We got treated to round two of this Sunday's Meet the Press with the return of Peggy Noonan, E.J. Dionne and Joe Scarborough carrying more water for the Catholic bishops and their attacks on the new health care mandate on this Monday's Morning Joe. I don't agree with Scarborough about much of anything, but even he realizes that if this debate ends up being about contraception and not religious freedom, Republicans are going to lose that fight and he warned House Republicans not to push it too far in going after the new mandate.
Cue Peggy Noonan and another round of pearl clutching.
NOONAN: Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that at this point of this struggle, the White House and the National Abortion Action Rights League, and Planned Parenthood have decided that mischievously and for political gain they will put this whole issue and imbroglio forward as simply a disagreement on contraception? The Catholic Church is trying to take your contraception away from you? Those bad men are trying to mess up with your contraception?
Well that is not what this issue is about. It is not what the struggle and the imbroglio has been about. But I think you are suggesting, tell me if I'm wrong, that the administration for political reasons is going to muck up the waters in that way.
After Scarborough and Dionne pointed out that a lot of the Catholic institutions thought the President's compromise was perfectly reasonable with Dionne explaining that the insurance companies are not going to incur any additional costs because paying for contraceptive coverage actually saves money compared to the costs when women become pregnant, their arguments fell on deaf ears with Noonan.
NOONAN: Well, I'm talking the reality of it and they're going to pass it on to us too.
Completely tone deaf. Republicans have absolutely nothing to run on this year, so they're hoping to turn this into their big wedge issue to get their base riled up in the hopes they turn out at the polls. I'll repeat what I've already said about this, which is good luck with that. There are only so many Noonans and Bachmanns and Palins out there who are willing to throw their fellow females under the bus and then there are the other ninety some percent of us who know this is about reproductive rights and fairness and women having control over their own bodies.
You know, I'd really love to see someone ask Peggy Noonan if she's ever used birth control herself or not. She's a divorcee with one child. If she's so deeply concerned about the Catholic bishops having the right to impose their will on the women among their ranks, does she even follow their teachings? And for that matter, what does she think about the Catholic Church's views on divorce? I'm sure it will be a cold day in hell before one of her fellow Villagers ever asks her about either on the air.
I've really just had it up to here listening to these bloviating hypocrites pretending to take the moral high ground and feigning indignation over this issue and Noonan's been one of the worst offenders.
