They passed it. The poor fools who yearn to surrender the conduct of their lives to their government are gleeful and their overlords are gloating.
Yesterday Rep. Bart Stupak made up new definitions for "protecting the sanctity of life" and "standing on principle." Video of his statement here. I don't know exactly what is wrong with the man but may God have mercy on his soul.
I'm looking for the even weirder video of his statement on the floor of the House last night when he asserted that Democrats, himself included, are the ones who have stood up for the unborn. All I can find is this clip of a person or persons reputedly shouting "baby killer" at him as he makes his bizarro statement. I can't understand what they're saying. But his hands aren't clean and he needs to face that.
Wesley Smith on Stupak:
It was wrong to let tens of million pro life believers hang their deepest hopes on his solemn word that he wouldn’t compromise their most cherished principles–when he knew very well that if it really became necessary he would do precisely that. Stupak’s gamesmanship thus toyed with the deepest emotions of the very people he claimed to champion, adding immensely to their anguish when because of his vote–bringing the Stupak 12 (or whatever number) with him–Obamacare passed without the total ban on government financial involvement in abortion. That was needlessly cruel and marks one of the lowest points in this entire appalling and sorry spectacle.We can be proud of the opposition:
From Hot Air, the 34 Dems who voted against this monster:
Rep. John Adler (N.J.)
Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.)
Rep. Michael Arcuri (N.Y.)
Rep. John Barrow (Ga.)
Rep. Marion Berry (Ark.)
Rep. Dan Boren (Ind.)
Rep. Rick Boucher (Va.)
Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.)
Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.)
Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.)
Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.)
Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)
Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.)
Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.)
Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (Mass.)
Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.)
Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
Rep. Mike McMahon (N.Y.)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (La.)
Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho)
Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.)
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)
Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.)
Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.)
Rep. Zack Space (Ohio)
Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.)
Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.)
Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.)
Maybe I'll post a round-up of pep talks later on today. But for now, a warning from Philip Klein. First, do everything possible to repeal:
In the immediate term, no matter what the odds of success, every legal avenue must be exhausted to challenge any and all provisions that have a chance of being overturned in the courts. At the same time, conservatives must be pushing Republican candidates to pledge to work not just to repeal certain aspects of the bill, but, to borrow a line from Jaws, to go after the head, the tail, the whole damn thing. (Sen. Jim DeMint has already announced that this week he would offer a bill to do just that.)
Because it can get worse:
If efforts to repeal or overturn Obamacare fail, then the battle will have to enter the next stage. At some point after its implemented -- whether this is five years or 10 years from now, there will be another major health care debate. Despite President Obama's promises, premiums will still be skyrocketing and the spiraling cost of health care will be putting a strain on individuals, businesses and the federal government.
When that day comes, liberals will argue that the reason why all of those problems exist is that Obamacare 1.0 didn't go far enough. They'll say that the government needs to spend more money on subsidies, place more regulations on insurance companies, and introduce a public option to drive down costs -- or maybe even go the single-payer route altogether. Conservatives cannot be in a position to lose that argument.
This is just the beginning. And they're not making a secret of it:
Pelosi: "once we kick through this door, there'll be more legislation to follow."
Obama: It’s “another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream.”
Louise Slaughter: “There is nothing now that we can’t tackle.”
Linked at Michelle Malkin (buzzworthy)
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