Hobby Lobby Is Over-Rated As a Political Issue
Posted on July 2, 2014
"HobbyLobbyStowOhio" by DangApricot - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
This originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal's Think Tank
The last best hope for congressional Democrats this fall is changing the subject from the dismal performance of the president to something–anything–else.
Monday’s Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case gives them some hope that they can resurrect the “war on women” meme that they believe has helped them in the past.
Complicating this effort is the widely shared view that the court narrowly tailored this decision to limit its impact to the relatively few Americans who work in “closely held” corporations.
Another complication for Democrats? Nobody believes that anybody has a constitutional right to free birth control.
Monday’s ruling might throw the spotlight briefly on the internal workings of the Supreme Court. And, sure, some partisans on both sides will base their votes on the potential future make-up of the nation’s highest court.
But most people base their decisions about whether to vote and whom to vote for on bigger considerations: How is the economy doing? How do I feel about the president? Am I satisfied with the direction of the country?
Hobby Lobby might seem to some like a terrific chance for congressional Democrats to change the subject from the struggling economy, the president’s falling approval ratings and the pessimism that has infected the body politic, it’s doubtful that will be the case.