Why Obama Picked A Fight With The Catholics?

Why, oh, why? Here are some possibilities:

1) The smartest president ever elected made a mistake. Well, that's hardly likely. Let's assume he knows exactly what he is doing.

2) The president wants to make an ideological point about the value of birth control. This one hardly seems likely. No doubt the president thinks birth control should be available, but it already is, without the Catholic Church paying for it in most states. And, most people disagree with the Church's position already. It just does not seem likely that many people would be persuaded.

3) The president needs to shore up his political base of liberal women's groups. I give this one very little credibility. Liberal women's groups would not hold it against the president if he did not require Catholic institutions to provide birth control, especially if he did it quietly, with little fanfare.

4) The president would like to change the subject from the economy and focus attention on social policies, where he thinks he has an advantage. Possibly, possibly. Remember the George Stephanopoulos focus on contraception in one of the Republican debates that appeared to come out of nowhere? Over 8% unemployment and the world in turmoil, and the pressing question is about contraception? Well, perhaps, the president is doubling-down on changing the subject. Don't elect Republicans! They'll take away your birth control!

5) The president would like to take over health care in this country and Catholic institutions are standing in his way. Hmm. Are Catholic institutions standing in his way? Well, if you believe that President Obama's grand plan to control health care costs involves rationing of care, well, yes, the Catholics are going to be a problem. Catholics value life, all life, from unborn fetuses to disabled persons who cannot care for themselves. Progressives, while they advocate many similar positions to Catholics in terms of social justice, do not value these forms of life and advocate abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and even euthanasia. These are articles of faith for progressives, so if they are to take over health care, they need the Catholic church out. And, how better to go about it then to have the Catholics voluntarily withdraw from their social service ministries because they cannot abide requirements to provide contraceptives, something on which most of the Catholic laity do not agree with the Church's teachings? If this conjecture seems far-fetched, consider the recent action of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, where Catholic Charities divested its adoption and foster care services because it could not agree with mandated policies on gay adoption. The government wants the Catholic Church out of the social services business, which explains why the Obama administration granted the Catholic Church a waiver of one year to "adjust" to the ruling. Could "adjust" mean get out of the way? A fight with the Catholic Church is coming. Why not have it now?

Putting Catholics in a position where they must choose between their moral teachings, or their social service ministries, is despicable. It is an effort to isolate the Catholic clergy from the Catholic laity, and is wedge politics at its worst. To say that you cannot run a hospital if you are not willing to provide free contraceptives to your employees is tyrannical, un-American, and if the Catholic position on the morality of contraception is correct, completely evil. The smartest president ever elected certainly understands this.