Stupak...first man out.....challenges from the left and right....will retire

Good, I did not want to spend the fall/winter in Northern MI campaigning against him. At one time, I thought I would be up there campaigning FOR him but when he did his Benedict Arnold then I thought I have to go campaign AGAINST him. I grew up in WI so I know what the winters can be like.......

Fox News:
Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, who was the central figure in the abortion debate surrounding the health care law, will retire from Congress at the end of this term.
Stupak, who's been in Congress for 18 years, will make the announcement at a 12:30 p.m. ET press conference in Marquette, Mich.
Stupak told The Associated Press that attacks on him for his role in the abortion debate did not influence his decision and he could win re-election if he tried.

Raise your hand!

Bart....don't bet on it

 We are entering Holy Week.  I just read the column by  Kathleen Parker about Stupak and she nailed it. Stupak was like Peter in the Garden who panicked and abandoned Jesus and denied knowing him after first being willing to fight for Him. Like Peter he was weak at the moment he should have been strong. Will he like Peter  repent and become strong? It sure doesn't look like it. It seems he has decided that his pro life principles are expendable for fleeting power and with two challenges to his seat, one from the left and one from the right,  he may find out what a "has been"  is.         Bart.....don't bet on it.

Read the Kathleen Parker column here. A must read.


"Stupak's clumsy fall from grace is a lesson in human frailty. In a matter of hours, he went from representing the majority of Americans who don't want public money spent on abortion to leading the army on the other side.
Something must have gone bump in the night.
Whatever it was, demonizing Stupak seems excessive and redundant given punishments to come. Already he has lost a speaking invitation to the Illinois Catholic Prayer Breakfast next month. His political future, otherwise, may have been foretold by a late-night anecdote.
After the Sunday vote, a group of Democrats, including Stupak, gathered in a pub to celebrate. In a biblical moment, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner was spotted planting a big kiss on Stupak's cheek.
To a Catholic man well versed in the Gospel, this is not a comforting gesture."

Right to Life of Michigan PAC rescinds Rep. Stupak's endorsement

 Wonder if he cares.....he is the darling of the left now.....

On Wednesday, March 24, the Right to Life of Michigan Political Action Committee notified U.S. Representative Bart Stupak that his endorsement was rescinded. In a letter sent to Rep. Stupak, the RLM-PAC qualified how the endorsement criteria was no longer met. The letter noted the endorsement had been based on Rep. Stupak's voting record, previous interview and completion of a questionnaire in which Rep. Stupak indicated he would oppose any efforts to include federally funded abortion in national health care plans; support efforts to specifically exclude federally funded abortion in national health care plans; and be willing to vote against federal funding of abortion except where necessary to save the life of the mother.

On March 21, Rep. Stupak failed to meet those requirements by voting for President Barack Obama's health care bill, H.R. 3590. In accordance with the Right to Life of Michigan Political Action Committee bylaws and by the March 23 unanimous vote of the RLM-PAC Board, the Right to Life of Michigan Political Action Committee rescinded Rep. Stupak's endorsement, effective immediately.

Another member of the U.S. House from Michigan who calls himself prolife, yet voted in support of H.R. 3590, is Representative Dale Kildee. While Rep. Kildee was endorsed by the Right to Life of Michigan PAC in the past, he did not meet the RLM-PAC criteria in 2008 and was not endorsed by the RLM-PAC in that election. Representative Kildee does not meet RLM-PAC's definition of prolife.

Okay one more and then I will quit obsessing about Stupak's betrayal

From Michael Moore .....who is originally from Michigan. He takes credit for Stupak's deathbed conversion in this article...."Stupak stood on the floor of the House last night and, in a surreal moment, spoke against the "Stupak Amendment"! Once he got through his medieval meanderings about where babies come from, he gave one helluva speech."

Things that can keep you awake at night...or plots from bad movies

You traded 30 years of pro-life law for a promise from the most pro-abortion president in history.
~IN Congressman Mike Pence to MI Congressman Bart Stupak.

I can't stop thinking about Stupak and how I believed in him and how this all turned out. I am a news junkie. My daughter likes movies. No movie could have a plot like this. The plot of this real life story is just too much! First Stupak is clearly opposed to the Nelson language on abortion in the Senate bill and holds firm against supporting it and then accepts an Executive Order (kind of like I promise you letter) from the most pro abortion president to date (100% rating from NARAL and the former state senator  who stopped the Born Alive Infant Protection Act as in infanticide) and at best all it does is restate (codify) the Nelson language he found objectionable in the first place. Then what I can't get over is that the Stupak language in the House bill named after HIM because he drafted and supported it gets thrown under the bus by him in a motion to recommit, he opposes the very language he supported and fought for. This is like the movie where someone is a double agent and you simply cannot believe your eyes. To make the plot even more unbelievable he gets up and in an emotional moment claims that it is his party of Democrats that are truly pro life!! It is like I went out for popcorn and came back into the wrong movie. What is going on here?? Then someone from the Republican side yells baby killer and he is the bad guy now. Someone please tell me this is a bad dream!
Jill Stanek does a great job of tackling this plot line  in this post. It is worth the ride and seeing the videos because I have to see it to believe it. But then I started  thinking what about his bloc. Were they all in on the conspiracy. What about the Stupak bloc that blindly followed him off the pro life cliff into the land of moral relativism.  It is worth mentioning them...........
Carney (PA), Costello (IL), Dahlkemper (PA), Donnelly (IN), Doyle (PA), Driehaus (OH), Ellsworth (IN), Hill (IN), Kanjorski (PA), Kaptur (OH), Kildee (MI), Langevin (RI), Mollohan (WV), Oberstar (MN), Ortiz (TX), Perriello (VA), Pomeroy (NC), Rahall (WV), Stupak (MI), and Wilson (OH)....
Dahlkemper is the one who made this wonderful speech from the floor on Women's History month just a few days ago explaining her staunch pro life views is equal to be pro woman. She seems to throw that off like last year's winter coat!
Another short post worth the read from Wesley Smith  is posted here. He points out that what is really unforgiveable is that Stupak lead us all on for so long and then left us standing at the altar. Another bad movie line. Maybe there is no such thing as a pro life Democrat. Maybe that is an oxymooron. How can you embrace the party that supports abortion?

We Stood with Stupak: He Didn't Stand for Life.

Opinion: We Stood with Stupak: He Didn't Stand for Life.

By Jennifer Hartline
3/22/2010

Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Is there anyone who will simply stand for LIFE, no matter the cost, no matter the fallout?

I'm not sorry I stood with Stupak. I'm sorry he didn't stand for Life.Executive Orders cannot trump statutory law. Surely Stupak knows this. Surely he understands how easily the order can be rescinded and challenged in court.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - I have had some time to recover from what occurred on Sunday evening, but I still feel sick to my stomach.  I always knew there was a chance that Bart Stupak would change his vote for some reason other than securing his amendment, but I honestly thought he would hold his ground and not waver in his defense of unborn children.  Senator Nelson's betrayal last year was very upsetting, but this... this is just so painful.

The trouble is, we citizens have no choice but to believe in our politicians.  We must risk trusting them to be true to their word, to their principles, to the promises they've made.  You and I cannot walk down to the front of that Chamber and cast a vote, so we must rally behind our Reps and Senators and ask everyone who shares our values to do the same. "Stand with Stupak!" we cried.  "Let him know we're with him and we appreciate all he's doing!"  He's the only thing left standing between life and federally-funded death right now!  And so, it seemed, he was.

Does this make us fools now?  Well, it sure makes me feel a little foolish, but I realize this morning that I did what I had to do, and what I will do again when there's a candidate who says he will stand up for the unborn.  We have no choice but to take the chance, knowing there's always the possibility that we will be betrayed.  Again, you and I cannot cast a legislative vote.  Our votes come later.

What happened Sunday night sure felt like betrayal.  Not with a kiss, but with a slap across the face and a knife to the heart.  I never expected Stupak to do what he did, especially not at the very.last.minute.  It makes absolutely no sense to me that he would put his faith in an order that almost everyone else agrees isn't worth the paper it's printed on (particularly given the man who signed it.)  Executive Orders cannot trump statutory law.  Surely Stupak knows this.  Surely he understands how easily the order can be rescinded and challenged in court.  He must understand all that because every one of his colleagues does.

So, what gives?  I wondered if it went something like this:  Stupak began to realize that Pelosi would have the votes she needed without him and his group and the bill would pass for sure.  He scrambled to find some way of mitigating the damage, lessening the power of the Senate language, putting up some kind of sandbag against the tide.  An Executive Order requiring Hyde be upheld... it was the last-ditch effort and he went for it.  A somewhat noble scenario, I suppose, but I still would rather have had him just stick to voting NO.

Then I watched as the vote happened, and I saw that the final count was only 219.  Stupak and his group made a difference, alright.  In the wrong direction!  The noble scenario I imagined went right out the window.  The final blow came when I watched him on CSPAN as the Republicans put forth the Motion to Recommit.  Stupak stood up and turned on his pro-life Republican colleagues in a way that left my jaw in my lap.  He called the motion an attempt to politicize unborn life rather than protect it.  He said it was Democrats who have stood up for the protection of unborn children, Democrats who have stood up for the principle of life, and he slammed his friends on the other side for attempting to derail the health care bill yet again.

Another disinvite for Stupak

First Susan B Anthony who was set to honor him at a banquet this Wednesday and now Catholic Vote.org.  It feels awful to feel betrayed. I really wanted to believe in his principles....so did Susan B. Anthony and the folkds at Catholic Vote.org. I just got this email......




I just got off the phone with the campaign director for Rep. Bart Stupak.
I told her that the members of CatholicVote.org were appalled by his decision to cave and give President Obama control over taxpayer funding for abortion. I also told his staff that we are rescinding our invitation for him to speak at a special CatholicVote.org event scheduled in Chicago for late April.
Rep. Stupak accepted a meaningless promise of an “Executive Order” that does not address the fundamental problems of the bill. In doing so, he not only allowed the pro-abortion bill to pass, his actions gutted any hope for a bipartisan pro-life movement that many argued would have been possible had he stood firm.

After everything we did to support Stupak and his coalition, his actions yesterday were devastating. We were betrayed.

Reality Check
Confronting a loss of such significance is dispiriting. The emails pouring into CatholicVote range from frustration with politics in general to questions about whether there can truly be a pro-life Democrat.

I share many of these frustrations. Our staff did everything possible to stop this disaster. We worked around the clock last week and all weekend to hold the votes together. We worked with individual bishops and staff to encourage wavering votes to hold firm. We were in regular communication with key representatives and their staffs. We ran radio ads, and launched the Stand With Stupak campaign.

We were confident that we had the votes to stop the legislation, until the end, when Stupak and his key allies folded.
The “Stand With Stupak” campaign was about a principle, not a single man. The principle was simple – no compromise on abortion.
And in the end, even Bart Stupak didn’t stand with Stupak.
Looking Ahead ......................

We may be a movement that is hope-filled, but we are also a movement of action.
The frustrations and anger you are inevitably feeling now cannot be ignored. Over the next 7 months, we will be preparing for the November elections.
Any politician who supported this bill must pay a price. And that price is ultimately paid at the ballot box.

The backers of this health care bill never gave up. They fought for nearly a year against public opinion, and wore down their opponents until they got what they wanted.

We must resolve to do the same. Remember what happened last night.
Remember how you feel right now.

November will be here before you know it.
Sincerely,
Brian Burch

Excutive Order is called symbolic by Planned Parenthood: Stupak wanted cover

 This pretty much tells it all. When Jill Stanek ends with Thanks Bart Stupak, you foolish man she sums up my sentiments. I wanted to believe he was a man of principle. As it turns out he was a politician. He surely knew that his executive order was not binding and that any challenge by PP would send it toppling....BHO is clever and knew just how to word it with a wink and a nod to PP who with their friends at ACLU would challenge it and  throw it out. Then BHO and Stupak could say oh well we tried.

The end result.....our tax money for abortions. I wonder where the Manhattan Declaration will come in here. Hard to see anything good coming out of today. Stupak even said that they did not need his vote to pass but he gave it to them anyway.

 

March 22, 2010

Jillstanek.com

Planned Parenthood: Healthcare passage will "significantly increase access to reproductive health care"; exec order "a symbolic gesture"

Now it all comes out. It didn't take long for Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards to revel in PP's financial gain from passage of healthcare in a Planned Parenthood statement just released. Note also Richards' dismissal of Obama's executive order....

For more than a year, PP has worked tirelessly for a health care reform bill that would fix our broken health care system, strengthen women's health, and achieve quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Today, monumental progress was made toward achieving these goals with the passage of historic health care reform legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives, despite a symbolic gesture, in the form of an Executive Order, to anti-choice Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), which has diverted attention from the central goal of health care reform - controlling costs and extending coverage.
As a trusted health care provider to millions of women and families across the country, Planned Parenthood applauds the fact that this legislation would extend health care coverage, including family planning, to tens of millions of women and families, guarantee access to affordable life-saving screenings for cervical and breast cancer and other serious health problems, protect women against gender discrimination by private insurers, end the practice of dropping coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and significantly increase access to reproductive health care.
The proposal also includes a commonsense provision to expand family planning under Medicaid, which would significantly increase access to essential preventive health care for millions of women....
Nonetheless, we regret that a pro-choice president of a pro-choice nation was forced to sign an Executive Order that further codifies the proposed anti-choice language in the health care reform bill, originally proposed by Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
What the president's executive order did not do is include the complete and total ban on private health insurance coverage for abortion that Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) had insisted upon. So while we regret that this proposed Executive Order has given the imprimatur of the president to Senator Nelson's language, it is critically important to note that it does not include the Stupak abortion ban.

Thanks, Bart Stupak, you foolish man.

STUPAK ANNOUNCES $726,409 FOR AIRPORTS IN ALPENA, DELTA AND CHIPPEWA COUNTIES

just two days before changing his vote....I feel  like crying.

Congressman Bart Stupak ^ | March 19, 2010 | Michelle Begnoche

Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010 7:40:27 PM by bronxville
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced three airports in northern Michigan have received grants totaling $726,409 for airport maintenance and improvements. The funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration.
“This federal funding will help these airports better provide critical services to communities in northern Michigan,” Stupak said. “I am pleased the FAA has made this investment in our local airports and the individuals and businesses they serve.”
Alpena County Regional Airport received a grant of $85,500 to acquire friction measuring equipment, specifically a decelermeter and tow vehicle, to replace equipment that has worn out.
Delta County Airport in Escanaba received a grant of $179,209 to install a 10 foot perimeter fence to enhance security and prevent wildlife from entering the airport.
The Chippewa County International Airport near Sault Ste. Marie received a grant of $461,700 to install lighted signs on Runway 16/34 and make repairs to the pavement to meet marking requirements and maintain structural integrity.
This funding is provided to the FAA through the regular federal appropriations process and is awarded through competitive grants.

First fallout: Pro-life group strips Stupak of "Defender of Life" award

 this is very sad....was Stupak naive or did he just cave and need cover? Krauthammer says it is a total cave...they had the votes without Stupak bloc but this gave him and the White House the semblence of cover....the clue to me is the lack of outrage from the pro aborts....they know that they can challenge this in the courts and get it thrown out and get what they want when Obama and Stupak say well....I did the best I could. Actually now he has lost the support of the pro life people and  the Dems.

from Jillstanek.com

Stupak Stripped of "Defender of Life" Award Susan B. Anthony List pledges to drive out
pro-life betrayers in November

In response to Rep. Bart Stupak's announcement that he and other self-labeled "pro-life" Democrats will vote in favor of Healthcare reform legislation with the addition of an Executive Order from the White House to address concerns about abortion funding, Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement:
"This Wednesday night is our 3rd annual Campaign for Life Gala, where we were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to keep abortion-funding out of health care reform. We will no longer be doing so. By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion President in American history, Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children, but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the country."...
"Let me be clear: any representative, including Rep. Stupak, who votes for this healthcare bill can no longer call themselves 'pro-life.' The SBA List Candidate Fund will not endorse, or support in any capacity, any Member of Congress who votes for this bill in any future election.
"Now through Election Day 2010, these representatives will learn that votes have consequences. The SBA List Candidate Fund will work tirelessly to help defeat Members who support this legislation and make sure their constituents know exactly how they voted. We will actively seek out true pro-life candidates to oppose Members who vote 'yes' on this bill, whether it be in general or primary elections. For these Members, it will be a quick downhill slide to defeat in November."
"The executive order on abortion funding does absolutely nothing to fix the problems presented by the health care reform bill that the House will vote on this evening. The very idea should offend all pro-life Members of Congress. An executive order can be rescinded at any time at the President's whim, and the courts could and have a history of trumping executive orders. Most importantly, pro-abortion Representatives have admitted the executive order is meaningless."
Last night, Rep. DeGette told The Huffington Post, "If there was an executive order saying they weren't going to use federal funds in the bill to pay for abortions that would be fine with me."
Today, Rep. Wasserman Schultz admitted to Fox News' Megyn Kelly that "an executive order cannot change the law."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pointed out today that "only a change in the law enacted by Congress, not an executive order, can begin to address this very serious problem in the legislation."

Bart Stupak "On the Record"

I trust what I see with my eyes....... they are saying what do you need to get your vote....that's what going on now.

STAND WITH STUPAK

Stupak: Man of principle......last man standing

From Stupak:  What are Democratic leaders saying? “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing,” Stupak says. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”

Read the rest of the article here .

A conversation among two Catholics....one pro choie and one pro life

May Stupak stand strong in his convictions. Please don't disappoint us!

Stupak: It’s Not Just Abortion

By Janet Adamy, WSJ Blog, Washington Wire

From your lips to God's ear..........may your NO remain NO

Rep. Bart Stupak doesn’t plan to vote for Congress’s latest health overhaul package – and abortion isn’t the only reason why.
The Michigan Democrat became a pivotal player in the health debate last fall when he threatened to sink the bill because it didn’t exclude insurance coverage of abortion from government-subsidized health plans. In recent days, he’s reiterated that he objects to the Senate’s more-lenient treatment of abortion coverage that would almost certainly be part of any final health legislation.
In an interview today, Stupak said abortion isn’t the only issue that will keep him from voting for the Senate bill if Speaker Nancy Pelosi brings it to the House floor. “It’d be very hard to vote for this bill even if they fixed the abortion language,” he said. Asked whether there was any way he would vote for the current package, he had one word: “Nope.”
Stupak said the White House hasn’t included enough provisions from the House bill in its proposed package of changes to the Senate version. He cited some of the House’s tighter restrictions on insurance companies and new payment methods to encourage doctors to provide quality treatment that he thinks should be in the bill. And even though the White House peeled back the tax on high-value insurance plans, he’s upset that it’s still in there at all.
A big concern among House members, Stupak said, is that they will be forced to vote on the Senate bill with no assurance the package of changes aimed at appeasing House members will ever get approved.
“You’re going to make members vote for a bill that’s going to be hung around your neck come Election Day,” he said. “After sending so much legislation to the Senate, we just don’t trust that they’re going to do it.”
Asked whether he had enough antiabortion Democrats to block the bill, Stupak said he hasn’t “whipped” –or counted — the votes since Pelosi has yet to put forward a formal health package. But regardless of how that group votes, he doesn’t think the legislation will pass. “I’m not optimistic they’d get the votes in the House,” he said