Nelson: Obama birth control compromise “seems to solve the problem”

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by William March

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 05:40 PM

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson issued a cautious statement today saying the President Barack Obama’s compromise on insurance coverage of birth control “seems to solve the problem” of church-affiliated organizations who objected to having their employee policies provide the coverage.

On Thursday, Nelson, who faces a potentially tough re-election fight, was one of a handful of Democratic senators who rebelled against the administration’s position.

The problem stems from a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, the national health care reform plan, that employee health policies cover preventive health care, including birth control. It exempted churches, but not church-affiliated organizations that hire and serve large numbers of people who are not members of the religion.

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said Thursday that Nelson believed the exemption should cover the affiliated organizations—“It’s a matter of religious freedom”—and that Nelson believes there must be a way to protect women’s health and religious freedom.

The compromise announced Friday said affiliated non-profit organizations could use policies that didn’t cover birth control, but the insurance companies would be required to make it available to employees with no premium increase and without involving the employer.

Administration officials said birth control, which prevents unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, should be considered cost-neutral for the insurance companies.

“This seems to solve the problem where religious affiliated institutions won’t have to provide coverage if it’s not in keeping with its beliefs and women will have access to contraception.  But I still intend to review the specifics of the rule,” Nelson said in a new statement today.

During the day today, leaders from opposing sides of the debate reacted positively but cautiously.

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, head of the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, said the bishops were reserving judgment but that Obama’s move was a good first step.

Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the proposal “does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits,” but said the group intends to be vigilant about implementation of the policy.

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Sharpe suspending campaign

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by William March

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 03:11 PM

As expected, Republican Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe has announced he’s suspending his campaign for Congress, in which he would have faced Democratic incumbent Rep. Kathy Castor.

Sharpe said he’s making the move because the district, under the new districting plan just passed in the state Legislature, makes Castor’s district so heavily Democratic the race would be a waste of time.

“I wanted to run and I’m eager to get in and deliver a message, but you have to ask yourself what’s the wisest use of your time and, more importantly, other people’s money,” Sharpe said in an interview.

It’s possible the district lines could change again as result of an expected lawsuit by Democrats and others alleging the Republican-led Legislature gerrymandered the districts. Sharpe said he would return to the race if the district became more competitive—ideally, contiguous with Hillsborough County.

Meanwhile, he’ll suspend campaign activities including fundraising. Sharpe had raised about $90,000 and ha $60,301 left in his campaign account as of Dec. 31, according to campaign finance reports. If he doesn’t return to the race, he said, he’ll give all his contributors partial refunds based on the amount of money left in his campaign account.

Sharpe made his announcement on a talk radio show.

In response to a question about why the district was drawn to be so heavily Democratic, Sharpe said it was done that way to make surrounding districts safe for Republicans: “They see it as giving away one to save the others.”

He recommended a fairer districting plan. “Let’s just make the maps more contiguous and respect the county boundaries,” he said.

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Sharpe to make announcement, may be out of House race

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by William March

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 06:16 PM

Republican Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe will make an announcement Friday about his race for the U.S. House against Democratic incumbent Rep. Kathy Castor, and friends and supporters expect he’ll leave the race.

In recent days, Sharpe has been saying the newly redrawn Tampa-based congressional District 14 is just too tough for a Republican. The district already was heavily Democratic, and appears to have become even more so in the redistricting currently being undertaken by the Legislature.

Previously, Sharpe had said he wouldn’t let a heavily Democratic district stop him from running.

Making his announcement of the race in August, he said, “I’m fully prepared to run, however the mapmakers draw the map.”

Speaking to a gathering of Republicans in December, he said, “I’m hopeful that we’ll have a fair map, but I don’t care if the whole district is in South St. Petersburg,” a heavily Democratic area. “I’m going to beat (Castor).

“I don’t want a safe district. I want to represent everybody, black, white and Hispanic,” he added.

Lately, however, Sharpe has sounded different, calling the newly redrawn district “very challenging.”

“We’re not even talking uphill, it’s straight vertical,” he said last week, speaking of “a likely suspension of our campaign,” at least until the expected court challenge to the new district plan is settled.

Sharpe has said he didn’t want to ask friends and supporters to contribute financially to his campaign if he has no chance of winning.

The district originally was drawn in 1992 as a minority access district with large black and Hispanic populations. The goal of the Republican-dominated legislators who created it was to allow a potential minority candidate to win, but also to make surrounding districts safe for Republicans, by taking out Democrats and packing them into the Tampa district.

Several Sharpe supporters and donors said they’ve heard nothing concrete, but that the talk among Republicans is that Sharpe will leave the race.

“I’ve heard rumblings from a number of sources that he’ll bow out,” said supporter and friend Joe Chillura. “Knowing his meticulous nature, it’s what I’d expect.”

Working the crowd at the State Fair Governor’s Lunch Thursday, Sharpe declined to reveal the substance of his announcement, saying he will “explain everything” in it.

He’ll appear on an 11 a.m.-1 p.m. radio show hosted by local GOP consultant Chris Ingram on News Talk radio, 1470 AM.

 

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Largo Military Museum Gets New Name, Mission

Posted Feb 8, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 04:55 PM

In an effort to expand its audience, The Armed Forces Military Museum in Largo has changed its name to the Armed Forces History Museum.

“We wanted to broaden the scope,” says Cindy Bosselmann, the museum’s director of marketing and promotional events. “A strictly military museum was not broad enough. We want to attract a variety of different demographics and ages. This will make us a little more viable.”

In addition to the military displays, the museum will now showcase local history and offer a series of rotating exhibits.

The first one, says Bosselmann, will showcase the Red Cross. Next month, the museum will highlight the Girl Scouts, followed by Florida tourism.

There will also be community cases for local organizations to display their goods, and special events to help raise funds.

And of course, Bosselmann says, the tanks and jets and choppers contained in the museum’s 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space will remain.

To introduce the changes, the museum will hold a special event Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Guests will receive $5 off adult and youth admission.  The first 100 paid guests receive a limited edition t-shirt (one per family).  Enjoy cake, cookies and refreshments while supplies last.  Become a member and receive a souvenir coffee mug and member t-shirt. 

The Armed Forces History Museum is located at 2050 34th Way N., Largo. Phone (727) 539-8371 for more information or go online.

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Planned Parenthood: Polls show Catholics, voters favor contraception coverage

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by William March

Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 03:10 PM

Planned Parenthood today went on a public relations offensive over the issue of a federal requirement for health insurance plans to cover contraception, sponsoring one poll and publicizing another that it says show voters, including Catholics, favor the coverage.

A poll done for Planned Parenthood by Public Policy Polling indicates that a majority of voters and of Catholic voters don’t believe Catholic institutions such as hospitals and schools should be exempted.

The poll said 56 percent of voters support requiring health plans to cover prescription birth control, with 37 percent opposed. Catholic voters, it said, support the requirement by 53-44 percent.

The respondents were also asked whether they believe “institutions such as Catholic hospitals and universities should be exempted ... because contraception runs counter to Catholic teachings” or whether “women of all faiths who are employed by
Catholic hospitals and universities should have the same rights to contraceptive coverage as other women.”

Responses were 57-39 percent opposed to the exemption among all voters, and 53-45 percent opposed among Catholic voters, said pollster Tom Jensen.

The poll, done Feb. 3-5, covered 1,085 registered voters, for an error margin of 3 points. That included 359 Catholic voters, for an error margin of 5.2 points among that group.

Respondents in the poll also said by a 40-23 percent margin that presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s stance against the coverage requirement would make them less likely to vote for him.

The findings suggest, “He’s playing with fire,” Jensen said. “It doesn’t square with the image as moderate on social issues he’s trying to achieve.”

The poll didn’t mention Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has also staked out a high-profile public position opposing the requirement, filing legislation in the Senate to guarantee the exemption to religious institutions.

Asked about the results, Rubio spokesman Alex Conant responded, “We aren’t interested in the polling on the issue. The senator introduced his legislation because defending religious freedoms is the right thing to do,” and the requirement is “an overreach that violates Constitutional rights.”

Public Policy Polling is a North Carolina-based, Democratic-oriented polling and political consulting firm, which says its published polls are neutral. You can see Jensen’s memo on the findings here.

Planned Parenthood also publicized the findings of a poll done by the Public Religion Research Institute, which also found majorities in favor of the coverage.

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