The Bizarro Attack on Religious Liberty

The American people, in overwhelming numbers, want Obamacare stopped, and the issue of the constitutionality of a federal mandate is now before the Supreme Court. So what do the Democrats do? They blow away the religious freedom specified in our Constitution by framing this great issue as a “women’s health issue”, mandating that the Catholic Church must provide abortifactants and contraceptives (do not be fooled by Obama's so-called modification).

They lied about Republicans wanting to end Medicare and then stuck a $500 billion Medicare cutback in the Obamacare bill; they lied about Republicans wanting to end Social Security and then forced a cutback in payroll taxes that threatens the viability of that program. They make me sick.

This whole bizarre effort is designed to win an election and save Obamacare.

Wag the Coed

By Ron Ross on 3.7.12 American Spectator

This whole bizarre episode demonstrates just how desperate the Democrats are.

The world is spinning out of control and the spin rate is accelerating.

Having to pay for your own contraceptives has suddenly become a national crisis. In one way it is beyond belief and in another it is totally predictable.

Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown law school, in testimony before a congressional committee argued that she and forty percent of her fellow students are "struggling financially" because they have to pay for their own contraceptives.

The Democrat-media complex, rather than laughing in her face, is making Ms. Fluke a hero. She even got a phone call from President Obama urging her on.

How did we get to this point? Birth control is not a significant budget item.

Recreational sex is not a necessity. Sex with contraceptives is not imperative for survival of the species.

If the cost of contraceptives is straining Ms. Fluke's budget I have some simple suggestions, ones she may have even considered herself. For example, why not ask your sexual partners to share the expense? As a liberated woman I assume you don't always expect them to pay for dinner. Besides you, your sexual partners are the primary beneficiaries of your intimacies. You're obviously not too timid to broach the subject. Politely explain to them that from now on if they want to play they will have to pay. If you've ever taken an economics class you can explain to them that there's no such thing as free sex. Sharing the cost would be a kind of "user fee." What could be fairer than that? It's simple voluntary exchange. Seems to me it's a whole lot fairer than asking the rest of us to bear the expense.

The fact that contraceptives have become a hot political issue is bizarre beyond belief. Before the January 7 Republican debate in New Hampshire it was nowhere on the political horizon. In that debate moderator George Stephanopoulos badgered Mitt Romney about whether or not states have the constitutional authority to ban contraceptives. Romney was understandably befuddled by the question. In retrospect it is now clear that there was a method to the madness of Stephanopoulos' question.

The Urban Dictionary defines "wag the dog" as follows: "When something of secondary importance improperly takes the role of primary importance.… To start a war or military operation to divert negative attention away from yourself." President Obama cannot run on his record. His reelection team knows that. "We don't want to talk about the economy, Obamacare, or gasoline prices. Let's talk about contraceptives or Rush Limbaugh." In the movie Wag the Dog the president did not start an actual war, he faked one.

Ms. Fluke has become a hero of the Democrats. For what? For whining about the tragedy of having to pay for her own contraceptives? She is the latest in a long line of pathetic people who have been used to further their despicable objectives.

Ms. Fluke has allowed herself to be used as a Democrat prop. Like those who have preceded her she will soon be dumped on the land-fill of no-longer useful chumps.

Cindy Sheehan and Monica Lewinsky are two names that come to mind. For the rest of her life Ms. Fluke will be known first and foremost as the woman who publicly pleaded for free contraceptives. I feel sorry for her. I'm extremely thankful that she is not my daughter. Ms. Fluke is a sad commentary on our dysfunctional educational system. Her bachelor's degree was in "Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies." What a joke!

The controversy employs some of the favorite tactics of the Democrats, one of which is complete corruption of the language. We are told, for example, that the contraception debate is about women's "reproductive freedom." Is anyone on the right advocating interference with anyone's freedom to reproduce? Isn't what the Democrats want the prevention of reproduction? Democrats will claim all manner of bogus connections if it helps them further their agenda. If you're against forcing insurance companies to pay for contraceptives, it's because you're a misogynist and you don't care about women's health. As Mona Charen points out, "Democrats are geniuses at muddying the waters and twisting the debate in a direction they find congenial." If the mainstream media came within shouting distance of its responsibilities, Democrats would never get away with such absurdities.

Nevertheless, Republicans should not be discouraged. This whole bizarre episode demonstrates just how desperate the Democrats are. As the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto says, "There seems to be wide agreement that the Sandra Fluke kerfuffle handed the left a major victory. We respectfully dissent." Maybe the world isn't spinning out of control.