Democrat Congressman Bart Stupak: A Persevering Hero
There was a wonderful and poignant picture of pro-life champion, Congressman Bart Stupak, Democrat from Michigan, in Sunday's "The Washington Times," a photo taken above the congressman from a balcony in the U.S. Capitol Building - which shows him walking all by himself, looking like all the problems of the world were on his shoulders. The photo was so symbolic of Congressman Stupak's lonely, gallant, courageous and finally, successful fight to protect generations of America's unborn children from death.
Against all odds -- during a deep time of stress and pain for Congressman Stupak having lost his wife's mother late last week -- the Stupak pro-life amendment absolutely ensuring that Americans will not have to pay for abortions with their hard-earned tax dollars won by a very large margin in the House of Representatives last Saturday. The Stupak amendment was attached to the Pelosi/ObamaCare legislation which passed later that night by 5 votes.
Congressman Stupak's chief Republican co-sponsors of his amendment were Pennsylvania Congressman Joseph Pitts, Chairman of the House Values Action Team, and New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, the co-chairman of the bipartisan pro-life House Pro-life Caucus who did yeoman's work in helping their Democratic friend pass his amendment.
The Christian Coalition of America commended Congressman Stupak for his courageous battle to overcome overwhelming odds and to actually succeed and get a vote on his pro-life amendment. It is now anticipated that Republican Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah will author an amendment at least as strong as the Stupak amendment.
The former (and late) author of the Hyde Amendment which Congressman Stupak is trying to protect in the health care bill, Congressman Henry J. Hyde, the great pro-life Republican champion, would have been very proud of the Democratic pro-life champion in Congress.
The large margin of victory (an astounding 240 votes) for the Stupak amendment should ensure that the Senate includes the same amendment in their version of Obamacare. In reality, the inclusion of the Stupak amendment has created a huge battle within the ranks of the Democratic Party and it is now very doubtful that any substantial health care reform legislation will come out of the United States Congress in this 111th Congress unless the Stupak/Hatch language is included in the final bill sent to the president.
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I live in Congressman
I live in Congressman Stupak's district, and am personally acquainted with him. I extend condolences to he and Laurie on the passing of her mother. Michigan's First District is a sprawling, conservative Democrat district. Congressman Stupak is as liberal as they come on most issues, usually voting the White House line whenever a Democrat is President. But he is Pro-Life. I have commended him myself a few times over the past few months for his courage, and that of the other "Blue Dog" Democrats, in standing up to their party, the Congressional majority and the White House on this issue. The pressure brought to bear against them has been immense, and certainly, included many types of threats of repercussions. But Congressman Stupak is also an anochrism, because once his Pro-life demands are satisfied, he is lock, stock and barrel in support of the most liberal remaining aspects of the health care deform bills in the House. He has stated on radio interviews, that I have personally heard, that the U.S. Constitution is a "living document" , and that the Congress can pass whatever it wants to address current facts without any regard for the Constitution. When pressed by the interviewer, Congressman Stupak pooh-poohed his oath of office to uphold the Constitution, and said the Courts can sort it out. He is actually in favor of fines or taxes being imposed on people who cannot, or choose not to, contract for health insurance coverage, a proposal that is unconstitutional on a couple dozen different grounds. I do not know how he voted on Pelosi's bill with the Pro-Life amendment, but be aware that Congressman Stupak is supporting unconstitutional bills, as he frequently has in the past, even with his courage on the life issue. He is a hero and an enemy of mainstream American at the same time, depending on the issue
Not my hero! If you mix a
Not my hero!
If you mix a glass of tea with a glass of sewage you will get two glasses of sewage. In this case the schizophrenic governance that Stupak sponsors can only result in bad laws at the best and disastorous policies at its worst.
Stupak is a mundane hack representative of the valueless politicians that populate our Congress.