Here is what is going on politically: In this public appearance Nancy Pelosi says the Catholic Church wants to ban contraceptives.

This is part of a political ploy in election year. The HHS Mandate was a set up. It wasn’t about women’s health. It wasn’t about contraceptives per se. It was a way to set the Catholic Church against the Obama administration and then, by November, to portray the Catholic Church and the Republican party as being in an anti-contraception alliance.

Nothing wins over the crowds more effectively than a common enemy, and who better a common enemy than the Catholic Church with their weird “anti contraception” and no free sex rules?

They will try to say that not only is the Catholic Church opposed to contraception, but it wants to ban it. Pelosi’s comments prove it. The stage for this make believe drama was first set by George Stephanapolos’ question to Romney in a debate. He asked, “Do you think a State has a right to ban contraception?” Romney was floored. Where did he get such a crazy idea? Stephanapolos hammered away, not allowing evasion. Then at last week’s debate the CNN moderator asked a similar question: “Which candidate is in favor of contraception?”

This political ploy will accomplish several things for the President: 1. By shifting the abortion debate away from abortion to contraception the two things will be merged. Indeed, they may well use Catholic and pro-life rhetoric in order to show that abortion and contraception are linked. The reasoning on the left will be: “Nobody is against contraception. Abortion is a form of contraception. Abortion is legal. So cut the anti abortion argument. It just doesn’t apply because everybody is already in favor of contraception. 2. The Republicans  (especially if Santorum continues to rise and is even nominated) will be portrayed as being allied to the Catholic Church. This will allow all the historic anti-Catholic rhetoric to be brought out, but this time not by anti-Catholic Protestants, but by radical atheists and secularists who hate the Catholic Church. 3. After the election the POTUS will see the imminent defeat of this HHS Mandate, and happily put it on one side and grant everybody an exemption who wants one, because it wasn’t about health care for poor women to start with.

It was about winning the election.