Last time I checked, Massachusetts had a large Catholic population, but for some reason that didn’t present any problems when RomneyCare required that religious institutions in the state offer contraceptives on their health care plans.
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that his health care reform law in Massachusetts included birth control in insurance coverage but he opposed it in President Barack Obama’s law because only states should be able to grant those rights to women.
On Sunday, Fox News host Chris Wallace pointed out to Romney that Massachusetts’ so-called Romneycare law included the type of birth control mandate that was now being opposed in the United States Supreme Court by Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic groups. But Romney’s law differed from the Affordable Care in that it did not even offer a waiver for those non-profit organizations seeking an exemption.
“This was not an issue in our state,” Romney explained. “We didn’t have the Catholic church come to us and say, ‘Look, we’ve got a problem here with the type of legislation you’ve put in place.’ But frankly, Chris, whatever mistakes that were made in Massachusetts, those are mistakes that can be dealt with at the state level.”
It simply never occurred to the Catholic Church to oppose health care plans that offer contraceptive coverage until opposing the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act became a priority for the Republican Party.
In fact, until the contraceptive requirement became an issue in the 2012 campaign, numerous Catholic organizations and universities offered health plans that covered contraception. Even in the states that required such coverage, the mandate could have been avoided by self-insuring or offering plans without prescription drug coverage.
So, why did the Catholic Church allow themselves to become captured by the Republicans’ obstructionist agenda?
So, why did the Catholic Church allow themselves to become captured by the Republicans’ obstructionist agenda?
Because they’re just another big business? I do hope the Obama DOJ points this out every time they have to go to court over this. I also hope someone helps Justice Sotomayor buys a clue too.
One might note that they went after Kerry too. The Catholic leadership in America is Republican.
This is the answer. The upper hierarchy of the Catholic Church is self-selecting. Very few individuals are selected from the ranks of bishop without have spent years proving their loyalty to the historical institutional church.
Democrats and social democrats are not usually acceptable because they do not offer the upper Catholic hierarchy quasi-governmental power. The Catholic Church as an institution considers themselves governmental bureaucrats – a role which is quite inconsistent with belief that the government should actively promote freedom of religion and not take sides in religious disputes.
“So, why did the Catholic Church allow themselves to become captured by the Republicans’ obstructionist agenda?”
Why?
Because the Church has always been a well-organized group of misogynistic male assholes, bent on hauling in tons of money and keeping women suppressed – though not necessarily in that order – that’s why!*
And they saw another ideal time and reason for going ape-sh*t about abortion – a Democrat was POTUS, and he got a health care law passed.
When Republicans/Conservatives are in charge, most of the assholes in this country at least try to keep a low profile – and let the government do their racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic, work for them – lest they create too much of a ruckus, draw too much attention to themselves, and spoil a good thing.
But when Conservatives are not in charge, all hell breaks loose, because they and their assholes have nothing to lose – and stirring up the rest of the rubes, often causes them to get back in power.
It’s like “Deficit Hawks,” who, like political cicada’s who have their own life-cycles, are ‘Deficit Doves’ while Republicans run-up massive debts, then arise from the economic flames, to scream, moan, wail, shriek, cry, and tear at the hair and garments, about deficits when Democrats take charge!
*The same for every other major religion, too, btw.
>>So, why did the Catholic Church allow themselves to become captured by the Republicans’ obstructionist agenda?
um, because the church has ALWAYS been in bed with the rich and powerful and has NEVER had any interest in improving the lives of the rest of us. Republicans, like Catholic bishops, are corrupt and authoritarian. It’s a partnership that fits like a hand in glove.
And in the same week we have the CEO of Home Depot criticizing the Pope for not bestowing any recognition of kindness upon the wealthy.
The speed with which the family values Right has attacked this Pope has been startling. Every Pope prior to this has enjoyed respect that precluded gutter attacks and yet this Pope’s vision of reaching out to the masses seems to have overstimulated the Right’s hot buttons.
Methinks the Right’s over reaction points at the new KochChristianity where even a Pope has lost ground to the power of the billionaires.
Ah for the days when Democrats were the party of rum, Romanism, and rebellion.
Those were the days when the American governments (federal and state) considered the Catholic Church to be the religion of the lower classes.
Haven’t they always been Right Wing? Didn’t they sit with the Aristocrats on the right in the Estates-General? Didn’t Pope Pius ignore the Holocaust?