In a Feb. 15 NewsBusters post, the Media Research Center’s Matthew Balan claims that a CBS/New York Times poll finding that 61% of Catholics approve President Obama’s contraception policy is “slanted.” Why?
The left-leaning outlets’ poll question, however, completely glossed over the religious liberty component to the controversy over the policy, asking only, “What about for religiously-affiliated employers, such as a hospital or university? Do you support or oppose a recent federal requirement that their health insurance plans cover the full cost of birth control for their female employees?”
Reframing the contraception issue as a religious liberty issue is a right-wing talking point that the MRC has aggressively embraced.
In other words, Balan’s real complaint is not that the poll was slanted, but that it didn’t slant to the right.