Pelosi Rejects Stupak Abortion Solution

Pelosi Rejects Stupak Abortion Solution By Lori Montgomery, Ben Pershing and Paul Kane

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday rejected an offer to hold a separate vote on abortion provisions in the sweeping health-care legislation, setting the stage for the final talks with the last Democratic holdouts.

Pelosi told reporters that she rejected the solution offered by Rep. Bart Stupak (Mich.), the leading antiabortion Democrat who proposed passing separate, strict language that would clarify that no federal funds in the proposed legislation could go toward abortion coverage.

Asked if a vote was coming, Pelosi declared no extra votes would be held to appease antiabortion Democrats or liberals still hopeful for adding their favored causes. "Not on abortion, not on public option, not on single payer, not on anything," Pelosi said. She later added, "The bill is the bill."

Democrats are close to securing the 216 votes needed for a majority when the vote is held Sunday evening, but the last bloc of holdouts are antiabortion Democrats. President Obama and Pelosi have not given up on most of those lawmakers, hoping to win over most of the roughly 10 outstanding votes.

Three antiabortion Democrats from the Rust Belt huddled in an office suite of Pelosi's, emerging to say they were still working on an arrangement to satisfy their needs so they could support the legislation. These last holdouts all supported the first health-care draft in November and are supportive of the new $940 billion compromise, if the abortion matter can be settled.

One possible solution would be the issuance of an executive order by Obama that restated the commitment to adhering to the 32-year ban on federal funds going to abortion services except in the case of rape or incest.

THE HOUND OF HEAVEN Francis Thompson (1859-1907)

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
“All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.”

FULL POEM AT:

http://www.houndsofheaven.com/thepoem.htm

A good summary from Ace of Spades:

Since my last count yesterday, Pelosi got Sanford Bishop, Scott Murphy, Suzanne Kosmas, Brad Ellsworth, Allen Boyd, Tom Perriello, Dina Titus and John Boccieri. (Harry Mitchell announced again, but I already counted him in the “yes” group.)

She lost Jason Altmire, John Barrow, Lincoln Davis (officially; he was already headed that way), Peter DeFazio (a surprise from “yes” to “no”), Heath Shuler, and Harry Teague.

So Nancy has 199 “definitely voting yes” congresscritters. She is 17 short of the magic number. There are 214 publicly declared “no” votes. There are 18 undecided/undeclared congressmen left (including Cuellar):

Yes votes in November now undecided:
Tim Bishop (NY-1), Mike Capuano (MA-8 ), Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8 ), Bill Foster (IL-14), Baron Hill (IN-9), Paul Kanjorski (PA-11), Alan Mollohan (WV-1), Bill Owens (NY-23), Earl Pomeroy (ND-All), Nick Rahall (WV-3), Zack Space (OH-18 ), John Tierney (MA-6).

No votes in November now undecided:
Brian Baird (WA-3), Rick Boucher (VA-9), Jim Matheson (UT-2), Glenn Nye (VA-2), John Tanner (TN-8 ).

Of the maybe’s left, I suspect enough have told Pelosi privately that they are voting “no” that she believes she has to peel apart Stupak’s bloc to pick up the final handful of votes. That’s why all the effort last night. Unfortunately, the Pro-Choice Caucus mutinied and Pelosi is running out of “maybes” to turn.

Stupak bloc of “no” votes remaining:
Bart Stupak (MI-1), Marion Berry (AR-1), Joe Cao (LA-2, Republican), Jerry Costello (IL-12), Henry Cuellar (TX-28 ), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3), Joe Donnelly (IN-2), Steve Driehaus (OH-1), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Dan Lipinski (IL-3). Cuellar is thought to be “leaning yes”, but he’s refusing to take the President’s phone calls.

My take: Pelosi doesn’t have the votes. They did a great job yesterday not letting the panic show. Many believed that something was going to be worked out, and I think something probably was...until the Pro-Choice Caucus put its foot down.

Update (11:44AM): Bill Owens will vote yes. (h/t William Amos.)

So Pelosi has 200. She needs 16. There are 17 maybes left.

Update (11:47AM): Baron Hill will vote yes. (h/t Guy Fawkes). Also, I missed Tim Bishop’s announcement yesterday. He’s a yes. (h/t Patrick Archibold)

So Pelosi has 202. She needs 14. There are 15 maybes left.

Reminder: it will get closer before this is over. Change your pants and tighten up those sphincters. She’ll be closer than 210 before this is over. Doesn’t matter if she doesn’t get the 216th vote.

Of course, she did! Forcing taxpayers to pay for a "special interest" industry's destruction of the lives and liberties of unborn children was a major purpose of this entire Trojan Horse fiasco called "health care reform."

See my thread today entitled, "Natural Law - the Ultimate Source of Constitutional Law."

Legislators and Presidents who claim personal beliefs about the sanctity of life and then go on to claim a "public duty" to legislate without regard to those beliefs are not grounded in the most basic tenet of liberty--Creator-endowed life and the liberty to pursue it.

"Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Man has been subjected by his Creator to the moral law, of which his feelings, or conscience as it is sometimes called, are the evidence with which his Creator has furnished him .... The moral duties which exist between individual and individual in a state of nature, accompany them into a state of society . their Maker not having released them from those duties on their forming themselves into a nation."

And:

"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."

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