Barack Obama
Related: About this forumAndrew Sullivan: How Obama Set a Contraception Trap for the Right
Andrew Sullivan: How Obama Set a Contraception Trap for the Right
Feb 13, 2012 12:00 AM EST
Conservatives gleefully revived the culture wars. But they're not winning. How Obama set a trap for the right.
snip//
Suddenly no-drama Obama was neck deep in the kind of religious warfare he vowed to avoid. Many punditsled by older white Catholic men, such as Joe Scarborough and my friend Chris Matthews and even the fair-minded liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionnedeclared his decision on contraception as not only morally wrong but a politically disastrous violation of religious freedom. Suddenly the specter of 2004when the culture-war issue of same-sex marriage gave Ohio and the entire election to George W. Bushreemerged, and some conservative Catholic Democrats began to panic. Within the administration, almost all the white Catholic men opposed the decisionfrom Bill Daley to Leon Panetta. But critically, the support for the decision came from women, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and key adviser Valerie Jarrett chief among them. So Obama didnt ignite just a culture war but a religious and gender war as well. Welcome to the election focused almost entirely on jobs.
But the conflict-driven headlines and predictions of disaster for Obama are, in my view, deeply misleading. Right now, they are driven both by cable newss love of a good fight and high ratings and by the Republican primary campaign, in which the candidates, especially Newt Gingrich and Santorum, are desperately battling to unify the evangelical base, which is convinced its faith is somehow under attack. In the longer run, however, I suspect this sudden confluence of kerfuffles will be seen as one of the last gasps of the culture war, not its reignition. Thats especially possible since Obamas swift walk-back last Friday, when he proposed an utterly sensible compromise, which exempts both churches and other religious institutions that cater to the general public from directly covering or paying for birth control, shifting the coverage requirement to insurance companies. So Catholic organizations will be able to stay out of the contraception question entirely, while contraception for all women will be kept free of charge. Instead of being lose-lose for the president, it became win-win. Most Catholics will be fine with this compromise, as are the Catholic Health Association and Planned Parenthood. But the bishops? Theyve gone out on a very long limb. This could be the moment when the culture-war tide finally turns and the social wedge issues long deployed so effectively by the Republican right begin to come back and bite them.
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. Ive 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.
snip//
In other words, this is a potential political winner for President Obama, not just among liberals, many women, younger voters, and moderatesbut among American Catholics! And even more so in light of the pragmatic compromise announced last week, which puts the administration precisely where it should be, and in a much better place than it was before the announcement, and reinforces Obamas reputation as a man willing to compromise, one of his core strengths among independent voters. I found the original rule a step too far. To my mind, when religious institutions play invaluable roles in helping the poor, curing the sick, and housing the homeless, they should be rewarded, not punished. And within reasonable limits, their right to set their own rules on health-care plans should be respected. One reason they do such great work is their religious convictions. We should celebrate thatand try to balance their views (however wrongheaded we may consider them to be) with other legitimate social goals.
more...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/02/12/andrew-sullivan-how-obama-set-a-contraception-trap-for-the-right.html
JaneQPublic
(7,113 posts)Shadowflash
(1,536 posts)+1000
liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)And there you have it.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)trueblue2007
(17,238 posts)Number23
(24,544 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,240 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,020 posts)AllyCat
(16,220 posts)relevant. They have no problem fighting this ridiculous battle that harms women, children, the entire health care system, and the American fabric. Way to go Obama. Thank you for showing us again (as if we needed any reminder) how utterly contemptible and self-serving these religious nuts are.
Kath1
(4,309 posts)"Way to go Obama." YES!!!
donquijoterocket
(488 posts)not find a lose-lose, but they'll try to create one and here is where I think Sullivan's point really lays. The public is, IMO, getting more attuned to the right's mode of framing and redefining and is less receptive to it. They know things are being created that don't exist.So Obama advocates a policy based in the reality of the country and the inability of right wing ideologues and their religious fellow travelers to acknowledge, accept and deal with that reality becomes apparent.You can figure their first reaction to anything will be to try to force it into their reality whether it fits or not. This highlights the absurdity and disfunctionality of that reaction.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)Obama is the smartest guy in the room (with lots of smart advisors).
proud as punch to stand behind this guy thick and thin. he won't let us down, he will fight and do the best that can be done.
I recognize and appreciate that. He's a good man, and thorough.
ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)Nobody on the Right comes out looking like much more than a shrill whiner, while Obama looks like the master problem solver. I noticed that the unanimous cry across the TV networks was that Obama had made a huge blunder; I don't think so! They have no ability to take a long view; once again they are victims of their short-sighted 24-hour news cycle knee-jerk reaction type thinking. This has happened before and it will happen again as they cover the Obama Presidency.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,440 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)JHB
(37,161 posts)I'll be glad if this really does turn out as a win for the president (i.e., all the potential benefits are actually reaped), but to paint yet another case of right wingers trying to grab for all the marbles as a Machiavellian chess move by the president is just nuts.
And do we want to review how often Andrew Sullivan has been dead wrong about about the various things he's pontificated about before giving him a high-five on this?
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)And it's much more effective than pointing accusatory fingers at them.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)There's been alot of high fives over this one, but it isn't clear yet how this will all play out. I don't think this is a major problem for Obama. It's an election over jobs and this one just won't stay on the radar long. But I don't yet see it as any big "win" for him either. The GOP can use this as a disctraction for some period of time when we should be in a battle over budget, debt limits, and payroll taxes.
I've seen and read several explanations on how this is either some part of a grand strategy for Obama, or an example of how "nimble" he can be. There are so many different versions it comes off as a bunch of projecting. I've seen explanations that this was an attempt to help Santorum in the primaries. I've seen explanations that he was attempting to undermine Romney because it isn't all that different than what goes on in "Romney care". Sullivan wants us to believe there is some sort of "rope a dope" going on with the whole right wing. I personally suspect it is just standard politics at work where they saw the polling data going in and realized that there was an opening here to piss off the right wing, and shore up a portion of the women and minorities votes. I'd expect to see a long string of these small battles as he tries to corner the GOP into the most exteme positions he can.
JHB
(37,161 posts)Some decent maneuvering and decision-making on where to go with this, but the real test is how it will play out and their ability to turn the current RW sturm und drang on this and smack them over the head with it.
It isn't as if their howler monkeys haven't been loose for a while now.
Botany
(70,581 posts)If you don't want to do it (make contraceptive available through the company's insurance) you
don't have to ..... end of story. After all that is what "the other side" was complaining about
so they got just what they asked for and "the other side" still wants to complain then they expose
themselves as just being partisan hacks trying to hurt the President and trying to stop women
from getting the health care that they need.
Well played Mr. President!
President Obama
OVERPAID01
(71 posts)This is a disaster for the repugs. There was a great editorial cartoon I saw in a local newspaper. 99% percent of women in child bearing age want free access to birth control pills and contraceptives, the 1% (churches and insurance companies) do not want to pay for it. Women voters would destroy (presumably) the attempt to make this issue the repugs rallying cry. What the tea bagging women say publicly and vote on privately may not be the same...
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Perhaps some helpful soul could inform the Catholic bishop of Pittsburgh, who last week calmly explained that the Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, To hell with you! A quiet word in the ear of the dogged opponent of gay marriage Maggie Gallagher might have helped too. Just after Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, was struck down by a court on narrow grounds, she titled a blog post: Ninth Circuit to 7 Million California Voters: You Are Irrational Bigots.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)Or spokeswoman, if you prefer.
She's totally effective, and right on top of the situation every time she goes before the cameras. It's almost as if she and President Obama are using the same cue cards sometimes because she is so in sync with him. I love watching her give commentary on the White House or on President Obama. She's great.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)Or else he's as smart as we are.
graciously supply logical points for the argument. He is smart enough to read us!
(need a patting DU on the back smilie)
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)You should make that suggestion in meta!
highplainsdem
(49,034 posts)The Wizard
(12,547 posts)intractable stand makes them look like they want dominion over government affairs. If they don't want the government intervening in Church affairs, then the government's alternative is taxation.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)Last edited Sun Feb 12, 2012, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)
It's not just women this affects, either. It's husbands and families, too, at a time when families cannot afford to support the children they already have.
Kath1
(4,309 posts)It is all of society. And this society has made it crystal clear that women have a right to contraception and abortion.
Remember Me
(1,532 posts)While I have my criticisms of Obama, I absolutely do admire his ability to snatch victory out of the jaws of certain defeat like he can do.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)If you don't like contraception, you are free to go fuck yourselves.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)Or you might give yourself Aids.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)But what can be confirmed is that the right wing showed a very, very bad case of timing when they poisoned what was a once beloved charity and then got the Catholic Bishops to jump in. The Catholic Bishops are still unclean after they did cover ups that made the Penn State scandal look like a small time crime, and their recent taking back of apologies did not help.
The main difference is, Obama in the old days would have tried to offer the right wing a chance to save face. That was because he listened to folks like Rahm and Liberman that kept offering that bi partisan fairytale. However, Obama realized, at least now, that you cannot save these beasts without them killing you, even if they would benefit. So, instead of merely giving them enough rope to hang themselves, you have to lead them to the gallows and pull the lever.
The point is...as much as I would love to call this a third dimensional chess move, it is really a case that the right wing cannot and will not stop a self destructive course. They are the crack addicts that will not put down the pipe.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)someone who will never give Obama. Redit for anything, rather than someone who "would love" to give him credit.
I call it as I see it.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)I did give him credit for not helping them out of the mess, but truth is, the GOP gave us the rope to hang them with. We should be on the lookout, as doubtless, they will do so again.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)yellowcanine
(35,701 posts)Last edited Sun Feb 12, 2012, 09:22 PM - Edit history (1)
with... And once again, they have walked right into it.
For one, the bishops have very little political capital left after their abject failures on the sex abuse scandals.
And of course the right has no standing at all....
Tarheel_Dem
(31,240 posts)that these hypocrites, while they love the fetus, apparently hate the child. How does one justify being simultaneously against abortion, and also against the means to prevent an unwanted pregnancy? It just baffles the hell out of me. Destroy a woman's right to choose, while trying to rip apart the fabric of the social safety net that would help the children they've forced women to have? I mean, where's the logic in that?
Walk away
(9,494 posts)They chose as their pope a very nasty man who spent WW2 as a Nazi . They picked a Nazi to be the holiest man of their religion and tell them when they are sinning. Does that sound logical?
Tarheel_Dem
(31,240 posts)However, I do not appreciate their seeming undue influence in our political system. We saw, otherwise, rational & enlightened liberal Catholics go apeshit over this. That's a real problem.
the Weird Liberal
(124 posts)A lot of Obama's "strategies" actually DO turn out to be major blunders.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)That's how to move the country a few inches to the left. The timing was so perfect after the Kormen fiasco. He did exactly the opposite. They lost, flipped and lost some more. He shook everything up and made everyone feel as if they won when he compromised.
taught_me_patience
(5,477 posts)Conservatives are completely boxed into a corner on this issue and the Catholic church looks like the insane freaks that they are.
DallasNE
(7,403 posts)Should a Catholic university or hospital that is paying less and less of the cost of premiums still have the power to unilaterally dictate the scope of that insurance for their employees. After all, the compromise does not compel anybody to acquire contraception nor require the employer to pay for the coverage. So just what is the squawk?
Granny M
(1,395 posts)If they were at all honest, the bishops would admit that their argument is with the majority of Catholic women who choose birth control. They are not required by the law to use it. It's the failure of the Church to convince women, and not just in the US, that contraception is a bad thing.
Queentorrent
(1 post)Obama's betting the sheep are looking to sneak out of the pen.
In the mind of a Catholic who privately uses and supports birth control, what's the worst that can happen? That's a serious question.
Torrents Search
spicegal
(758 posts)GOP is not on their side.. Many Catholics and Catholic organizations also support the president. It's the celibate bishops sitting in their ivory towers disconnected from the reality we earthlings face everyday. The Catholic church has always, since it's inception, believed it was above the law. In this country, your religious beliefs don't always trump the law. Besides which, no one is asking them to believe or do anything that's contrary to their faith. If the Catholic church want to run large businesses that employ thousands of non-Catholics, who they pay with government and private insurance company money, seems to me they should abide by our labor laws.
krkaufman
(13,436 posts)Who knew the sexual and religious politics of the 1990s were suddenly back, under the president who promised hed try to end them?
...
So Obama didnt ignite just a culture war but a religious and gender war as well. Welcome to the election focused almost entirely on jobs.
I love how Sullivan spins this issue as something that Obama is driving. It would be a non-issue if the Right had any worthwhile economic policies; instead, they have to keep beating the culture war drums.
Bucky
(54,065 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)when he said that the compromise was "utterly sensible". Leaving alone the question of Catholic hospitals, universities and charities that self-insure, does Sullivan actually think that decreeing something to be free really makes it free? Insurers will simply include in their bids an amount needed to cover the expected costs of covering contraception, and that will be passed on in the premiums that both the employer and the non-using employees will pay. It's a fallacy to say that contraception has no costs, because it saves more money than it expends. Right now, for the insurers who cover employees of Catholic institutions, they're paying zero for contraception, since the Catholic couples who use it are themselves bearing the costs. Shifting that cost burden on to insurers isn't going to change the rate at which those employees choose to procreate.
Sullivan obviously takes great delight at the squirming of the bishops, and while I do like to see those pedophile-protectors squirm, your average Catholic doesn't, be they a deep believer or a nominal cultural Catholic. Those Catholics are going to be subjected to a fusilade of attacks from the hierarchy, through the pulpits and the Catholic press, that encourages them to vote for someone who won't make the bishops do this. It gets especially bad if the alternative is a Catholic President who has seven kids.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)I do think you're right that their accounting is more creative than substantive. It seems more of a semantic twist than anything else. It's akin to the explanation I heard that "it isn't a mandate, it's a tax. You get a deduction if you already have health insurance". It's a distinction looking for a difference.
I differ with you on the American Catholics however. I suspect that huge majority of them won't think about this long at all. American Catholics have been at odds politically with the bishops for decades. Only a small fraction of them are theologically "devout" at all. As someone pointed out on NPR this morning, look at the pews and see how many 1 and 2 children families are sitting out there. The bishops don't particularly get alot of political clout with Catholics. Those with whom they are influential probably already object to Obama on abortion grounds.
BigD_95
(911 posts)is always thinking two steps down the road. He never seems to Panic even when things look bad. Never makes rash choices. He might be one of the smartest Presidents this country ever had.