As a jab to President Obama’s mandate health care bill, Republicans created a counter bill to give employers the option of not providing health care coverage that disagrees with their moral grounds. In a 51-48 Senate vote, the proposal was killed by Democrats with help from retiring moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Fashioned as a “conscious” amendment by Republicans, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri lead the charge on the controversial bill. "This is about the First Amendment,” he said. “It's about religious beliefs. It's not about any one issue.” Democrats contended that it would have given too much control to employers and their personal beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union also applauded Thursday’s ruling. "Overwhelmingly, women from every religious background use contraception to protect their health and plan their families and lives,” said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, the ACLU policy counsel. “The Senate did the right thing by American women today."

Are the Republican's roundabout ways of shooting down Obama’s bills a smart tactic? Does this allude to any more slick behavior in the upcoming election months?