The Stupak Disappointment

I have to say a few words about the Stupak "compromise." I believed that the House Democratic leadership had the votes without bothering with Stupak, but apparently I was wrong. The Hill reported that the Democrats were two votes short of passing the Senate bill early in the day on Sunday. They were able to get Stupak and the votes of 3 or 4 other "pro-life" Democrats by agreeing to get Obama to sign an executive order reaffirming his commitment to current law banning taxpayer-funding of abortion.

Let's be clear about this. I have said some very nice things about Stupak on this blog, and I still believe he is a principled man, as politicians go. But this is a cave, pure and simple, and a cave at the 11th hour when he had all the leverage on his side and when it was most important for him to stand firm. The only way to ensure that government-run health care will not cover abortions is for there to be a specific provision against taxpayer abortion funding in the bill itself. An executive order is meaningless, not even worth the paper it's written on. When there is a conflict between an executive order and a piece of legislation, the piece of legislation always takes priority. If the bill requires taxpayer funding of abortion (which it does), then an executive order cannot nullify that. And of course, this executive order is doubly meaningless because it, unlike the bill passed by Congress, is not permanent. A president can rescind an executive order at any time for any reason. Given this president's extreme pro-abortion record, what reason do we have to trust that he will make any effort to enforce this executive order? He could rescind it next week, next month, or next year. Make no mistake about it, if this executive order were truly binding, pro-choice activists in the House would be up in arms about it. They are not, because they know it is meaningless. As Congressman Joe Pitts put it, “I find absolutely no comfort in this executive order. This puts the fate of the unborn in the hands of the most pro-abortion president in history.”

I am truly saddened by the decision of Bart Stupak and a few other pro-life Democrats to compromise and vote for this bill. Congressman Stupak had shown so much principled leadership on this issue for so long, and then threw it all away on a non-binding executive order in the bottom of the ninth inning. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing to insist on pro-life language in the actual bill. I know he was under tremendous pressure from his party's leadership. His wife disconnected their home phone because they were getting threatening phone calls. He was facing the prospect of no help from the Democratic party whatsoever in his re-election bid in a swing district -- and possibly being threatened with much worse. In the end, I think he really wanted to vote "yes" (as a big supporter of government health care) and he found a way to justify his vote. The pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List had chosen Stupak to receive their "Defender of Life" award at their annual gala in Washington on Wednesday. They have now rescinded that award, and rightly so.

Interview With Bart Stupak

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Bart Stupak, the pro-life Democrat in Congress who has been leading the fight against taxpayer funding of abortion in the health care bill for months. National Review Online recently did an interview with Congressman Stupak which is well worth reading. Check out Stupak's thoughts on the health care bill, the value of human life, and the current state of the Democratic Party here.

Let me say again how much I respect this Congressman Stupak. Unlike most pro-life members of Congress, he is not particularly conservative, supports Democratic health care reform, and does not come from a heavily Republican district. Yet this congressman has been a stalwart on the issue of protecting human life from the beginning of the health care debate. Stupak was almost single-handedly responsible for forcing a House floor vote on taxpayer funding of abortion in November which the Democratic leadership did not want, thus ensuring that the House version of the health care bill would not fund abortions. When the Senate passed a health care bill that included taxpayer funding of abortion, Stupak made his voice heard loud and clear during compromise negotiations between the House and the Senate that he and his bloc of pro-life Democrats would not support the Senate version. Now Pelosi is putting huge pressure on House members to vote for the Senate bill verbatim, and Stupak still refuses to cave -- and continues to speak out.

It is not easy being pro-life and a Democrat. Many, many Democratic politicians started out their careers being pro-life, but quickly compromised or abandoned their principles once they realized that standing for the protection of human life would interfere with their popularity in the party or their ambitions for higher office. A list of Democratic politicians who were once pro-life includes Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Harry Reid, Dennis Kucinich, Jimmy Carter, Richard Durbin, Sam Nunn, and many many others. During the health care debate, many "pro-life" Democrats were exposed for what they really are -- big-league phonies. Bob Casey, Jr., senator from PA who claimed the mantle of his pro-life father when he was elected in 2006, not only caved to the pro-abortion faction in the Senate but wrote a "compromise" amendment which specifically allows taxpayer-funding of abortion. Ben Nelson, "pro-life" senator from NE, announced he had drawn a line in the sand and would not vote for taxpayer funding of abortion, and then reversed his position 24 hours later after securing a sweetheart deal for his home state in the bill. Even now, Stupak says that several of the dozen Democratic House members who had pledged they were standing with him against abortion funding are caving under intense pressure from the Democratic leadership. My guess is that in the end, Stupak's coalition of pro-life Democrats will disappear and he will be left standing nearly alone.

Don't think Stupak hasn't paid a price for his principles either. We know how intense the pressure has been on congressional Democrats to support the bill, and who knows how many threats and promises he has had to shake off. He is facing a Democratic primary challenger this year because of his abortion position. His reported ambitions to run for governor are certainly dead. He is being threatened with ethics investigations and is pounded nightly by left-wing pundits who claim he is a traitor. He has been in Congress for nearly 20 years, but do you think he's going to be getting any plum chairmanships or committee assignments from the Democratic leadership? Yet he tells National Review in no uncertain terms, "I am a definite 'no' vote." That takes courage -- and also a deep-seated commitment to justice.

We hear a lot about politicians "being a voice for the voiceless" and "standing up to defend the powerless against powerful special interests." John Edwards, sleazeball and top Democratic politician, mastered this rhetorical device to perfection. But there is only one group in this country that is truly without voice. There is only one group in this country that is literally incapable of providing any precious political support to politicians in exchange for votes. There is only one group in this country that is genuinely powerless, utterly defenseless against a multi-million dollar industry with a vested interest in its destruction. That group is unborn children. Bart Stupak will never enjoy the press adulation and the electoral success of lesser Democratic politicians. He has chosen a higher reward.

Bart Stupak Is My Hero

You won't often hear me praising Democrats on this blog. But I want to give a shout out to Congressman Bart Stupak from Michigan. Stupak is a Democrat (and not a particularly conservative one either) who is leading the fight in Congress to eliminate taxpayer funding for abortion from the House health care bill. Now it's pretty lonely being a pro-life member of the overwhelmingly pro-abortion Democratic Party, but Stupak doesn't seem to mind and he doesn't intend to shut up about the issue of life. While President Obama prattles on about how his health care plan fulfills the biblical mandate to "help the least of these," Congressman Stupak is taking action to help the most truly vulnerable and defenseless members of our society -- unborn babies. While Obama & the Democratic leadership in Congress lie through their teeth about how there will be no taxpayer funding of abortion under ObamaCare, Stupak is calling them out on it publicly. Since several committees controlled by Democrats in both the House & the Senate have defeated health care amendments to prohibit taxpayer funding for abortion, Stupak has now co-sponsored a similar amendment that he wants to bring to the House floor for an up-or-down vote. And guess who is refusing to even allow this amendment to be voted on? His own party's leadership! By being a voice for the voiceless, Stupak is getting the cold shoulder from the House leadership and from his Democratic colleagues and is doubtless forfeiting any future chance for statewide or national office. We need more politicians with that kind of political courage and moral principle. Bart Stupak is my hero.