President Barack Obama’s efforts this week to inject a religious argument into the health care reform debate has successfully fired up activists — on the other side of the issue.
“Apparently the president thinks the Bible says government should help the poor, instead of the Bible calling upon Christians to give to the poor,” said Don Swarthout, president of Christians Reviving America’s Values.
Saying, “I am my brother’s keeper,” Obama told progressive religious leaders on a conference call that passing health care reform was a moral and ethical obligation.
The remarks, combined with the administration’s inability to effectively thwart the beliefs that reform will fund abortion and euthanasia, had the unintended consequences of mobilizing religious and social conservatives against the White House.
On Facebook, the Priests for Life created a prayer group calling on elected officials in the reform debate to reject abortion and euthanasia. Others noted that Obama has never picked a Washington church for his family.
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, warned members that health care reform would allow “abortionists to have access to schoolchildren.”
There is no provision in any of the health care reform bills circulating through Congress that would publicly fund abortion.
The nonpartisan Factcheck.org noted one federal law and a range of prohibitions against using federal funds for abortion.
But persistent public concerns rising from the ambiguity and complexity of the health care debate once again had Obama back on his heels, explaining an old position — rather than building support.
“There are no plans under health care reform to revoke the existing prohibition on using federal taxpayer dollars for abortions,” Obama told the religious progressives. “It’s just not true.”
Obama, who has spent much of August bogged down in trying to refute rumors of death panels and euthanasia in health care reform, told Philadelphia radio host Michael Smerconish on Thursday that “pure misinformation” has been a problem.
“You know, passing a big bill like this is always messy,” Obama said. “FDR was called a socialist when he passed Social Security. JFK and Lyndon Johnson, they were both accused of a government takeover of health care when they passed Medicare.”
Other myths the White House is battling include claims reform will provide coverage for illegal immigrants and that the initiative is a government takeover of health care.
Recent polls have shown many Americans still believe health care reform will include such provisions — a major stumbling block for the White House, which had hoped to use the month of August to make progress on reform.
Obama’s conference call with more than two dozen faith leaders started a 40-day campaign of advertising, activism, prayer vigils and more by clergy who support the president’s health care reform ideas.
“This is the process that we go through, because understandably the American people have a long tradition of being suspicious of government, until the government actually does something that helps them,” Obama said.
He added, “I’m confident we’re going to get it done.”
