Stuck on "Stupak"

Oh, where to begin? I have been so full of emotions in the past week that I could not figure out what exactly to blog about lest it all come out in a large disorganized mess. I needed time to process what I was thinking and feeling. I haven’t completely done it but at least I’m a little more sorted out than I was before. Well, here goes…

At approximately 4 PM on Sunday, March 21, 2010, which has become the new “date which will live in infamy”, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) held a press conference to announce that he had finally decided to vote “yes” on the health care bill after weeks of anticipation. Many of us were extremely sickened and disappointed although not surprised. Stupak said that he had reached an agreement with the President (I really don’t feel comfortable putting “President” and “Obama” together so it’s either one or the other for me) in that Obama would sign an executive order which would ban the use of federal funds for abortions. Stupak has prided himself on being a “pro-life” Democrat (is that really possible?) and in the past has been part of initiatives to reduce the number of abortions performed and worked towards solutions and alternatives. Stupak even brought forth the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the House floor and passed on November 7, 2009 in a vote of 240 to 194.

Well that all came to a screeching halt on Sunday. Not only did Stupak backtrack on all this due to the deal he claimed to have struck with Obama, which had yet to be signed and which as of this moment still has not been signed, it is also reported that Stupak was promised over $700,000 for airport maintenance and renovations. In my eyes, that’s the equivalent of 30 pieces of silver. All this coming from a man who claimed to be horrified when he was told by his fellow Democrats that “abortion is good, because children are costly.” Further adding to his deception and hypocrisy is the surfacing of a video from 2009 in which he declared that he had planned to vote “yes” on the bill all along.

One of Stupak’s declared opponents, Dr. Dan Benishek, amassed large amounts of followers and supporters on Facebook and Twitter hours after the announcement and vote. He has been stripped of his “Defender of Life” award from the Susan B. Anthony List. I can only imagine the kinds of looks he will get when he enters his church again. It serves him right for accepting any kind of deal from a man who has been deemed the most pro-abortion president in American history and who has been given a 100% approval rating by NARAL and a 0% rating by NRLC. Bart Stupak will have a lot of soul searching to do in November, when he will be voted out of office.

So tell me, Stupak, was it all worth it?