Reaction on the right to the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby has largely been positive, but on Sunday NBC News Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd pointed out one way the decision could backfire on social conservatives.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Todd – who is also the host of msnbc’s “The Daily Rundown” – said, “Let’s go to the raw politics of this.” He then reminded the assembled political panel how in the past conservatives have used perceived losses in Supreme Court cases as “a political reason for existing.”
“It gave them something to campaign for,” Todd said. He then said that the Hobby Lobby ruling could do the same for Democrats in the midterm elections this fall.
Related: For the Supreme Court, empathy and protection for some
“What was fascinating post-Hobby Lobby,” he continued, “was how, frankly, excited Democratic campaigns were acting. Almost like, ‘We have something to run on here on the left.’”
Todd then speculated that the critical swing voting bloc in November will likely be white women between the ages of 40-55, and he said this ruling could make the difference among those voters between the two major political parties.
In its decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other privately-controlled companies can legally exclude birth control coverage in insurance plans provided to employees as required by the Affordable Care Act. The court ruled that such exclusions are allowed under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act – a 1993 law that seeks to protect religious liberty from being infringed upon by other federal laws.
Nick Ramsey
Nick Ramsey is a senior producer with MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.”