I get the feeling that the anti-choice Democrats who initially followed Bart Stupak’s lead are getting a little panicky that they’ve talked themselves into a corner. They are, after all, Democrats, and they don’t want to look at that roll call on health care for the rest of their lives with their votes on the wrong side. They thought they could force the Stupak language into the final bill and make the bishops happy, but now they are beginning to wonder whether the bill might pass without them. It seems to me that they are looking for some kind of face-saving move that will allow them to flip-flop back to being in favor of the bill. As for Pelosi, she’s not offering much in the face-saving department:
The California Democrat says the legislation leaves intact the existing curbs on federal payments for the procedure. She told reporters Friday that for lawmakers who favor restricting abortion funding and overhauling the health care system: “This is it.”
Some abortion foes who voted for an earlier version of the bill are threatening to vote “no” Sunday because they say the current version’s abortion restrictions are too lax.
Pelosi said, “When we bring the bill to the floor, we will have a significant victory for the American people.”
I think she’s pissed off that she had to appease these jerks in the first place, and she’s not in a great mood about the Nelson language either. Having to suffer fools in her own caucus who don’t understand that the bill is already a setback for reproductive freedoms (albeit, without being draconian about it) has got to be getting on her last nerve.
Here’s a question I have. The bishops supposedly support universal health care but oppose this bill because it isn’t anti-choice enough. But that’s really a bunk argument, so I am wondering what their primary motivation is. Is it that they want to use this unique opportunity to wreck the practice of insurance companies offering abortion coverage? Or is it that they simply don’t want the pro-choice Democrats to get a giant win that will make it harder for the anti-choice Republicans to regain power? In other words, just how devious are they?
