I'm still just flabbergasted that the Republicans are doubling down on the idea that running on an anti-contraception platform and basically calling women who want to use birth control sluts, as Santorum Super PAC funder Foster Friess more or less did this Thursday during his interview with Andrea Mitchell, and that somehow is a good idea for them to make some electoral gains in the upcoming election.

Chris Matthews has been pretty terrible with a lot of his coverage on the issue and carrying a lot of water for the Catholic bishops, between his interview with Melinda Henneberger, or having the gay Tory Andrew Sullivan on as some expert on women's reproductive issues later in the week.

He made up for it a bit today with the inclusion of Rep. Jackie Speier and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on his panel to discuss Darrell Issa and his Congressional hearing on "the intrusion of government into religion" and got some of their feedback on how women are being used as a political punching bag by the right.

All I can say is that when someone has finally over reached to the point where you've even lost Chis Matthews on the issue of abortion and contraceptive rights for women in America, you've lost that battle.

Matthews warned that candidate Rick Santorum had better do something quick to fix the mess that his funder Friess made on Mitchell's show, or he's going to lose every woman voter out there. I would apply that same logic to anyone who wants to vote for any Republican period that supports taking us back to the 1950's with these battles that should have long been over with women having a right to use contraception, or to anyone that actually ever considered voting for Rick Santorum before this dust up.

Jackie Speier made a really good point that is not included in the video above, and that was asking if the Catholic church has any objection to vasectomies for men being covered in health care plans, since that's a form of contraception as well. I'm guessing the answer is no, since they only seem to be concerned about the right for someone to control their own reproduction and bodies if it means keeping those uppity women in line who haven't learned their place yet.

Lawrence O'Donnell had on Santorum's Super PAC funder Friess that same night and I don't think he really did his candidate a whole lot of favors here. His response to O'Donnell asking what he meant with his statement to Mitchell was basically, it was a joke and Rick Santorum really does believe in providing contraception to women, even though he couldn't explain his statements contrary to that.

Video below the fold from O'Donnell's show.