Michigan & Arizona GOP Primaries: Contraception Chess
The Michigan Primary is center stage given the ramifications of the stakes. Both Arizona and Michigan Primaries will take place on the 28th of February. The long awaited Arizona Debate will be held on the 22nd. The outcome of the Michigan Primary will establish who the Republican frontrunner is going forward.
The importance of the Michigan contest cannot be understated. This is Mitt Romney’s home state. He was born in Detroit and raised in Oakland County. Presently, it is the only county which polls currently reflect he is not losing. In Fact, Mitt’s father, George Romney was the Governor of Michigan. In his 2008 campaign, Mitt beat John McCain by 9 points garnering 39% of his home state vote.
This time around, the candidate Republicans love to hate may be more than Mitt can overcome. Romney wrote an Opinion Editorial piece denouncing the bailout of the Auto Industry entitled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” This week Romney clarified his position in his latest Op. Ed. stating "this was crony capitalism on a grand scale, The President tells us without his intervention things in Detroit would be worse. I believe that without his intervention things would be better."
Meanwhile, Rick Santorum continues to solidify his quest for the title of POTUS: Pope of the United States.
My opinion of the momentum shift is admittedly a suspicious perspective of ‘the Politics of Dancing’ with respect to the events leading up to the sea change. The Santorum sweep was on the heels of the Health and Human Services pronouncement regarding the Catholic Church’s obligation to provide Birth Control for its employees.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ confrontation with Minnesota Catholic Bishops regarding this proposed mandate appeared in an article from Robin Marty of RH Reality Check published on September 30th, 2011.
Whether an objective observer chooses to believe the cynical view President Obama chose to personally deliver this controversial matter when he did is secondary. The fact remains it played into Rick Santorum’s wheelhouse of Social issues focusing on Religious discourse. It served to shift the conversation away from the ‘Washington outsider’ Romney economic discourse and toward an uncomfortable topic he has avoided; religion.
Moreover, the Republican Party jumped in with both feet to attack the President on the First Amendment grounds Religious Freedom. Once the question of Religious freedom was resolved, the Republicans found themselves united with the leadership of the Catholic Church, left to defend the morality of Birth Control. This battle between Catholics and their hierarchy has existed for decades.
Public opinion turned instantaneously as Americans of all faiths heard of the Republican political intent. Missouri Senator Roy Blunt has introduced a bill, to pursue the rights of employers to have the option to deny not only Birth Control, but opens the door for ‘conscientious objections’ to deny Health Care. The Bill has been publically endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
I prefer not to give President Obama credit for quite possibly the biggest blunder I have ever witnessed in political posturing. Instead, I’ll share the imagery that resonates from within;
Remember the Roadrunner leading the Coyote at full speed toward the edge of the cliff. The Coyote runs out of landscape, only to be left suspended in midair, just long enough to wave goodbye before plunging into the canyon depths resulting in a cloud of dust.