Religious Left?

Dean from Beers with Demo has an excellent post about the “Religious Left” and the 40 Democrats unwilling to vote for a healthcare bill that allows public funding for abortion.  Will the press paint them as extremists?

Here is an excerpt:

The Democrats’ extremist problem
Just consider this our little “well, isn’t that special” moment for those out there that whine about the Religious Right’s undue influence on the Republican party

“I will continue whipping my colleagues to oppose bringing the bill to the floor for a vote until a clean vote against public funding for abortion is allowed,” Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said Monday in a statement.

He said last week that 40 Democrats could vote with him to oppose the legislation — enough to derail the bill.

That felt so good, we may need a smoke.

The meme’ of the radicalization of the Republican party has become the talking point du jour for the left and we couldn’t be more pleased. The left’s belief that the Republicans risk permanent marginalization because of a huge swerve to the right is a premise that is so spectacularly flawed, we should take to pushing it here ourselves.

Please pay Dean a visit to read the rest of the article and think about why you always hear about the “Religious Right” but never the “Religious Left” when you watch the news or read a newspaper.  Wonder why that is?

Just why are these crazy religious Left Wingers objecting?

Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s 2,032-page government takeover of health care does just that.  On line 17, p. 110, section 222 under “Abortions for which Public Funding is Allowed” the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan.  The Speaker’s plan also requires that at least one insurance plan offered in the Exchange covers abortions.

What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan.  It’s right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under “Insurance Rating Rules.”  The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account – and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services.

Section 213 describes the process in which the Health Benefits Commissioner is to assess the monthly premiums that will be used to pay for elective abortions under the government-run plan.  The Commissioner must charge at a minimum $1 per enrollee per month.

Please note that this article makes no judgement about whether abortions should be legal, illegal, publically funded or not… what I am interested in is why these 40 Democrats are not being painted in the press as beholden to religious zealots the way they would were we speaking of Republicans.

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2. Congress Won't Take the Medicine They Prescribe