I admit, the thought is not original with me.
It was pointed out in an article I read about the Houston mayor who started to go after religious institutions because she thought the churches were speaking out against her and violating provisions of their 501(c)(3) status.
The author said she thought the reason the Mayor backed down was due to someone basically hauling her aside and telling the Mayor to back off, because this was a court fight she would lose and therefore, government would lose control of the churches.
Pretty good article here: http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/21/houston-sermons-are-legally-speaking-fair-game/
The last paragraph is the clincher. I believe this article is the one I was alluding to when I mentioned the “deal with the devil.”
This would be a good thing. Obama is miscalculating, thankfully.