Hispanic voters of Catholic faith.

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Democrats bailing on Obama - War against the Catholic Church heats up - 09/02/2012 04:03:35 AM 1619 Views
This is not a war on Catholics, it is Obama being an idiot again. - 09/02/2012 04:52:01 AM 652 Views
For someone who used to be a Con Law professor - 10/02/2012 08:23:34 PM 536 Views
Also, kudos for linking to a source, and a fairly non-partisan one as well. - 09/02/2012 01:33:07 PM 737 Views
I am a non-partisan guy, so I only use unbiased sources! *NM* - 09/02/2012 04:02:50 PM 540 Views
Is there really such a thing? *NM* - 09/02/2012 04:11:30 PM 434 Views
You lost all credibility in the first line of your post. - 09/02/2012 04:49:23 PM 670 Views
The subject line didn't help. *NM* - 09/02/2012 06:04:11 PM 469 Views
But it added some flair to the discussion! *NM* - 09/02/2012 07:46:47 PM 410 Views
You actually think any of us has 'credibility' anymore in regards to neutrality? *NM* - 09/02/2012 06:46:13 PM 434 Views
It's one thing to have a bias. - 09/02/2012 07:28:51 PM 705 Views
Some would say putting a spotlight on it is more honest. *NM* - 09/02/2012 09:34:17 PM 386 Views
Ah, the Rupert Murdoch School of Objectivity. - 09/02/2012 10:15:57 PM 647 Views
Wow, talk about making a supernova out of a couple hydrogen atoms. - 09/02/2012 08:41:44 PM 510 Views
I'm somewhat suprised that Obama blundered this badly. - 10/02/2012 01:40:14 AM 1531 Views
Why? Have you not been paying attention? - 10/02/2012 02:03:43 AM 1965 Views
If I am not satisfied with Romney then my Plan B is to not vote. - 10/02/2012 10:58:34 PM 1957 Views
How does that help anything? Except Romneys election chances, of course. - 11/02/2012 01:08:22 AM 1817 Views
Bullshit. - 11/02/2012 04:29:31 AM 2130 Views
A vote for no one is a vote for more BS. - 11/02/2012 05:55:11 AM 1895 Views
Obama doing this actually impresses me to no end. - 10/02/2012 02:21:10 AM 2054 Views
He is already preparing to cave. - 10/02/2012 02:42:32 AM 2053 Views
Why are you even replying to me? What you said has little meaning to what I said. - 10/02/2012 03:33:27 AM 1825 Views
"And here I thought he was just another politician." - 10/02/2012 01:29:36 PM 1904 Views
Aaaaand you can put your hat back on now: Obama has already caved. - 10/02/2012 04:04:30 PM 2053 Views
So Jehovah Witness employers should not have to pay for blood transfusions? - 10/02/2012 03:57:47 AM 625 Views
Not if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. - 10/02/2012 04:20:32 PM 760 Views
Money is not the same as speech! - 10/02/2012 07:20:56 PM 520 Views
One last point - 10/02/2012 11:35:25 PM 844 Views
The federal government forcing private groups to facilitate without committing sin also infringes. - 11/02/2012 01:03:30 AM 618 Views
You argument does not make sense - 11/02/2012 01:26:57 AM 521 Views
It was an analogy, not an equivalency. - 11/02/2012 01:48:14 AM 637 Views
Lets enhance your analogy making it closer to reality - 11/02/2012 02:19:41 AM 711 Views
Why could I not buy it with my own money? - 11/02/2012 03:46:33 AM 701 Views
Re: Why could I not buy it with my own money? - 11/02/2012 04:17:17 AM 1950 Views
In other words, I could. - 11/02/2012 04:21:05 AM 430 Views
Some more points - 11/02/2012 02:30:27 AM 774 Views
Sex is not a necessity either. - 11/02/2012 03:56:51 AM 696 Views
I can't believe you just said that - 11/02/2012 04:30:12 AM 544 Views
The widespread inability to believe that is deeply worrisome. - 11/02/2012 06:33:01 AM 699 Views
LMAO due to Obama's compromise (the word compromise should have a in it ) - 11/02/2012 12:12:57 AM 737 Views
Obama just got two weeks of being portrayed as "anti-church" to the point even Dems complained. - 11/02/2012 02:00:28 AM 665 Views
The polls disagree with you. - 11/02/2012 02:32:59 AM 620 Views
It is an interesting article, but not for the polls. - 11/02/2012 04:18:17 AM 667 Views
I wouldn't put too much into that poll anyway - 11/02/2012 05:37:05 AM 794 Views
I don't think it's quite the laughing matter you think it is - 11/02/2012 12:31:23 PM 676 Views
Nossy that was not Joel, that was me - 11/02/2012 01:56:39 PM 674 Views
I know that. - 11/02/2012 03:23:32 PM 781 Views
Understood. - 11/02/2012 07:51:14 PM 656 Views
mmm... - 11/02/2012 08:20:26 PM 686 Views

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