Did President Obama Lay A Trap For The “Republican Right” On Contraception?
Andrew Sullivan, writing in Newsweek, thinks so:
The more Machiavellian observer might even suspect this is actually an improved bait and switch by Obama to more firmly identify the religious right with opposition to contraception, its weakest issue by far, and to shore up support among independent women and his more liberal base. I’ve found by observing this president closely for years that what often seem like short-term tactical blunders turn out in the long run to be strategically shrewd. And if this was a trap, the religious right walked right into it.
This is giving the President and their advisers more credit than they deserve, I think.
I think the Obama administration was genuinely caught off guard by the reaction to the mandate. They had to be thinking that it wouldn’t be that controversial since, after all, they’re already forcing us to buy health insurance and the fact that the only insurance policies available would be those approved by the government. Why would it be surprising or controversial, from their perspective, that the federal government would begin using its Obamacare powers to mandate what sort of coverage we would have to cover?
Now that the contraception mandate has become controversial, I think the left has tried to spin it into a women’s health issue as opposed to a religious/economic freedom issue. Whether or not said spin will ultimately prove persuasive with the public remains to be seen, but one would hope Americans can see the ruse.
The federal government mandating that Catholics pay for contraceptive coverage is no more appropriate than forcing Ford owners to buy Chevy. It is an affront to our individual liberty.
Tags: Barack Obama, contraception, obamacare
