The so-called Blunt Amendment went down in defeat. That’s a
good thing, but we should temper our celebration.
The Blunt Amendment would have allowed employers to deny coverage
to workers for any medical procedure that the employer unilaterally found
morally objectionable. The bill was aimed against women (and their male
partners); its objective was to deny birth control coverage.
Although the defeat of this draconian rule was welcome news,
keep in mind that there were 48 votes in favor of the rule, in a Senate that
consists mostly of white fundamentalist males.
Today’s vote is just one example why this is not the America
I grew up in. In today’s America, a minority party whose philosophy is based on
selfishness and greed has a stranglehold over the functioning of government.
And the majority party, while not as mean-spirited as the minority, is not much
better.
On Monday, the House of Representatives voted almost
unanimously to outlaw peaceful protests in certain areas when a high-profile
personality is present. This is an America where commerce and the false
assertion of national security take priority over privacy. This is an America
where the holy grail of our Constitution, separation of church and state, is
being chipped away. This is an America where there is an unholy alliance
between the robber barons of Wall Street and the whores in our government.
So celebrate the defeat of one misguided amendment. But don’t
celebrate victory. We have a long way to go to resurrect the America that our Founding
Fathers fought for and died for.
Here is a section from the Hillarycare bill of 1994. To paraphrase deciminyan, this was back when the Democrats were sane.
ReplyDelete`SEC. 21223. PROVISIONS RELATING TO RELIGIOUS BELIEF OR MORAL CONVICTION. `Nothing in this title shall be construed to--
`(1) prevent any individual from purchasing a standard benefits package which excludes coverage of abortion services, if the individual objects to abortion on the basis of a religious belief or moral conviction;
`(2) prevent any employer from contributing to the purchase of a standard benefits package which excludes coverage of abortion or other services, if the employer objects to such services on the basis of a religious belief or moral conviction;
fwiw, I agree with you on the peaceful protest bill the House passed today, as do all the conservative websites I read that have commented on it.
You're correct if your assertion is that Democrats have no spine (and this applies at both the Federal level and the state level in NJ). The Hyde Amendment was a travesty. Today's Democrats can generally be classified as "moderate Republicans." Of course there are a few exceptions. Alas, too few.
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