I thought Stupak's 15 minute had ended.

Seriously, how low has this country sunk that a nothing of a nobody zealot like Bart Stupak has power over tens of millions of American lives?

And whose fault is this? His? Or all those timid Democrats who appease him?

I think the quibble was between Stupak and the catholic Bishops...they were gonna leverage a few more gimmies from the Dim leadership for their god Moloch.

I think they wanted the sacrifice of a few hundred women...have them thrown into the flaming mouth of a cast iron Moloch idol.

And no more investigation of the child rape in the Roman Catholic church.

You okay that, and you can have yer damn health care... maybe. for now.

It is astonishing that an unknown number of Potential Citizens can trump three hundred million Living Ones. . .

My guess is that superstition is not the only driving force behind Stupak. Lots of $pecial interest $$$$$ probably has more influence on his decisions. Just sayin'.

For each Congressional Representative political survival is a local matter, but just this once we'd hope each and every Democratic Representative could transcend their own political needs and offer our great nation a new and bold direction where we begin the dialog and action to take care of our great and wondrous citizenry by using the engines of government smartly! If this momentous vote does cause a mass turning out, at least each Rep. turned out will have more time to spend with their loved ones.

Some Republican strategists have failed to recognize betting is a two-way street, and more Republicans could be turned out in November if this legislation does indeed pass as they would have to run on a record of trying to deny the American people health care reform that benefits them and our nation.

Who said democracy was a pretty thing? I just hope Democratic Reps. on this vote this weekend can stand up to the ugly! -Kevo

I hope once this bill is passed, The Democratic party starts enforcing some discipline. No more Liebermans, no more Stupaks.

Hell's angel.. meet you there for the company, if not the climate.

Obama, Blue Dogs, and far too many other Dems too often appear much more hopeless than Neville Chamberlain in refusing to recognize that you cannot negotiate with intransigent opposition whose main (maybe only) goal is your destruction. it's not JUST in health care or the stimulus package.

Were there a yet-stronger Progressive block in the House and Senate enforcing some discipline, even if the overall total of Dem seats were smaller, Obama and the Dems could use reconciliation and/or break the filibuster pdq rather than constantly chase will-o-the-wisp bad-policy compromises with Blue Dog Dems or Republicans.

Imagine where we could be now if that strategy had been used from the get go: An adequate stimulus bill that has unemployment at 8%, headed to 6% and real health care reform that is not that hard to sell as a real improvement. Medicare Part E(everyone) is real easy to understand,sell, and probably gain public approval pdq once passed. Should that really be tougher for Dems to pass than Republicans to pass massive tax breaks for the top 1%?

You think voters have miserable emotional IQ's to not detect wimps, chumps, wusses [pick your favorite term] when they see such repeated behavior. Given a Hobson's choice, most voters will pick strong and wrong over right and weak. Welcome to President Palin, Perry, or the Pawlenty makeover.

This whole mudslide over abortion funding perplexes me. Sure, some people would oppose actual funding and some not - but that isn't what makes a mess of this. Assuming it is technically clear whether abortion is funded - maybe, what FactCheck says - then we have to wonder why some people claim it is funded and others argue it is not (in the way objected to.) What is it with Stupak and the like? I know many disingenuous opponents will just lie, but he seems confused. Does he truly not understand some objective situation, is he being a prick, really just wants some goodies, etc, WTF?

"What is it with Stupak and the like?"

He freely admits that he relies on advice from Focus on the Family. That says it all.

Stupak let the cat out of the bag when he said he doesn't listen to nuns.

He lives in the C-Street House, meaning that even if he isn't an official member of the Family certainly sympathetic with their vision of patriarchal fascism, it's the ultimate Daddy Party.

Forget 'Focus on the Family', instead you need to FOCUS on the FAMILY. We should probably be thankful it didn't try to slip the Uganda Provision into the bill.

Bruce -- my thoughts exactly from the moment those words came out of his mouth. Stupak is a useful tool for the Family -- a token Democrat and a token Catholic -- but he is absolutely furthering their plutocratic and highly male-authoritative agenda. It's so creepy.

Sometimes a press confefrence is scheduled as a bluff. In this case it could be that he was trying to push some wavering "allies" into joining him or trying to get leadership to make a concession it isn't willing to make. When he saw his bluff was being called, he postponed the event. That's my guess.

digby reports that it looks like nancy told stupak to go stupak himself...

yeah!

When he saw his bluff was being called, he postponed the event. That's my guess.

I think he canceled (note he hasn't rescheduled it) after it became apparent that Pelosi has the votes to ignore him. Fox is reporting this and heads are exploding over at Red State. Heh.

Of course this piece-of-garbage bill will pass. The democrats are play acting, stage managing this drama in order to con dumb voters while serving their corporate base. "It was close, but Whoopee! We ALL won".

What's really going on is that Bart Stupak is in thrall to fears of being condemned to hellfire, as threatened by the RC bishops if he doesn't hold out for maximum anti-choice language in HCR. It's not $$$, or Focus on the Family (an evangelical Protestant outfit), or whether he can withstand being primaried by the Democrats. He's fundamentally a scared little kid who's being lectured in the confessional that if he doesn't stop doing this or that Bad Think he's going to burn for all eternity in hell. And the Bad Thing is allowing anything to creep into the HCR bill that doesn't contain an iron-clad prohibition against federal money being used to pay for abortions.

This, people, is the fruit of a fearful Catholic conscience. Ironic that this ugly little drama is being played out on the same weekend that Ben XVI (that ultimate stern priest in the confessional) is being exposed for the hypocrite he and the institutional church he heads over child sex-abuse crimes. And what was it that enabled the RC church's pedophilia woes? Catholicism's twisted (anti-) sex obsessions and its secretive authoritiarianism/patriarchalism.

Stupak, it's pretty clear, is one of those Catholics who still can be psyched out by the priests. Behind closed doors, Bart is getting "the treatment" from the bishops he says he listens to--the same bishops who have been covering up priestly sex abuse lo these many years.

Sorry for a long screed that seems to ramble over two different subjects--but it's really one big stinking ball of wax.

Stupak has basically said that the best outcome would be if the bill passes without his vote.

Sounds to me like he knows he's wrong on what the language says, but having taken such a self-righteous stand he can't allow himself to back down now.

For the sake of appearances, this guy is willing to bring down the entire bill, which would almost assuredly result in a return to power of the rabid right and all the misery that entails.

Stupak is not a leader but a fool.

I think you're ignoring Stupak's longtime membership and deep involvement in The Family (the C Street outfit), JM917. No one's suggesting that Stupak's Catholicism and his thrall to the bishops aren't important in driving what he's doing, but this guy is also in bed with a shady organization that, while Protestant- rather than Catholic-based, has a similarly theocratic and Christian authoritarian end.

It wouldn't be the first time Catholics and evangelicals have put aside differences to join efforts -- the modern anti-abortion movement works exactly this way. As I said, Stupak's a token and a useful idiot for the C Street guys, about whom he is intriguingly resistant to speak.

And by the way, Pelosi told the HuffPo this morning that they're going ahead without Stupak. Looks like they've got the votes.

It is hard to accept that national women's organizations have not been clamoring to get on MSM shows to denounce this righteous prick. I can't help but surmise they have been closed out. If his position on this issue isn't wrong minded enough, his full blown misogynist view is on full display with his demeaning comments about the value of the nuns' position.

It reinforces my move 25+ years ago from my native Michigan to California. I can practice Catholicism without imposing my moral positions on others. I would go one step further and suggest that the result of restricting a medical procedure like abortion is clearly a discriminatory practice effecting women and the poor. Has there been a constitutional challenge to the Hyde amendment? Abortion is legal and is the law of the land.

Pardon me for not taking guidance right now from the Catholic church, and its, ahem, liberties some of its prominent leaders have taken with kids; nor from Republicans who have sex with whores and sleep with their friend's wife and then have their parents pay hush money ....

Pass the damn bill.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) scheduled a Capitol Hill press conference for 11 a.m. (ET), at which he was poised to be joined by a cadre of allies. -- Steve Benen

And then it suddenly occurred to him that, showing up flanked by the Republican crew of the C-Street bordello, might not be the brightest thing to do?