A new Politico piece recalls that Bishop Tobin's clash with Patrick Kennedy is not his first public lashing of a pol for his position on abortion. In 2007, he penned a piece in the diocesan newspaper Rhode Island Catholic taking on Rudy Giuliani and - in an aside - Senator Jack Reed:

"I have no idea why I received an invitation to Giuliani’s fundraiser.

Some musings on media happenings over the weekend:

• The White House may be shunning Fox News, but its surrogates are still pushing the administration's line. Rhode Island's senior senator, Jack Reed, was on Fox News Sunday this weekend doing battle with Rudy Giuliani over Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try some of the alleged 9/11 terrorists in civilian court.

The clash between Patrick Kennedy and Bishop Thomas J. Tobin is but the most public flare-up in a broader effort by the church to build abortion restrictions into health care reform. The Associated Press has a good overview:

WASHINGTON — The call came in from Rome, just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants were scrambling to round up scarce votes to pass their sweeping health overhaul.

Representative Patrick Kennedy responded, today, to Bishop Thomas J. Tobin's critique of the legislator in the diocesan newspaper Rhode Island Catholic.

Tobin had questioned Kennedy's Catholicism in the wake of a nasty war of words over health care reform and abortion. Kennedy's reponse, via the ProJo:

The bishop asked in his letter if Kennedy supported the church's essential teachings on faith and morals, including abortion, if he belonged to a parish, attended Mass on Sundays and regularly received the sacraments.

Patrick Kennedy and the Catholic Church got in an ugly spat over health care reform last week. And the diocese has invited Kennedy in to meet. From the Congressman's office, a letter back to the church. An olive branch? Sort of:

Thank you for your letter requesting a meeting with me to discuss the church’s position on comprehensive health care reform.

Liberal group Media Matters has an interesting response to the Washington Post piece by David Waters that I mentioned this morning on Congressman Patrick Kennedy's war of words with the Catholic Church over health care reform and abortion.

The backstory, in a nutshell: some Catholic bishops support universal health care, but say they'll oppose health insurance reform legislation that doesn't bar any government funds from being used to pay for abortions.

Interesting piece on the Washington Post blog, Under God, which considers the intersection of religion, government and politics. The authors suggest that Congressman Patrick Kennedy's critique of the Catholic Church's position on health care is misguided. As you may recall, Kennedy blasted the church for opposing any health reform package that does not include an explicit ban on federal funding for abortion:

Bishop Tobin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has lashed back at Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who decried the church's opposition to any health care reform package that does not include an explicit ban on federal funding for abortion.

“Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s statement about the Catholic Church’s position on health care reform is irresponsible and ignorant of the facts.

Patrick Kennedy, in an interview with conservative news outlet CNS News, takes the Catholic Church to task for plans to oppose the final health care bill if it does not include an explicit ban on federal funding for abortion.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I) told CNSNews.com that the Catholic Church is doing nothing but fanning “the flames of dissent and discord” by taking the position that it will oppose the health-care reform bill under consideration in Congress unless it is amended to explicitly prohibit funding of abortion.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who favors a public option in the push to reform health care, tells D.C. publication The Hill that Senator Max Baucus' relatively moderate health care proposal, which includes no public option, appears ascendant.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his centrist allies received a major boost Wednesday when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) delivered an analysis of his legislation, which does not include the public option.

Young Americans (18-34) are the most uninsured age group in the nation. No longer eligible for their parents' plans, new to work and stuck in lengthy waiting periods before coverage kicks in, or locked in to entry-level or part-time jobs that do not provide insurance, they are vulnerable to accident or illness. On Friday night, a fundraiser for a new organization seeking to mobilize young people on health care reform:

Interesting piece on The Atlantic's web site about a string of Republican endorsements of health care reform. One pundit, the site notes, compares the push to Barack Obama's effort to trot out "retired" Republicans like Lincoln Chafee during the presidential campaign:

We've Seen This Obama Tactic Before and it Works, writes The Washington Post's Ezra Klein: "This is reminiscent of the strategy the Obama campaign employed in the closing weeks of the presidential election.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will join Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for a first-of-its-kind, administration-sponsored live chat on health care at 5:30 p.m. From the Huffington Post:

The White House has announced that it will hold a live chat with Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.

Right-wing confrontations with Democrats at health care forums have soaked up quite a bit of ink and more than a few electrons of late. But Rhode Island's left is planning a counterstrike, today, with a pro-health care refrom press conference at 2 p.m. featuring union folks, progressive advocacy group Ocean State Action and the AARP, among other organizations.

Conservative rabble-rousers have been making headlines across the country in recent weeks with loud protests at town hall forums on health care hosted by Democratic lawmakers. The Rhody Right may have its opportunity now, with Congressman Jim Langevin planning forums here. But they'd better be careful - their screaming counterparts across the country have looked, well, a little nutty.