One assumes that if Pres. Obama used the National Day of Prayer to promote abortion rights, Fox News would go to full outrage mode in claiming that the President had politicized a supposedly non-partisan event open to all religious groups. But in a stunning demonstration of Christian right duplicity, Dr. James Dobson hijacked the Capital event in order to attack Obama over abortion and spread the anti-choice lie that abortion is paid for with tax dollars. Thursday night, Megyn Kelly did challenge Dobson; but one wonders if the piece was more about Dobson being able to push his talking points on national TV.Yesterday, any doubts of Fox's support for Dobson were erased during alleged real news guy Bill Hemmer's piece which, while ostensibly fair & balanced, was just another Fox platform to spread "pro-life" lies and advance the Fox meme that the President hates Christians.
Devout Catholic bachelor Bill Hemmer is not shy about his support for the movement that seeks to eradicate reproductive choice for American women and has advanced the popular Fox LIE that the Affordable Care Act includes abortion. So it wasn't surprising that he would try to put a position spin on Dobson's rather than question if it were appropriate. He began by reporting that Dobson, "a Christian leader," made a "strong statement about the President" at the National Day of Prayer breakfast when he referred to Obama as "the abortion president." Just to make sure that you know that Obama is an evil baby killer, Hemmer played part of Dobson's speech. He set the basic propaganda message so popular on Fox; i.e. birth control = abortion: "A lot of this has to do with the contraception mandate that's included in Obamacare" - a mandate unapologetically opposed by Fox News.
GOP consultant Tony Sayegh said that he didn't have "a problem with the message" but questioned the propriety of articulating it during what is purported to be a bi-partisan gathering. He then began the attack on Obama with a *BIG FAT *LIE: "Under President Obama we have seen a radical expansion of abortion services, it's made it's way into Obamacare and it's made it's way into the mandates that individual companies and private companies now have to provide for abortion services and contraception through these mandates." Bill, looking thoughtful, did not challenge these lies.
After Democrat consultant Jessica Ehrlich criticized Dobson's timing, Hemmer cited Dobson's comment about how hard is for anti-choicers to understand how pro-lifers feel. (Awww) And, in case you don't know that Obama is an evil baby killer, Hemmer Dobson is saying that the President is "determined that people of faith and people of conscience are going to have to go along with it and be a part of it." He continued to "explain" Dobson's message: "people of conscience are going to have to go along with it and be a part of it." Hemmer brought home the propaganda bacon: "What he's saying, Tony, is what the White House is saying is that it doesn't matter what your position is, you're going to have to live with it." Sayegh validated the Fox message: "What the White House is saying is that you should sit down and shut up."
After blithering about how America is a pro-life country, Sayegh claimed that Obama also "disrespected" prayer day because he ended a tradition of having it at the White House. Nobody mentioned that Clinton held no White House prayer day events while GHW Bush and Reagan only hosted one each. Hemmer reinforced the anti-choice Fox message when he asked Ehrlich about whether this "take it or leave it attitude" (Notice that Hemmer spun this as a fact when it is only Dobson's belief) energizes the base. After more back and forth, Hemmer, looking wistful, concluded with another quote from Dobson's hissy fit after which he commented "strong message."
Funny, when people "of faith" objected to the Iraq War, Fox ignored them. But right wing radical Pat Dobson speaks and, thanks to Fox, his message is amplified. Gotta love that "fair & balanced" Fox "News."
*Fact Check -1) Over the last three years, more abortion restrictions have been passed than during the past decade. Thanks to laws targeting so called "safety standards" (TRAP laws) Mississippi might have to close down it's only abortion clinic and women in the Rio Grande valley have no abortion access and are resorting to illegal, flea market abortion pills. 2) The ACA does not include abortion pills. It does cover emergency birth control which is considered an abortion drug only by the Catholic Church and certain evangelicals and NOT by the medical community.
Still, Dobson’s a mega buffoon.