The "Compromise": Just Hard, Raw Politics

But even setting that aside -- even if the compromise were somehow acceptable and mutually-agreed-upon -- it's worth pointing out that the administration isn't trying to compromise because it now respects liberty of conscience.  It isn't trying to compromise because there's a new understanding of (though not agreement with) Catholic (or other religious) morality about abortion and contraception.  Instead, it's trying to compromise only to stanch the self-inflicted, hemorrhaging wound the President created through his approval of draconian rules that constitute an assault on religious freedom in America.

Here's the takeaway, whatever the purported "compromise" looks like: Obama -- and the other liberals like him -- are willing to trample conscience rights and religious liberties in order to impose their vision of "the good" on Americans.  What everyone should keep in mind is that this crowd was willing to ride roughshod over religious belief and religious pluralism in this country.  If they fail, it's only because they were forced to retreat.

In fact, from a purely political perspective, the administration's only "mistake" was taking on headlong an adversary -- the Catholic Church -- big enough, wily enough, principled enough and tenacious enough to fight back effectively.  It's a good thing for our cherished First Amendment religious rights that they did.  Had the administration picked a smaller, less experienced or less vocal faith to attack, too many of us might not have been alert to the danger until it was too late.

Then again, it isn't entirely surprising.  There is some very ugly anti-Catholic sentiment that occasionally manifests itself among the liberal "intelligentsia" (as this repugnant Santorum hit piece reveals -- HT: Hugh Hewitt), and it's hard not to suspect that this ugly sentiment lurks in the hearts of at least some of those most determined to implement the abortifacient/contraception-mandating ObamaCare regs.  Perhaps it's time for us all to have as open a discussion on the evils of anti-religious bigotry as we do on the evils of racism, sexism and homophobia.

The real question for Americans is: How can we trust an administration that has shown such a stunningly contemptuous disregard for religious principles with which it disagrees -- and religious liberty in general?