Contraception Mandate Is A Republican Straw Man

Leave it to Republicans to once again create a problem where no problem exists. As the economy improves, and unemployment falls to 8.3%, suddenly jobs and the economy are taking a back seat to a renewed culture war. We have Rick Santorum pulling out the guillotine, demonizing the President like some kind of secular tyrant crying "let them eat cake!" The Republicans are masters at seizing on these kind of controversies and exploding them out proportion. In this case, turning access to contraception and birth control for women in institutions that serve the "Secular Public Good", under the protection of religious affiliation. Republicans have attacked the Presidents religious authenticity from day one. In March of 2010, A poll of Republicans told us this.

67% Think President Obama is a Socialist.
57% Think President Obama is Muslim.
45% Think President Obama was not born in this country.
38% Think President Obama "is doing many of the things Hitler did."
24% Think President Obama may be the Anti Christ.

THE ANTI-CHRIST???!!! Really??!! These are the same people calling this mandate an attack on religious freedom. Is Rick Santorum running for President or for Pope?! When a women in his audience not long ago called the President a Muslim, did Mr. Good Catholic Boy Santorum correct the woman? Of course not! Because it doesn't play to the Republican narrative that America is THEIR country, and THEIR country is Christian! Again, these are the same people who brought us the "War on Christmas" and whatever other non-sense they can get to resonate with all the radical right wing religious fanatics like Rick Santorum.

This mandate is NOT an attack on religious freedom. It's a labor issue, not a religious one. It doesn't effect a single church in this country, but Republicans would have you think Obama is coming for your Bible's. If you are a school, a hospital, or social services provider that operates in the real world, and the real world is SECULAR, than you are no different than anybody else. All these institutions are screaming religious infringement, while taking federal money in the form of Medicare and Medicaid, or education funding, or social welfare assistance. Why isn't anybody screaming about that? Churches in this country are making Billions of dollars in this country and don't pay one thin dime of it in taxes. The Catholic church alone could balance the national debt overnight! They are the biggest abusers of the avoiding paying taxes in this country, because they can hide behind the pillar of Religious Freedom. I for one am tired of driving by multi-million dollar mega church complexes all over the city of Atlanta, only to come home and listen to them bitch about providing birth control for women, who have just as much right to have these services, as anyone who works anywhere else. If the religious entities in this country want to operate "Secular Public Services" and avoid these kind of mandates then they need to start paying taxes just like everybody else, PERIOD. You STILL can't have it both ways.

Santorum's Three State Sweep Illuminates Republican Discontent

Just when you think you have this whole Republican primary thing figured out, a new surprise keeps us guessing. The latest coup compliments of Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, in what were supposed to be walk aways for Mitt Romney, turned into yet another indicator Republicans just don't like the former Massachusetts Governor. In Missouri, where Senator McCain won in 2008, Santorum won with an 18 point margin of victory, and carried all of the states 114 counties. The states delegates will be apportioned next month. In Minnesota, a state Mitt Romney carried big in 2008, he lost to Santorum here by a whopping 30 points, and with 4 counties yet to be decided, Romney didn't carry a single county here either. Finally, and probably most impressive, is Santorum's win in Colorado. The important western swing state gave Santorum a 5 point win here.

So in what was supposed to be a quiet February, where Mitt Romney was going to put a little distance between his fellow contenders, has turned into a real scrap for delegates. Where did this come from? Three things as I see it. First, the tidal wave of negative advertising between Romney and Gingrich has been instrumental in highlighting the flaws of two candidates who were heavily flawed to begin with. Second, Santorum's consistently weak showings up to this point, has allowed him to stay out of the firestorm of negative advertising and focus on his message. He also spent a great deal of personal time in these states, contests I think Romney took for granted. Third, The recent contraception mandate issued by the Obama administration is an issue made for Rick Santorum, and he has exploited it to the fullest, and I assume will continue to do so.

So lets look at the Republican Primary Map. PINK - Santorum RED - Gingrich DARK RED - Romney WHITE - Upcoming Contests through March 3rd.


The next contests on the list Maine's Caucus Feb. 11th, followed by the Arizona and Michigan Primaries on the 28th, and then the Washington State Caucuses March 3rd. All this leading us up to Super Tuesday on March 6th. In what was supposed to be a fairly uneventful primary process has turned into a scrum, and the biggest loser is Mitt Romney. This race is as fluid as ever, but look for a few things going forward. Rick Santorum has now become a real threat, so look for a new boatload of negative ads to come his way. Mitt Romney is not going to walk into this nomination, it's going to be a knife fight all the way down the line, and with Santorum surging in the bible belt, and Gingrich licking his chops for the contests in the bumpkin belt, this race is going to get very interesting in the coming weeks. Now here is the good part, the more people know about these candidates, the less they like them. So with a battle for the Republican nomination slugging it out until August, and each state proving how unhappy the electorate is with their choices. The result will be a battered nominee to weak to compete in November, while the whole time independents are running to Obama, it just doesn't get any better than that.

Religious Contraception Mandate Reveals You Can't Have It Both Ways

Oh God a religious issue, for those of you who know me read on at your own discretion. Health & Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius announced plans this week to push forward with a plan to mandate coverage for contraception, and other related services, that primarily, but not exclusively effect catholic based health care providers. The Obama administration says all religious hospitals, charities, schools must pay for employees' birth control. Roman Catholic bishops and institutions across the country are mounting their defenses against the Obama administration's requirement to include contraception in employees' health benefits, a mandate they have been able to avoid for years. Nonprofit employers, who do not currently provide contraceptive insurance coverage based on religious beliefs, will have until Aug. 1, 2013, to comply with the new regulations. Although the mandate doesn't apply to churches, it does affect affiliated colleges, schools, social service agencies and hospitals. The majority of those effected are Catholic charities, and the narrow caveat for these groups is they can side-step this mandate if they solely employ Catholics, and treat Catholics who cling to what would be considered standard church dogma regarding contraception. However, in the real world scenarios in which these entities function daily, that would prove highly unlikely.

So the question is should these "religious" institutions be forced to operate under the same standards as everybody else? To which my answer is "Yes, absolutely." Why does Any town Hospital USA have to uphold these contraceptive mandates, and Catholic Any town USA Hospital not? Because they put the word "Catholic" before hospital? In houses of worship nationwide, not just Catholic ones, the basic tenants of church beliefs are taught week after week, without interference from the government to their congregations. It's called freedom of religion, and those beliefs remain untouched by this mandate, as they should be. Whatever your religious affiliation you have the freedom to worship, assemble, and teach your religious beliefs until you turn blue, and this is all done in a place we affectionately call "Church". Sanctuaries where you can explore and espouse your individual religions unabated by government.

However, I take issue with those "religious" entities who have for years practiced under the guise of helping the collective "public" good, while being exempt from "public" funded regulation, because they can hide behind the blanket of religious freedom. If you operate in the real world as a hospital, school, or social service, just because you put your religious affiliation before that hospital, school or social service's name doesn't make you a "Church". If you want the protections, tax exceptions, and other benefits religions in this country are afforded on a daily basis, then you must make hospitals, schools, and social services an extension of that "Church". You must serve catholics, with catholics, to provide for catholics. The very concept, is the definition of discrimination. Let's face facts here, the only difference between a bed in a public hospital and a catholic one, is the crucifix. Nobody who works for these institutions should be denied the same opportunities, that everyone else gets, because they add a word to their title that implies a religious affiliation, and if you think the Catholic church, or any other church for that matter, is a non-profit organization, I have some swamp land you may be interested in? You can't have it both ways.

We are all individuals, and no hospital, school, or even church, has the right to dictate how you live, or be given the power to encumber your choices. If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one. If you oppose birth control don't use it, if you hold these beliefs as part of your devotion to the teachings of the catholic church then practice them with all your might. However, organizations cannot continue to hide behind the hypocrisy of bogus religious ties in order to discriminate against individuals who may work for them, in a public context, at any level. If a low income agnostic woman is working for a catholic school as a janitor, should she be denied birth control because she does not believe in the catholic belief to the contrary? If so, then who is discriminating against who? If she had excellent credentials as a hard working professional in her field, but wasn't catholic, should that disqualify her for employment? Again, isn't that religious discrimination? So before we all get on our religious high horses, understand the real world implications of what these organizations are asking for and realize, you can't have it both ways.