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Video: MSNBC host asks whether we can trust Catholic justices in Hobby Lobby case
Hot Air ^ | March 25, 2014 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 03/26/2014 10:49:22 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

If one wants sober and careful analysis of legal issues, the last media outlet one would choose would be MSNBC — and Joy Reid demonstrates why. Taking a page from Jamie Stiehm and using a construct that would be called bigotry in any other context, Reid warns viewers that a Supreme Court full of Catholics are a threat to the progress toward a more secular nation, especially in the Hobby Lobby/Conestoga case being heard at the Supreme Court today. Can you really trust Catholics to interpret the law, Reid asks (via Truth Revolt and Jeff Dunetz):

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Now, the most famous use of corporate personhood was Citizens United, which opened the door to corporate people spending lots of money to sway elections. The new cases ask whether corporations are not just people, but people who can have religious beliefs. Can the Hobby Lobby Craft Store chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties of Pennsylvania claim that covering contraception in their employees’ health plans violates their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration act, which says government can’t substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion? And can a New Mexico photographer refuse to shoot a gay wedding through her corporate expression of herself? The Obama administration is arguing that corporations are, in fact, not people, and that they can’t shield themselves behind religious beliefs. The court that will decide includes six Catholic justices, some of whom have not been shy about asserting their religion. And all of this is taking place as the country becomes more secular. Even as the fervently religious fight even harder than ever to push creationism in taxpayer funded schools, and on science TV shows. And where the question of corporate personhood has gone from whether the railroad has to pay its taxes to whether corporations can be religious people. The question is do you trust this court to make those decisions?

The decision will almost certainly avoid the discussion of corporate personhood, as Lyle Denniston predicted last week at SCOTUSBlog, because the Supreme Court doesn’t need to go that far to reach a decision in either direction:

But the Court need not go that far, even if it should lean toward ruling in favor of an exemption within the business world from the ACA’s contraceptive mandate. It could decide that the Green family and the Hahn family have a right to exercise their religious beliefs in the way they run their business firms, and that this mandate intrudes on those rights.

Along the way, of course, the Justices would have to find a way around the conventional business law notion that corporations stand apart from their owners. But they could do that with a very narrow definition of the rights of the owners of a company that is so closely held that it is essentially not a public corporation, except in name. Again, though, that would grow out of the rights of the owners, not of the corporate entity itself.

It wouldn’t necessarily need to even go that far. The court could find that government cannot establish a crisis in contraception access that makes it a compelling state interest in the first place, which puts it at odds with the RFRA. We’ll have more on that later, though.

Jeff points out the hypocrisy at MSNBC evident in this clip:

If there was three African-Americans on the court and someone protested that those three black Justices could not fairly judge civil rights cases, there would be screams of racism coming from the media, and those screams would be justified.

However because Joy Reid was questioning Catholic judges, it’s no big deal. In the world of the mainstream media it’s only bigotry when directed toward certain groups, blacks, women, Muslims, Hispanics, etc. But Joy Reid’s comments were just as bigoted as anything coming from David Duke. Ms Reid should be chastised for her bigotry–but that will never happen because Catholics are not one of MSNBC’s “protected groups.”

It’s worth noting that the six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court rarely reach any kind of consensus, unless it is a consensus shared by the whole court. Reid bases her argument of religious bias on literally nothing at all but her own prejudice. One suspects it’s because of the desperation the Left has over the Hobby Lobby case and the HHS mandate in general, but it may just be that Reid has a bias against Catholics in public life apart from this, too.


TOPICS: Catholic; Moral Issues; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: catholics; conestoga; demagogicparty; hobbylobby; jimmycarter; memebuilding; msnbc; obama; obamacare; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; romancatholicism; scotus; supremecourt
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To: Tax-chick; GregB; Berlin_Freeper; SumProVita; narses; bboop; SevenofNine; Ronaldus Magnus; tiki; ...

h/t freeper Grey Friar for the ping!


41 posted on 03/26/2014 3:24:21 PM PDT by NYer ("You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears." James 4:14)
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To: ravenwolf

Well maybe, somehow, that will help in the long run.

I think a decision against Hobby Lobby will hurt Obamacare even further, enrage Christian/religious people, and propel that into action come November.

Now, the RERAL question is, if the Republicans add to their House majority and take the Senate, just how conservative will they be?

If there is then NOT a repeal of Obamacare, and the Republicans just fiddle around the edges, they lose the faithful, rank and file conservative voters.

They also need to pass major legislation, even a Constitutional amendment if need be, giving us BACK our religious freedom, and reining in an irresponsible Court.

Bottom line: They cannot blow the opportunity by once more being too timid to act. I don’t see how the party can remain long without giving something back to conservatives. Either they rear back from their rush to RINOstan and or we make our own conservative party.


42 posted on 03/26/2014 3:29:31 PM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: NKP_Vet
Kennedy is the one to worry about in this case.

Looked like he was playing both sides of the argument from an earlier thread.

43 posted on 03/26/2014 3:51:24 PM PDT by verga (Poor spiritual health is often manifested with poor physical health.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The way the founders set this up...as Chris Rock might say, nobody issues report cards on this stuff, but if large parts of the population have to start thinking about making a choice between following God and following the law, you messed up.


44 posted on 03/26/2014 4:12:43 PM PDT by RichInOC (2013-14 Tiber Swim Team)
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To: Alas Babylon!

Right, if they do nothing controlling both the house and senate they will most likely be defeated in 2016.

The average people i talk to are more worried about the economy than anything else and that also takes us back to our constitutional rights, so making amendments to reinforce the constitution would kill several birds with one stone.


45 posted on 03/26/2014 4:26:40 PM PDT by ravenwolf (ost void of pend)
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To: redleghunter

I think we Christians had better prepare for most all decisions going against turning this country around.


46 posted on 03/26/2014 4:40:40 PM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: RichInOC

Start thinking?

Doesn’t that require some kind of effort?


47 posted on 03/26/2014 5:12:02 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: ravenwolf
The average people i talk to are more worried about the economy than anything else and that also takes us back to our constitutional rights, so making amendments to reinforce the constitution would kill several birds with one stone.

There ya go.

This nation has a Spiritual problem and we are trying to fix it with Politics.

48 posted on 03/26/2014 5:13:15 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Maybe a wise latina will make a good decision!!!


49 posted on 03/26/2014 6:34:48 PM PDT by ealgeone (obama, borderof)
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To: Elsie

This nation has a Spiritual problem and we are trying to fix it with Politics.>>>>

Right, the faith seems to be in man and not God.


50 posted on 03/27/2014 5:16:43 AM PDT by ravenwolf (ost void of pend)
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To: ravenwolf

bttt


51 posted on 03/27/2014 10:10:47 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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