Fox’s Kirsten Powers: ‘Liberal Catholics’ Pushed The White House To Compromise On Birth Control

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by Frances Martel | 3:37 pm, February 11th, 2012

» 31 comments

Garnering by far the most press attention this week this side of an actual election, the debate surrounding President Obama’s birth control mandate opened this week’s episode of Fox News Watch, with the panel looking more at the way the media approached the issue than how they would spin the news that President Obama reached a compromise with religious leaders. The panel seemed to agree that the left-wing media had decided to make the debate between Planned Parenthood and the Komen Foundation a bigger issue than the contraceptive issue with the White House, but had to make it a story because of the pushback.

Monica Crowley began by citing statistics that the television news outlets slept on the issue, according to the Media Research Center, for sixteen days before Fox News and talk radio began to talk about the mandate to provide birth control. “It actually forced the White House to change their tactic on this,” she argued. While Kirsten Powers agreed, but added that she did not think the pressure was exclusively from the right but from “liberal Catholics… and people who support Obama on pretty much everything saying this was not okay.”

While the panel mostly agreed that it was an issue of religious freedom, Judith Miller argued that it was an issue of medical access for women, and that the President’s compromise was a fair one “for which he should be given credit because it satisfies a lot of different constituencies.” They then went back to discussing the media coverage, for which Powers argued that the left-of-center media “are united in believing that Planned Parenthood is a humanitarian organization that no one can ever criticize or question,” and that it makes the issue with Komen a top story before the birth control mandate despite the fact that “there is nothing in the Constitution about access to contraception.” Jim Pinkerton chimed in to conclude, then, that while one can argue about the ways that the conflict played out and the various positions, “you can’t argue that there was a conflict,” while “the media ignored that outrage.”

The segment via Fox News below:

barack obama, Birth Control, fox news, health mandate, Jim Pinkteron, Jon Scott, Judith Miller, Kirsten Powers, Monica Crowley, Planned Parenthood, Republicans

Anonymous

Wonder if Kirsten was using BC while “dating” Anthony Wiener?
http://profile.yahoo.com/3EV7LMBN3SWQMEVDJCAKUCTCKM Top

“Liberal Catholics”?

uh?

It was the deluge of bit chin and whining from the teabagged xtian Taliban.

Now that President Obama as defused the “war on religion” BS the gNOp and Fox have to find another “outrage” for the next three weeks.
ozonator

American Catholic Bishops – no backdoor birth control

contractors of American Bishops – employees with healthcare getting birth control, gay services, veterans benefits, and meat on Fridays

extremist media outlets from GOP – old white guys who are deaf, barren, found ways to avoid military service, and paid to keep mutagenic and teratogenic chemicals in workplace and home.
http://www.sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ sarainitaly

Kirsten made some really great points.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7KWCSYIIV54FIWMTFXWJFAGHDM Roy Rogers

Funny how a bunch of “clinging to their religion” folks can continue to thrash Obama. Everything he continues to do and say digs himself into a deeper hole.
val smith

Yawn…
Anonymous

This is such a non subject, all this social talk is just a distraction.
Anonymous

Oh and you know they will be looking. Its gonna be a crazzzzzzzy year.
http://profile.yahoo.com/5EXJZBXDPAEQW62RIAZRGIZAKE Rick

A bunch of communists posting here with no respect for the Constitution. It was clearly a power grab attempt by Barry.
Anonymous

Funny thing is is that the president made no compromise whatsoever…. he simply said that it would be provided by the insurance companies as part of the coverage that the catholic institutions would be paying for…. and I am sure that if the actuaries decide that an increased premium will be needed that the catholic institutions will be expected to pay the higher premiums… not sure how this is a compromise… Oh! but not to worry the president has already decided that the insurance companies will save money… he did the math in his head, but now that he has spoken, that should be that…. but wait!, last I heard was that insurers responded with ”Say What, WTF?”

I thought that insurance was regulated at the state level because it was never considered to be one of the enumerated powers granted to the federal government….. and since it is not sold across state lines it certainly is not interstate commerce… but then again, maybe it falls under the preamble, the whole pursuit of life, liberty and happiness deal.
Anonymous

More inside the beltway BS.

Conservatives should google “Fox News poll contraception” for a nasty surprise.
http://profile.yahoo.com/3EV7LMBN3SWQMEVDJCAKUCTCKM Top

What took you wingnutz so long to figure it out?

Get your wingnut BS straight. The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT trumps any of you bass ackward secessionists.
Verreauxii

What a stupid comment to make.
Anonymous

She’s a sanctimonius libtwat!
http://www.proactivepolitics.blogspot.com/ Norbit Peters

“Liberal Catholic” is an oxymoron, you’re either with God or against him/her”.
Now I know that’s too long for a t-shirt, so I’ll have to work on it. heh-heh
Anonymous

Caring for the sick, feeding the hungry is a Oxymoron to Republicans.
Anonymous

You righties need to actually learn about something before spewing out nonsensical talking points from your favorite blogs.
Anonymous

Yoda, It is one thing to join a conversation, why don’t you argue the working woman’s side of the deal, at least then I could give your words some credibility, but I only have to look to the president’s own words to form my opinion. For me it is not a matter of woman’s rights, which there is some case to be made from your side, it is about the arbitrary power transfer that the Affordable Health Care Act transfers to the federal government and more specifically the executive branch… If you were to study the amount of power amassed by the federal government under the commerce clause then maybe you might begin to understand my concern… but to flippantly state that I am reading blogs just makes you look shallow and partisan.
http://twitter.com/12barbluz Lightnin’ James

That Crowley is the epitome of a far-right hate witch. She is so creepy.
http://www.proactivepolitics.blogspot.com/ Norbit Peters

No, preventing the profligate, irresponsible child-beaering, where you depend upon other people’s earnings to pay for your life expenses is the oxymoron!

http://www.proactivepoilitcs.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jj-Wisniewski/100002654075475 Jj Wisniewski

I’m a Catholic. What is a Liberal Catholic? The one who sits to my left in church.
Anonymous

Funny, it’s the Dems who built the so called “Great Society.” Just how great is it now after all the money you guys wasted?
Anonymous

Both John Kerry and Joe Biden both liberal Catholics are against Obama’s contraception mandate for Catholic organizations.
Anonymous

Yeah, be against Obama’s attack on the 1st. amendment makes one a hater. You are quite the juvenile.
Anonymous

You are quite the liberal troll with all your liberal TPs.
Anonymous

“Liberal Catholics”?”

I guess you never heard of Joe Biden or John Kerry and others who told Obama they were against his attempted abrogation of the 1st. amendment.
Andre Libert

Hi Top,

At age 71 the only wingnut I have ever heard of is mechanical fastener. Would you please educate me if that is incorrect. Wingnut BS straight. I drink my Wild Turkey straight, but don’t know what BS is except Batchelor of Science, unless you are referring to the word “bullshit” which is the language of both anyone in the White House and all of Congress. Again, please give me the “skinny” on all of your expressions so I can be “hip” too.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth

To these idiots and losers on Fox Fake News, everything that is not in alignment with their skewed views is liberal.
Anonymous

uh no. They were ‘against’ bringing it up NOW. The CC had a YEAR to hash this out but they decided to bring it to the fore and force Obama’s hand. And if you REALLY think this is about ‘religious liberty’ go check out the GOPs newest ‘bill’ to outlaw ALL insurance companies to ban ALL contraception coverage. Uh huh.
Anonymous

THANK YOU!!! I have thought that for YEARS.
Anonymous

What a tempest in a tea cup. Every Catholic University already provides contraception.