When Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling was convicted of abetting the Nazi occupation of of his own country, his name became a synonym for “traitor.” Since March 21, the name “Stupak” has achieved similar infamy in the pro-life movement.
Within hours of his vote in favor of Obamacare, the Susan B. Anthony List stripped him of its “Defender of Life” award. Since then, Michigan Right to Life has also withdrawn its endorsement of Stupak, and other pro-life groups have followed suit.
Incredibly, Stupak seems to be surprised at the outrage caused by his vote and his response has been a series of whiny interviews and press releases. The latest of Stupak’s attempts to justify his vote is this WaPo piece, which begins with an ad hominem attack on his critics:
The true motives of many blogs and organizations claiming to be pro-life have become clear in recent days: to politicize life issues as a means to defeat health care reform.
He then repeats what has become his standard talking point:
Once it was clear that the House leadership would eventually obtain the 216 votes necessary to pass health-care reform, I was left with a choice: Vote against the bill and watch it become law with no further protections for life or reach an agreement that prevents federal funding for abortions.
This is, of course, a lie. It was the flip-flop of Stupak’s group of ostensibly pro-life Democrats that put Obamacare over the top. And Stupak knows perfectly well that the fig leaf provided to him by the President, in the form of an executive order, is utterly worthless in law.
No, an executive order is not as strong as the statutory language we fought for at the start. We received, however, an “ironclad” commitment from the president that no taxpayer dollars will be used to pay for abortions.
If Stupak actually believes in Obama’s “commitment,” he is a brain-dead moron. If he knows better, as he almost certainly does, he is a cynical liar. If there is any justice in the world, this jerk will be soundly defeated in November with the help of GENUINE pro-lifers.
UPDATE:
It would appear that Stupak’s “30 pieces of silver” included some pricey earmaks. Ed Morrissey links to a report by the Sunlight Foundation showing that the “Stupak 11″ requested nearly $5 billion in new earmarks ONE DAY after last week’s Obamacare vote. As for Stupak himself:
Stupak requested more than $578 million in earmarks, including $125 million for a replacement lock on the Sault Ste. Marie, $25.6 million to build a federal courthouse in Marquette, Mich., $15 million to repaint the Mackinac Bridge and $800,000 to preserve the Quincy Mining Company smelter near Hancock in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
I’m sure this is just a coincidence, and has no more to do with Stupak’s health care vote than did those grants to his district that we learned about early last week.
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