Reviled invertebrate Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, who after much pro-life posturing provided the needed votes to pass the anti-life healthcare bill, has now announced that he doesn’t even have the courage to face the voters in November.
[Foxnews] Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, who was the central figure in the abortion debate surrounding the health care law, will retire from Congress at the end of this term.
Stupak, who’s been in Congress for 18 years, will make the announcement at a 12:30 p.m. ET press conference in Marquette, Mich.
Stupak told The Associated Press that attacks on him for his role in the abortion debate did not influence his decision and he could win re-election if he tried.
He provides the needed votes to impose upon all Americans a behemoth anti-life, budget busting, governmental control bill, and then just retires. Democrats don’t do accountability.
The word ‘Stupak’ should be added to the dictionary today as synonym for coward.
April 9, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Does this mean he will be stuck in the same position as the rest of us with this new bill?
April 9, 2010 at 3:51 pm
This is a brilliant move by Stupak if he wants to help his party (or should I say it is a good move by the Democratic party to "suggest" that he step down at the end of this term – the cynic in me wonders if there is a slight connection here and not just about Stupak's cowardice). Now his replacement on the Democratic ticket can say whatever he wants about the healthcare bill. The Republican candidate will have much less leverage in the campaign and the Democrats suddenly have a chance to hold onto a seat. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more of this from currently hated dems.
April 9, 2010 at 4:17 pm
I knew it!! Only I thought he was still a nice guy, and he was going to quit in frustration. I thought Obama's last-minute discussions with him involved THREATS. Now it seems those discussions might have involved BRIBES instead, and he's quitting in order to take some sweet ambassadorship or something.
I give up. These losers are hopeless. And Jules–I think they get the Congressional HC for life.
April 9, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Thank God we got that bill passed this year. I think the Dems are going to get creamed in the fall elections. Obama was smart to go after HCR now, it probably won't be on the table for twenty more years. I wonder if all those fawning, braindead DC types are going to take back their incessant pessimism regarding Obama's leadership. I'm not holding my breath.
I think Stupak did the right thing. He pushed as hard as he could for more restrictive abortion language, but in the end, the differences between the two bills were fairly cosmetic and HCR is the right and moral thing to do at this time.
April 9, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I think that Stupak doesn't want to face any more death-threats over the telephone. Of course I'm not lumping the author or commenter with those who made the threats–I'm simply bringing out a fact and making an educated guess for a reason for his retirement.
April 9, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Brian – I don't believe it's been disclosed whether those death threats were in case he voted FOR the bill or AGAINST the bill. He received a number of threatening calls prior to the vote.
April 9, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Stupak saw the writing on the wall.
He was getting hammered by dems, r's and teabaggers for his phony posturing.
He had no shot and he knew it.
Looks like the r's were going to get this seat regardless because MI-01 is a very conservative district to begin with.
April 9, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I like to think Stupak would not have changed his mind so drastically without serious threats made to him … even if he is not able to *make public* the extent of such threats. After all, such a severe flip-flop on his view of the bill is political suicide, and it's unlikely that someone who got that far in politics would make such a mistake. I think it's more likely that his pro-life views are sincere, but that his vote for the bill was a panicked response to him or his family being threatened.
As much as people enjoy calling him a traitor and a coward, please consider this possibility and keep him and his family in your prayers.
April 9, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Judas, too, called it quits pretty soon after his betrayal.
Brothers Archibald: As if Craig's constant agitating weren't enough, now he's using sexual epithets. I recommend a ban.
Genevieve: Even if death threats were made, he is still a coward. He sacrificed millions for his own security.
April 9, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Wayne,
The way I heard it Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and even the President asked Stupak to reconsider his retirement. And no, the eventual Democratic contender will not have an easier time. HCR now has a huge Democratic brand to it in much the same way the Iraqi War was branded a GOP thing. After the brutal partisanship excercised by Speaker Pelosi, and the cave-ins by the so-called Democratic Pro Life members, it is now almost impossible to believe any Democratic Pol when he/she says that he is against ObamaCare. For better or for worse, the Democrats now own Health Care.
And from a practical position, it is more difficult for the Post HRC Dems to fill a vacancy and risk new money in a district as conservative as Stupak's. The DNC now must spend limited funds on over 50 highly contested districts that may all go the GOP's way. Stupak already had a war chest and established campaign cash flows. New untested candidates do not. In many ways the House Dems are facing the same problems thier counterparts in the GOP did in 2006.
April 9, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Genevieve,
From what I saw on TV, the threats Stupak referred to occured back in Mid March, a time when his foot was still firmly in the Pro Life camp. It makes no sense that the opposition would have came from conservatives, as he was still on thier side.
It seems to me, a little bit of political theatrics are at play. I wouldn't put too much into the entire incivility schtick. Like all politicians, Stupak has political pollsters on retainer who do nothing but foucus group and poll. When you see a professional politician make an abrupt career choice during an election year, you can usually count on internal polling that drove his decision.
On a more cynical note, one should also remember politicians can walk away from thier seats with thier entire "war chest" intact. All that money is tax free (averages between $6 and $12 million). When Evan Bayh announced his retirement, his war chest was worth almost $13 million. It could be that Stupak wanted to finally enjoy his money.
April 9, 2010 at 10:45 pm
"Even if death threats were made, he is still a coward. He sacrificed millions for his own security."
I'm sure many would do the same if their own family's lives were threatened. I'm not saying it's right, but in a sense it's understandable.
April 9, 2010 at 11:49 pm
With all the forces arrayed against him, it was a sensible thing to do. He might as well get plastic surgery, identity and gender change while he's at it.
April 10, 2010 at 7:49 am
Stupak might not have even made it to Nov. he was facing a very strong challenge from a radical feminist pro-abort opponant who was looking good to win the primary.
April 12, 2010 at 3:51 am
Stupak is American for Quisling