Yahoo! News 9:37 AM - 16 Sep 12 · Details
Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Friday offered a harsh indictment of President Obama’s values and leadership, arguing in a speech to the Values Voter Summit that his opponent is bent on expanding the size of government to usurp the power of religious organizations in America.
Making an explicit appeal to Catholic opponents of abortion rights, Ryan cited the controversial executive order from the White House earlier this year that required religiously affiliated organizations to provide employees with insurance plans that include birth control.
“In the president’s telling, government is a big, benevolent presence--gently guiding our steps at every turn,” Ryan said. “In reality, when government enters the picture, private institutions are so often brushed aside with suspicion or even contempt. This is what happened to the Catholic Church and Catholic Charities this past January, when the new mandates of Obamacare started coming. Never mind your own conscience; they were basically told, from now on you’re going to do things the government’s way.”
Ryan echoed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in calling the mandate “a threat and insult to every religious group,” arguing that the Catholic Church and its affiliated charities have done more for women and children than almost any other group in America. His pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act drew a loud standing ovation, one of several in his 25-minute speech.
The Obama campaign fired back by noting that Ryan's budget has drawn heavy criticism from some Catholics for proposing to cut funds for programs that help the poor.
"Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan to be his running mate because he’s the intellectual leader of the Republican Party. That leadership included a budget that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said failed a ‘basic moral test,’ ’’ said Obama spokesman Danny Kanner. “Today, speaking at a values summit, he unleashed a series of over-the-top, dishonest attacks against the president that once again reminded voters that he’s just not ready for prime time.”
