“Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”- President Harry S. Truman
In an already tumultuous election season the surprising events of the past week have created a sense of uncertainty not only amongst the citizenry but those intimately involved in the political arena. Instead of being closer to a nominee we are now that much farther away from a solidified choice Republicans can unite behind. Apparently in a reaction to missing all the fun, the President seems intent to jump in and help stir the pot of discontent.
Concerning the President, our hats should first go off to him. While predictably there would be infighting during the Republican primaries, the nasty and feckless tone the campaigns have taken in the last month (particularly the Romney and Gingrich camps) have helped Mr. Obama regain some of his swagger. His ability to portray himself as a man above the fray of petty party politics has enabled the President’s rise in the very polls he has struggled in throughout the year. Couple this with the new unemployment numbers released Friday coming in at 8.3% and his re-election chances only grew stronger.
Then the President finally gave the Republicans an opening. Considering the President’s record of governance the fact that I just accurately used the phrase ‘gave the Republicans an opening’ is appalling. But such was the unattractive state of the Republican Presidential candidates, whose collective ineptitude has made the President in these last few months look like FDR circa 1936.
President Obama’s recent decision to move forward in forcing Catholic institutions to provide coverage for contraception in employee health benefits is an egregious violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Despite one’s own beliefs on the matter of contraception and pre-marital sex, it is the religious belief of the Catholic Church that contraception should not be used. To force Catholic institutions to provide healthcare benefits for employees’ birth control methods is to force these religious entities to go against their beliefs, violating the law of the land. The President is wrong, but more than he knows.
Since this story broke the vociferous tide of opposition against the President has risen, finally putting focus back in the organization of the Republican nominees. As stated earlier the Republican Party was beginning to lose momentum as a result of dirty primary campaigning and an inability to stay on message. Now after having this political defibrillator applied to their collective chest the candidates, as well as Mr. Obama, have decisions to make.
Rick Santorum: With his three state sweep of the Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota caucuses on Tuesday Sen. Santorum has given serious life to his campaign, and serious pause to the inevitability of Governor Romney’s nomination. His impressive debate showing last month in Florida allowed Mr. Santorum to position himself as the Republican with the most coherent criticism of Governor Romney’s Massachusetts Healthcare plan. In doing so he not only discredits the Governor in the eyes of the already wary Republican Party, but he demonstrates fluidity in the conservative language Mr. Romney tries so hard to command and the Tea Party so deeply values. Mr. Santorum has also had the good fortune of the current Church issue to have fallen in his lap as the leading Social Conservative amongst the candidates. Though I consider this issue as a decision of constitutionality and not moral preference, Mr. Santorum as a devoutly religious Catholic can use the subject to promote the importance of family and personally responsibility that will energize the religious right, as well as promote the conservative idealism of strict adherence to the Constitution and the limitation of government intrusion. This issue will also provide more firepower for the Senator against Governor Romney, whose ‘Romneycare’ plan will now only be more scrutinized as we further examine Obamacare’s regulations. Serving as the cherry on top of the great week Senator Mr. Santorum is having is the poll from Rasmussen Reports that he now boasts a one point lead against the President. This could be a short-lived trend, or a narrative that the Senator can ride all the way to the convention. At this point I can not delude myself into making a prediction about who gets the nomination, but it seems Mr. Santorum has taken a giant step closer to the status of the main Romney challenger.
The President: Mr. Obama has put himself in a very interesting and unexpected position with his choice this week to essentially take on the Catholic Church. While I do believe Mr. Obama feels some sort of moral outrage against the Church and their stance on contraception, I find it hard to believe he would take it to this extreme with the election looming. Some aides have already begun to walk the position back, concentrating on the fact the provision would not be enforced until 2013, as it is the case with many other of the President’s most controversial positions, all that will be addressed after the election to minimize political damage. Still Mr. Obama’s choice to intrude on the sovereignty of the Church is either blindness to the pulse of the center-right country, or political hubris; at this point in is Presidency and an election year, I would choose the latter. This is a glaring example of the Leviathan government that conservatives and moderates alike fear so much when discussing the initiatives of this President. It also brings Obamacare back into the spotlight of the national conversation, an issue which was the driving force behind a Republican landslide in 2010. And then there’s the unemployment numbers. After it as released that theunemployment numbers dropped to 8.3% the always balanced CNN newsroom began to create a narrative comparing President Obama’s first term to President Reagan’s. As with any of these inane comparisons made by the media there are always stark contrasts in the details, most importantly in this case that the economy grew last year at 1.6% while through Reagan’s third year it grew at 8% (as quoted in the Wall Street Journal). A significant difference in terms of the health of the country under the stewardship of the two presidents, but a difference that would never be examined by the media and the voting public as this election year grows. Mr. Obama can use this to his advantage by setting aside his political hubris in his challenge against the Church, and concentrate on the unemployment numbers which continue to trend down. If they hold, it will be the easiest aspect of his presidency however misleading the numbers are that he can defend. It will also be one of the only two instances in his campaign, the other being the ‘revival’ of GM, the President will promote with a positive message.
Mitt Romney: Governor Romney may be in the most peculiar position of all, but not the most unfamiliar. This is not the first time the former Governor has suffered a setback in a primary contest, nor is it the first time he has lost to Sen. Santorum. We have been waiting for the conservative candidate strong enough to defeat the presumed nominee, and if he has arrived in Santorum we can not yet tell. But there is a larger issue than recognizing which candidate Mr. Romney needs to fend off to finally attain the nomination. From the beginning Mr. Romney has framed his candidacy around the idea of his position as the Economic Healer: he has the longest and most successful career in the private sector of all candidates, and that experience is what will enable him to bring our economy back from the dregs of the Great Recession. To be sure this logic has legs. President Obama does have limited if any experience in the private sector, and as a result his policies such as “Obamacare” cast a serious shadow of doubt over the confidence of the numerous business owners across the country who are reluctant to hire new workers. Considering the unpredictability of the President’s policies the effect on their business practices concerning expansion is palpable. But if Mr. Romney’s selling point is as simple as ‘fixing the economy’, then President Obama’s rebuttal can be just as simple as citing the decrease in unemployment numbers as reported over the last few months. And that’s the rub. Staking one’s campaign on one idea is not just bad politics but poor leadership. Mr. Romney needs to do more than ensure us of his ability to right our economic ship, particularly if the unemployment numbers continue to decrease. The President has provided a talking point that is an easy segue into the main challenge of this generation in halting the ever overreaching Federal government. The Governor needs to remember that the next time he speaks of our economic problems.
Tumultuous times indeed. So much so I am limited by the fundamental laws of time and space to explore the state of Speaker Gingrich’s candidacy. To be sure he will have a say when this is all said and done, but he if he continues to churn our press conferences like he did after Florida Sen. Santorum can rocket passed him to finally square up with Romney in a Battle Royale for the nomination. On the other hand Newt will rise like the Phoenix once again, which can also provide life to the dream of a brokered convention that the Mitch Daniels/Jeb Bush/Bobby Jindal wing of the party cling to like a lifeboat.
There are votes still yet to be cast and important issues to be addressed. The President’s fighting Chicago instincts and liberal base have forced his hand in an issue some of his top aides advised him to dial back on. Nevertheless he has rejoined his adversaries in the political mud of campaign politics. Whoever the eventual nominee is this may be the moment remembered as the turning point in the campaign. Mr. Obama’s challenge to the religious sovereignty of Catholic institutions is a gross breach of the Constitution and a perfect illustration of the President’s statist ideology. This, along with many other policies are initiatives the remaining nominees must pounce on, stemming the growing tide of big government authoritarianism that will engulf the freedom, wealth and prosperity of this nation.
– John P. Burns
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