Tim Kaine splits with Obama on birth control rule for religious groups

[Freddie Stubbs]

Former Virginia governor Timothy M. Kaine criticized the Obama administration’s new policy requiring some religious institutions to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives, a rare instance of disagreement between the Senate candidate and his close political ally.

The insurance rule has sparked fierce criticism from religious groups., particularly the Catholic Church, who say the policy will require them to violate their own beliefs. Republicans have used the controversy to attack the White House, with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowing Wednesday that the new policy “will not stand.”

Kaine, the likely Democratic nominee in the contest to succeed retiring Sen. James Webb (D), was Obama’s choice to lead the Democratic National Committee, and Kaine has generally agreed with the administration on most policy issues. Former governor George Allen, the frontrunner for the Republican Senate nomination, has sought repeatedly to use that fact against Kaine.

But in a radio interview recorded Tuesday for the “HearSay with Cathy Lewis” program on WHRV in Hampton Roads, Kaine made clear he disagreed with forcing religious institutions to pay for birth control.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics