Why Obama just shot himself in the foot

By Tom Quiner

Freedom of religion issues may decide the next presidential election.

Prior to last week, this year’s presidential sweepstakes was going to pivot on two issues: the economy and fairness.

President Obama cannot run on his record, because the economy is not recovering from the recession in a normal way. Although the economy is growing, it is growing at a snail’s pace. And unemployment remains very high.

Some economists are concerned about a “double dip” recession.

To counteract the failure of his economic policies, the president must make the case that the root problem in our economy is the structural unfairness imbedded in our system. The solution is higher taxes on our most productive workers (aka “the rich”) and bigger government to “level the playing field” (more socialism).

These two issues must now share the spotlight with a third: “religious liberty.”

As Quiner’s Diner has reported, the Obama administration is mandating that faith-based organizations such as Catholic hospitals, Catholic charities, Lutheran Social Services, faith-based universities, etc., MUST provide FREE sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception to their employees in their health care coverage.

What a mistake.

A large number of Catholics are receptive to the Democratic Party’s desire to spread the social welfare state to more people, including the middle class. So many Catholics view the Democratic Party as the party of the little guy, that they are willing to look past the Dem’s promotion of abortion as a social good.

The president has now moved the policy beyond choice to mandate.

He has galvanized the Catholic community against this policy. Don’t get me wrong, there are Catholics who will always vote Democrat. But we are going to see Catholic swing voters moving into the Republican camp on this single issue.

Catholics are taught that life begins at conception.

Obama says it begins at birth. Not only is there nothing wrong ending fledgling life with abortifacients, goes the president’s thinking, it is actually a fundamental right to women to have it paid for by someone else.

The President of the United States has declared war on the First Amendment.

If Mr. Obama loses the election this November, this is the issue that does him in.

 

4 Comments

  1. markmcinturf on January 30, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    I can’t imagine that the economy alone won’t end Obama’s Presidency – guess we’ll find out in November. You make a great point but certainly it wouldn’t bother me if Obama shot himself in the head – forget his foot.

    I have one point to make that is not intended to be argumentative in any way but one that I hope you will consider. Many conservatives tend to react to the words “level the playing field” with disdain… as if those three words conjure only a socialistic ideology. I believe that depends on whether we’re talking about opportunity or results. Indeed, we do need to level the playing field of economic opportunity but government involvement to that end must stop there. As long as it does, true capitalism lives. It’s only when government’s notion of equal opportunity turns into equal results is where freedom dies and socialism begins.



  2. quinersdiner on January 30, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    I agree. The economy alone could do him in. However, non-Catholics don’t fully realize how big a deal this new mandate is to Catholics. It is huge. It is galvanizing pro-active resistance. I was at a pro-life gathering of 150 activists on Saturday of all faiths. This issue had the group fired up, because it has crossed a line never before crossed by the state. This single issue could defeat Obama.



  3. Nick on January 30, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    Can you provide a link to this rule? I spent a few minutes looking for it and was only able to find this DHHS press release: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html