WHY Democrats Shouldn't Negotiate with STUPAK Over Abortion

[Segami]

Excerpt:

Negotiations would make sense if Stupak had some legitimate criticism about the Senate language or shared Democrats’ goal of maintaining current funding restrictions. But Stupak is not interested in protecting Hyde. Throughout the health care debate, he has relied on a fundamentally dishonest reading of the legislation because he has understood that health reform is his best opportunity to strip abortion coverage from private health insurance and now, he’s milking it for all it’s worth.

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But Stupak really knows better. He understands that the Senate language is actually far more stringent than the Capps amendment. While Capps protected Hyde by specifying that subsidy dollars could only be used to abort pregnancies that threaten the life of mother or result from rape or incest, the Senate version explicitly instructs insurers to collect two separate checks from policy holders, sets standards for allocation accounts and authorizes state insurance commissioners to audit insurers’ compliance with the segregation requirements.



These details don’t matter to Stupak because he’s not interested in finding a way to keep public dollars from funding non-Hyde abortion. He wants to restrict abortion coverage in private insurance and his abortion amendment does just that. But fortunately, as Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) points out, “Ten or 11 votes is not going to kill the bill.” “Many of the 39 conservative Democrats who voted against the House bill could well find the moderate Senate version more to their liking.” Stupak is holding the health care bill hostage because he sees is it as an opportunity to insert his minority views into the legislation, but Democrats should call his bluff, keep the already-restrictive Senate abortion language and strip Stupak of his chairmanship.

<http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/03/05/stupak-abortion-negotiate/>

[liberal N proud]

1. Stupak is a congressional terrorist

He like his GOP buddies will just want something else so he can object.

He is a DINO siding with Big Health Care corporations.

[ashling]

2. Holding up HCR is NOT Pro-Life

nt

[Segami]

3. Looks like 50,000 yearly American deaths attributed to lack of health care coverage

means absolutely nothing to Stupak?

[TheMightyFavog]

4. I thought I remember reading somewhere Stupak's caught up in that "Family" crap.

You know, those idiots...

[spanone]

5. here's why... he's a goddamn democrat...if he doesn't buy the platform change parties

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. But without the votes of him and other like him the bill will likely die

Is that what you want?

[femrap]

8. So let's just throw women

who are 51% of the population and put Dems in office under the bus....is that what you want? Maybe you should change parties.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

9. He doesn't have the votes....

Back in November, when Stupak originally went pissing and moaning to Nancy Pelosi, he had a letter co-signed by only 19 House members (nearly all of them Blue Dogs). One of them was John Murtha, and I'm pretty sure he's not showing up for the final vote.

Let Stupak howl at the moon. He's got nothing.

[upi402]

7. Stupak is a Republican in the Dem Party, did we really win that seat?

This guy is willing to torpedo HCR. Hell, he was a member of "The Family" of religious extremists trying to take over American government. This guy is willing to LEAD the effort to tank HCR

If they cave to him it will be rescinded or reworked in the future. That's the one issue I'm not worried about because such a minority of Americans want it.