Hillary Clinton and Neera Tandan, president of the liberal Center for American Progress, exchanged a bewildered series of emails in early 2012, expressing disappointment over having to discuss issues related to contraception, and alluding to some Democrats’ lingering fear of the Catholic Church.
Clinton emailed Tanden on March 18, 2012, “Can you believe we are still fighting this battle?”
Tanden had emailed the secretary of state to point her in the direction of her column, entitled “The 1990s Roots of the Contraception Battle.”
The article speaks glowingly of Clinton’s efforts on the issue.
At the time of their exchange, the country was embroiled in a fresh controversy over the Obama administration’s mandate that employers provide contraception coverage and a pre-abortion ultrasound measure being proposed in Virginia.
Tanden wrote to Clinton, “There’s clearly a potent strain of misogyny in our country- and some events (contraception, your campaign) finally expose it. At least the WH is over its super panic on this.”
She added, “The Church still scares the crap out a lot of these guys.”
The Center of American Progress (CAP) is a well known hub of American center-left policy with close ties to the Clintons. Former CAP President John Podesta is Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign chair, and worked in both the Bill Clinton and Obama White Houses.
