Today may be Halloween, but HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius didn’t bother disguising her annoyance at Thursday’s testy House hearing. In one of the most anticipated testimonies in years, the woman behind the biggest technological foul-up in American history was visibly irritated as she sat through a three-hour recitation of her agency’s failures. At the outset, Sebelius tried to soften the criticism by doing what President Obama has not: owning up to the government’s shortcomings.

“Access to HealthCare.gov has been a miserably frustrating experience for way too many Americans,” Sebelius acknowledged. “Hold me accountable for this debacle,” she said. “I’m responsible.” Asked if the President should share in the blame for the program’s disastrous launch, the Secretary seemed to sum up the White House’s entire response to the debacle when she replied, “… whatever.”

For the HHS chief, sympathetic Democrats were few and far between. Members fired off tough questions from both sides of the aisle, as the President’s party desperately tried to distance itself from the National Lampoon of health care laws. Conservatives, meanwhile, drove home their frustration on many of the same complaints they had at the bill’s outset: costs, higher premiums, shrinking insurance pools, lack of options, etc. Among the more stunning statements of the day, Sebelius insisted that the system (which was actually down during the hearing, as one congressman showed) never “crashed.” “It’s functional,” Sebelius said, “just at a slower speed.”

Tell that to Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who was told by the ObamaCare call center this morning that he “shouldn’t even try to use the website today.” Later, when Sebelius was prodded about enrollment numbers, the agency chief admitted, “We have no reliable data.” (Not exactly a comforting thought, coming from the agency collecting applications.) What about the millions of people who have been – or are about to be dropped – from their current insurance plan? Sebelius dodged with, “Consumers have a right to shop anywhere for plans,” Sebelius said. “No one is rolled over into a plan.” A fact more than two million people now dispute. (Apparently, “If you like your plan, we’ll force you to buy a more expensive one,” just didn’t have the same ring.)

On the question of taxpayer-funded abortion, which the Secretary openly crusaded for, Sebelius pleaded ignorance. In the middle of Thursday morning’s tweetfest urging HHS to #BeTransparent about abortion coverage, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) pressed for honesty. “If someone… has strongly-held pro-life views, can you commit to us to make sure that the federal exchanges that [are offered] are clearly identified so people can understand if they’re going to buy a policy that has abortion coverage or not, because right now you cannot make that determination.” “Sir,” Sebelius shrugged, “I don’t know.”

That’s interesting, because we know. FRC’s Anna Higgins contacted the exchange programs in D.C., and they all had the same response: their policy includes abortion coverage. Knowing that the exchanges are required by law to offer at least one plan that doesn’t cover abortion, Anna pressed one representative for the name of a policy that didn’t. “The representative replied that all the [exchange plans] cover elective abortion because it is deemed an ‘essential benefit.’” Anna then asked very pointedly, “So, there’s nothing I can do … I’m going to have to pay for abortion no matter what?” The agent responded, “Yes, because it is listed as an essential benefit.” Anna reiterated, “Even in the [multi-state plans]?” “Yes,” the woman replied.

So much for the administration’s assurances that Americans won’t be forced to bankroll abortion against their will. “And if it’s happening here,” Anna warns, “then it’s surely happening elsewhere.” On Halloween, nothing is more haunting than that.

Mission Improbable: Pentagon Launches ‘Diversity’ Push

The Obama military embraces diversity in every area but ideology. For months, the Pentagon has been quietly cracking down on Christians, conservatives, and anyone else who dares to hold a moral worldview in the post-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ranks. Just last week, the problem of religious intolerance became such an overwhelming distraction that the Secretary of the Army had to issue a formal directive to the entire branch ordering leaders to stop labeling faith groups as “extremists.”

That will be more difficult to enforce now if Jessica Wright, acting undersecretary for defense for personnel and readiness, gets her way. The head of military HR made it quite clear where she stands on the tension between freedom and liberalism in a chilling message to troops. As part of a new initiative called “Mission Critical: Transatlantic Security and Diversity,” Wright insisted that promoting homosexuality is essential to national security. “It is a security imperative for military leaders to proactively advance diversity and inclusion (D&I) best practices,” because of the “rapid demographic change [and] advances in gender and LGBT equality.” “No matter what you do,” Wright said, “you have to be cognizant of diversity.”

Translation: embrace homosexuality or else. Tolerance, or even acceptance, is no longer an option. The scary part of Wright’s new campaign is that it could take on a whole new meaning if she’s confirmed for the post long-term. As head of DEOMI, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (and source of the controversial anti-Christian briefings), Wright’s powers and influence would extend to official military employment and training policy on homosexuality – which could be even more disastrous for the service’s Christians.

Unfortunately, conservatives got a preview of Wright’s radical leanings in July when 90 House members asked her to explain what her office was doing to protect religious liberty against attack. In four very dismissive paragraphs, Wright waved away the elected leaders her agency is answerable to – and in the process, showed the same contempt for congressional oversight as her commander-in-chief often does. If she’s confirmed, there’s no limit to the damage she could do. Let’s hope Congress recognizes the ridiculousness of asking an extremist to police extremism. Contact your senators and urge them to vote against Jessica Wright’s confirmation.

Cuccinelli Polling His Weight in Virginia

Pundits were already writing Ken Cuccinelli’s ® obituary in the Virginia governor’s race when Terry McAuliffe’s alleged double-digit lead started evaporating. Yesterday, conservatives woke up to the news that with less than a week until the Commonwealth’s elections, Cuccinelli is making the race a lot more interesting. News outlets like Politico are calling it a “nailbiter,” as McAuliffe’s lead is down to just four points, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll (45-41%). Just last week, other survey houses had McAuliffe up by 20 points or more.

Most everyone agrees that the race – not just for Cuccinelli, but for conservatives E.W. Jackson (Lieutenant Governor) and Mark Obenshain (Attorney General) – will all come down to turnout. The campaign may be a local one, but it has national implications in a state that’s led in the fight against ObamaCare. If you live in Virginia, make your voice – and your vote – heard! Even if you don’t live there, consider donating much-needed funds to Cuccinelli, who is being outspent. For extra motivation, read up on Cuccinelli’s competition in Ken Blackwell’s op-ed, “Terry McAuliffe’s Extreme Agenda” at Townhall.com.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.