Pathetic Liberals
A few months ago, several dozen House Democrats wrote a letter to Nancy Pelosi insisting that healthcare “reform” contain a “robust” (Medicare rates + 5%) public option:
A health reform bill without a robust public option will not achieve the health reform this country so desperately needs. We cannot vote for anything less.[emphases mine]
But Pelosi did not even deign to give these liberals a vote on a “robust” public option. The final bill included a public option so weak that it would charge higher premiums than private insurers!
Yet, all those liberal Democrats ignored their pledges and voted for the bill. Even Raul Grijalva, the leader of the resistance, voted for it.
Now liberals are making a similar worthless pledge:
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., an abortion rights opponent, prevailed on Saturday and the House of Representatives passed an amendment which would bar government subsidies from being used to help pay for any health insurance plan which includes an abortion service.
Abortion rights supporters are now fighting back, vowing to keep Stupak’s amendment from being a part of the final legislation which ultimately reaches President Obama’s desk.
Although liberal House Democrats voted over the weekend for the health-care bill with the Stupak amendment, Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., is collecting signatures from colleagues who are vowing to oppose any conference report that includes the Stupak restriction.
“The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled,” reads DeGette’s letter to Pelosi. “We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.” [emphasis mine]
As of early Monday afternoon, DeGette’s spokesperson says that the congresswoman has more than 40 signatures — enough to block passage of health-care reform if the Stupak language is not changed.
I for one don’t believe it. If Obamacare ever makes it through a House-Senate conference, Stupak’s language will be in the bill, and all of these signatories will still vote for Obamacare.
UPDATE: Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) hangs his hat on Stupak:
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Monday evening he would [filibuster] any health care reform bill that does not include language barring federal funds from being used to provide insurance coverage for abortions.
Nelson said he needs language in the final Senate bill similar to the amendment filed by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) that was approved as part of the House health care overhaul bill, which narrowly passed Saturday night.
“I feel that something like the Stupak amendment should be included in the Senate version. I don’t know that it’s not because I haven’t seen the Senate version,” Nelson told reporters, adding that inclusion of such language does not guarantee his support given other issues he may have with the legislation.
That puts Harry Reid, who claims to be pro-life, in a uniquely interesting position:
An intraparty fight over abortion is the last thing that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., needs. Reid is already facing a revolt among Democratic moderates over the government-sponsored health plan that liberals want to incorporate in the legislation as a competitor to private insurance companies.
Reid, who is himself opposed to abortion, will have to confront the issue directly as he puts together a Democratic bill for floor consideration.
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