Most of the criticism aimed at Joe Biden relating to his
disgraceful performance in last Thursday’s VP debate has related to
his transparent lie about what the Obama administration knew about
the September 11 terrorist attack on our Benghazi consulate. But
that was by no means the only whopper of consequence he told during
the debate. Another lie that may cause nearly as much damage to his
boss’s re-election prospects involves the one he told about
Obamacare’s contraception mandate. Whereas his tale about the
September 11 attack thwarted the MSM’s attempt to bury the Benghazi
story, what he said about the contraception mandate actually
disinterred a story they thought they had safely deep-sixed until
after the election.
Toward the end of the debate, the candidates were asked to
discuss “what role your religion has played in your own personal
views on abortion.” As part of his response, Paul Ryan pointed out
that the Obama administration is using Obamacare to assault our
religious liberties: “They’re infringing upon our first freedom,
the freedom of religion, by infringing on Catholic charities,
Catholic churches, Catholic hospitals.” He was, of course,
referring to the infamous HHS edict requiring employers to provide
insurance that pays for abortion drugs, contraception, and
sterilization. Predictably, Ryan’s comment elicited one of the
85 interruptions whereby America’s crazy uncle transformed the
debate into a 90-minute exhibition of boorish bluster and
balderdash.
When Ryan was permitted to finish, Biden weighed in on the issue
with characteristic mendacity: “With regard to the assault on the
Catholic church, let me make it absolutely clear, no religious
institution, Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic Social
Services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital, none
has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for
contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any
insurance policy they provide. That is a fact.” This claim
obviously bears no resemblance to “fact.” As the Heritage
Foundation promptly pointed out, “The real ‘fact’ about the
anti-conscience mandate is that it applies to almost all employers
—including many religious organizations such as hospitals and
social service providers.”
And the response to Biden’s bald-faced lie was not limited to
dispassionate analysis by conservative think tanks. On October 12,
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement
denouncing the VP’s deceptive comments in no uncertain terms. The
statement specifically referred to the Catholic organizations cited
by Biden himself and used them as evidence that his words were not
remotely factual: “The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part
exemption for certain ‘religious employers.’ That exemption was
made final in February and does not extend to ‘Catholic social
services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,’ or
any other religious charity that offers its services to all,
regardless of the faith of those served.”
The USCCB is, in fact, showing some reserve in its use of the
adjective “narrow” to describe the exemptions the Obama
administration was generous enough to include in its imperial
edict. As the Archbishop of Washington
described the phony “accommodation” made by the President when
the contraception mandate produced predictable public outrage,
“HHS’s conception of what constitutes the practice of religion is
so narrow that even Mother Teresa would not have qualified.” The
Obama administration is, as Paul Ryan succinctly put it despite
repeated interruptions by Biden and more than a few from the very
moderator who was ostensibly there to prevent such boorish
nonsense, “assaulting the religious liberties of this country.”
Ryan also directed the following question to Biden, after being
interrupted yet again: “Why would they keep suing you?” This was a
reference to a series of lawsuits filed against the Obama
administration by a wide variety of high-profile Catholic
organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. and
the University of Notre Dame, pursuant to a federal contraception
mandate that Biden had just said doesn’t force religious
organizations to “pay for contraception” or “has to be a vehicle to
get contraception in any insurance policy they provide.” The
debate’s “moderator” came to Biden’s rescue on that unanswerable
question by demanding of Ryan, “If the Romney-Ryan ticket is
elected, should those who believe that abortion should remain legal
be worried?
That interruption saved Biden from answering Ryan’s question,
but it didn’t remove the lawsuits. And these suits are by no means
limited to Catholic institutions. In July, Judge John Kane of the
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado issued an order
forbidding the government from taking action against Hercules
Industries for refusing to provide contraceptive coverage to its
employees. The plaintiffs argue, as do the Catholic institutions
cited by USCCB, that the contraception mandate violates their First
Amendment right to religious freedom. And, as if to provide a
preview of the kind of justice we can expect to receive in this
country if Biden and his boss are re-elected, their government
lawyers argue that
the plaintiffs have no claim to this fundamental right because they
operate a for-profit business.
The usual suspects on the left appeared to be happy with Biden’s
obnoxious debate performance. And Obama campaign spokeswoman, Clo
Ewing, doubled down on his preposterous statement about the
contraception mandate: “President Obama and Vice President Biden
believe standing up for women’s health… no religious institution
will have to refer, provide, or pay for contraception.” This
position, to coin a phrase, is worse than a crime, it’s a mistake.
Among the states that both campaigns covet this year is Florida,
home to many Catholic Hispanics. Recent
polls show Romney cutting into Obama’s support among that
voting bloc. Biden’s braying about the contraceptive mandate will
not have slowed that trend.
The United States is among the most religious countries on the
planet. The Obama administration’s assault on religious liberty in
an election year was a dumb call. With the collusion of the “news”
media, however, they probably thought they had succeeded in burying
the issue until after the election. But America’s crazy uncle, in
addition to drawing attention to the Benghazi blunder, has managed
to raise the contraception mandate from the dead as well. Joe is
the best man on our team.
