Newt Gingrich, criticizing the Obama administration's policy change on Roman Catholic institutions and birth control, says that Mitt Romney had a weak record when it comes to respecting the church's prerogatives.What a joke. Compared to Gingrich, Romney's holier than Benedict. In 2010, Gingrich compared Muslims to Nazis and argued that Muslim U.S. citizens shouldn't be permitted to worship as they chose within a certain distance of the World Trade Center. Gingrich, who ironically enough claims that Obama doesn't respect the Constitution, was proposing a blatant violation of Muslims' God-given, constitutionally-protected freedom while inviting reciprocal moves by anyone who resents the privileges religious institutions enjoy in our country. As I wrote at the time:
The case of the inconvenient mosque would be a useful precedent for harassing others with unpopular or controversial views such as Roman Catholics, orthodox Jews, Mormons, and even Rick Warren and his fellow Southern Baptists. Should that moment come, religion's enemies would smile as they remembered the day when Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin became their useful idiots.Even imams have objected to the Obama ruling. Imagine that: Muslims speaking up for the letter and spirit of the Constitution, while Gingrich, the history professor, betrayed them all.
2 comments:
I don't understand the controversy. There are quite a few states that already require most religious employers to cover prescription contraceptives if they provide other prescription drug coverage. After all, not all employees of Catholic hospitals are Catholics. Do we let Catholic businessmen offer their employees insurance programs that don't include contraceptives? Of course not. Finally, prescription contraceptives aren't used exclusively for contraception. Doctors prescribe them to women as treatments for a number of other problems. Should we disallow this practice as well?
Thanks. Barry. I desire only to underscore the unsuitability of Newt Gingrich as an authority on the Constitution and First Amendment.
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