The truth is, the Republican Party has lost its mind. They present themselves as the party of “limited government,” but they’re now engaged in an all-out maneuver to vastly expand the government’s intrusion into women’s private lives. And it isn’t just about abortion any more — they’ve set their sights on birth control.

This is simple insanity. Something like 98% of American women use birth control at some point in their lives. How in the world can these Neanderthal misogynists believe the country is behind their efforts to drag women back to the Dark Ages? I keep trying to figure out what their game is, but at this point it just looks like sheer derangement.

Their latest move: trying to attach an anti-birth control amendment to a highway bill: Birth Control Amendment ‘Dangerous,’ Obama Spokesman Says.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, in a statement to The Huffington Post, weighed in heavily against a toughly-worded measure being considered in the Senate that would greatly restrict women’s access to critical health care services.

“Let’s be clear about what’s at stake,” said Carney. “The proposal being considered in the Senate applies to all employers — not just religious employers. And it isn’t limited to contraception. Any employer could restrict access to any service they say they object to. That is dangerous and it is wrong. Decisions about medical care should be made by a woman and her doctor, not a woman and her boss.”

The measure, proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would amend the Affordable Care Act to allow any employer to exclude any health service coverage, no matter how critical or basic, by claiming that it violates their religious or moral convictions. Moreover, according to the National Women’s Law Center, the amendment would remove critical non-discrimination protections from the Affordable Care Act. For instance, an insurer could deny maternity care coverage to a same-sex couple, an interracial couple or a single woman for religious or moral reasons.

Coming just days after last week’s debate over the White House decision that religious-affiliated hospitals and schools had to provide contraception coverage in plans for employees, the Blunt amendment resembled a serious ratcheting-up of the culture war debates. But if the GOP calculation was that the Obama administration was in retreat (the president was forced to revise the ruling on Friday under political pressure), Carney’s statement suggested the opposite.