Thursday, March 15, 2012

Catholic Bishops Seek to Keep Contraception Debate Alive to Likely Detriment of GOP


In what ultimately cannot be good news for Republicans like Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum, the Catholic bishops are determined to keep the political debate alive over contraception under a bogus argument about "religious liberty" even though the real story line is about forcing the Church hierarchy's views on everyone. The bishops apparently are too busy protecting child rapists and have missed the news that a huge majority of voters - including the vast majority of Catholics - don't buy the bishops disingenuous posturing. I welcome the bishops' intransigence because it will continue to roil voters, especially women and drive them away from the GOP. Here in Virginia Governor Ultrasound and members of the Virginia GOP are taking a beating as noted by Blue Virginia:

For the past 24 hours or so, Virginia Republicans -- e.g., self-annointed women's health experts (particularly when it comes to "trans-vaginal" types of concerns) Sen. Ryan McDougle and Sen. Jeff McWaters -- have been deleting comments off their Facebook walls like mad (hundreds in the case of McDougle). Unfortunately for them, sometimes they're not fast enough . . .

It appears, in other words, that Virginia Republicans have knocked over a hornet's nest with their state-mandated ultrasound garbage, and are now being chased around (in social media, also on the steps of the Virginia Capitol in Richmond) by (justifiably) outraged "hive members." I'd almost feel sorry for them, if a) it weren't such a serious assault on women's rights; and b) if they hadn't brought it on themselves 100%.

Thus, contraception is not an issue that's going to be helpful to the GOP. But the Catholic bishops are not going to relent in their quest to take women back to the Middle Ages. Here are highlights from the Washington Post on the bitter old men in dresses' agenda:

Top U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday formally made their fight against a White House mandate for reproductive services the church’s top priority, saying “this struggle for religious freedom” demands their immediate attention.

The statement, issued by the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, came at the end of a closed, two-day meeting and as some close to the bishops say the men are concerned that their campaign is faltering in the public square.

The statement represents an expanded public relations effort to oppose the mandate that most religious employers provide health-care coverage for employees, including contraception and sterilization, services forbidden by Catholic teaching.

A spokeswoman for the bishops said they had been trying to frame the religious freedom campaign broadly since last fall, but were forced by news events to focus on the health-care mandate and contraception.

[T]he bishops will launch their public religious freedom campaigns in the media, in efforts with lawmakers and in parishes with priests sermonizing. “It’s a full-court press,” she said.

It goes without saying that in the bizarre world of the bishops equal civil rights for LGBT Americans is also a threat to "religious liberty." Like the Christianists, the bishops want a free hand to force their Medieval views on all Americans.

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