I hope people keep jamming a microphone in Stupak’s face:
Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Mich, responded sharply to White House officials touting a letter representing 59,000nuns that was sent to lawmakers urging them to pass the health care bill.
The conservative Democrat dismissed the action by the White House saying, “When I’m drafting right to life language, I don’t call up the nuns.” He says he instead confers with other groups including “leading bishops, Focus on the Family, and The National Right to Life Committee.”
Every single time he opens his mouth, it helps his primary opponent:
Tomlinson
I think it’s pretty clear that Stupak isn’t consulting women, of any stripe, before he opens his trap.
Sentient Puddle
I think this post broke the CSS.
cleek
ok. who killed the layout?
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Somebody broke the Juice. I can’t see what I’m typing right now because it’s under the Prez’s watch (and 360 bucks for a battery-operated chrono? I love me some BHO, but guyot-Dayum!)
Michael D.
“When I’m drafting language about an issue that profoundly affects women, I don’t ask women for input!”
r€nato
thank goodness you fixed it. That was some crazy shit!
John Cole
Should be fixed now.
r€nato
So whom do you call up? The child molesters in frocks?
…my bad. I didn’t finish reading the quote. He calls up the child molester enablers in frocks, as well as the people who think children who are molested and become pregnant as a result should be forced to give birth anyway.
Allan
Fixed.
Betsy
@Michael D.
Why would he ask women about abortion issues? Giving women a say in the matter is what caused these problems in the first place!
master c
Thank you Sisters of all orders who helped make this happen.
As stated above-Stupak is obviously NOT consulting women.
Leelee for Obama
Some form of this should be a tag. I salute you, renato, I salute you.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Stupak thought he was on a mission from God, but it turned out that Elmer Fudd trolled his dumb ass.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Quick fix, there, Mr. Cole– thanks.
Perhaps Mr. Stupid can go ahead and switch parties?
Bulworth
What a major ahole. As Booman said, Focus on the Family is a Republican front group and a freak show. The same could be said for the National Right To Life Committee, which I don’t think has ever met a bill to expand health insurance or health care it’s liked.
Jules
What an asshole.
Such a nasty, smug little traditional Catholic.
OT: Does anyone know if there has been any polling on HCR that is broken down by regions? I have a personal bet with myself that disapproval is only high in the South and that drags down the numbers for the rest of the country.
Bad Horse's Filly
@Tomlinson:That was my first thought, too.
Uloborus
@r€nato:
“leading bishops, Focus on the Family, and The National Right to Life Committee.”
Hmmm. Do the National Right To Life Committee wear frocks?
r€nato
@Leelee for Obama:
I’ve been saying a lot recently, that NAMBLA is really missing an opportunity to go legit.
All they need to do is start wearing those frocks, funny collars and hats, and hang up a big cross at their meetings.
They’ll even get tax-exempt status.
Robin G
If this quote goes viral, even conservative women in Michigan are going to be pissed.
It is, however, a surprisingly straight-forward and honest look at the kind of thinking that goes into the anti-choice philosophy.
JMC in the ATL
What a misogynistic dolt. I’d love to know how many of his supposed 12 fellow travelers are holding strong. If I were a Catholic Conserva-Dem, I wouldn’t want to cross 59,000 nuns.
r€nato
Why is this surprising? The church patriarchy has been treating women like shit for centuries. Dissing the nuns is the status quo.
beltane
Isn’t Focus on the Family a Protestant evangelical organization? By throwing his lot in with the heretics over the nuns, Stupak has made it clear that he is a bad Catholic as well as a rotten human being.
Does this guy’s wife mind that her husband considers her to be on the same level of importance as the family dog?
r€nato
@JMC in the ATL: Misogyny is a feature, not a bug of strident Catholicism.
feebog
It’s obvious that he can feel his fifteen minutes of fame slipping away. Why anyone gave this moran any credibility in the first place is beyond me.
Osprey
“How dare them women-folk speak up on issues that we men should have nothing to say about! Have they no decency!?”
And leading bishops…well of course they want more children born. It gives them much more variety to play with.
They should abort Stupak’s penis through his ass.
Uloborus
@beltane:
Yes, but he loves her and doesn’t mean to hit her and he was so popular in high school.
Sigh. Man, I feel that way about our whole government sometimes.
Mike Kay
He was on MSNBC about an hour ago crying to chuck todd that his life has become a living hell.
Corner Stone
@Michael D.: Women should be seen, not heard.
aimai
That’s “Focus on the Fanny” in England.
aimai
Uloborus
@Mike Kay:
Seriously? That is AWESOME. Payback, motherfucker.
Ahem. Sorry, usually I’m Mister Calm And Moderate, but man, the way he’s been acting twists my lugnuts.
Edit: @aimai: HA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh man, Brit humor. That joke is going to live in my brain forever.
Edit Edit: For the uninitiated, ‘fanny’ does not mean ‘butt’ in England. Heeheeheehee!
Zifnab
@r€nato:
Without all those children born into impoverished and vulnerable families, who are priests supposed to prey upon? The Catholic Church needs to get it’s rape on, god dammit.
schrodinger's cat
As anyone with a catholic school education can tell you, it is not a good idea to cross nuns. Bart Stupak should change the last two letters of his last name.
r€nato
@Mike Kay:
Well, I know one sure way to relieve him of that angst. He can knock this shit off.
Joe Beese
He who fucks nuns will later join the church.
It’s been tested by research.
r€nato
@Zifnab:
yeah that’s right, some of those fetii might turn into really hot 8 year olds. Culture of life, bitches.
Zifnab
@Mike Kay:
And yet he continues to fight the good fight in defense of
billion dollar insurance companiesthe innocent unborn children.When is Stupak scheduled to be sainted?
Corner Stone
@feebog: If you read the piece linked to by Atrios, it seems pretty obvious he didn’t actually want to be out front and center but would have rather kept metaphorically fucking women behind the scenes with a little wink and a nod from his buddies.
joes527
This will get lots of play on the lefty blogosphere, but it won’t have any impact on folks on the other side. It just isn’t a surprising statement for him to make.
The misbehaving nuns will be tagged as DFH’s in sheep’s habits (occupational hazard … them living in communes and all)
They will be disciplined in due time. For now, nothing to see here. Move along. The adults (i.e. men) have this all under control.
Folks on the right wouldn’t be this blunt in describing the situation, but this is how they see it. So (in their view) what is the issue here?
schrodinger's cat
@r€nato: Actually isn’t that true about fundamentalist/orthodox varieties of almost all religions?
Michael D.
CBO numbers coming in…
Cost for first ten years: $940 billion.
Deficit: Cut by $130 billion in first ten years
Debt reduction: $1.2 trillion in second ten
Good news for John McCain!
beltane
National Right to a Short Brutal Life of Suffering Committee is more like it.
Sentient Puddle
Video of Stupak whining that his life has become a living hell. Or it should be…linking this shit is weird.
It comes towards the end of the interview, but if you want to see him make no sense whatsoever, you should watch the beginning and middle.
Redshirt
This is one of my favorite political quotes in recent memory. It’s refreshing, to see the lies and hallucinations so clearly expressed. Thank you, Stupak Hair Guy!
aimai
I just kicked in a hundred dollars to the act blue link, in honor of the BBrothers, the Nuns, and because I want to make Bart cry. Also, I’ve decided to fax all the reluctant blue dog congressman. Its easier than calling their offices, I can more politely and comprehensively express myself, and I know they can stack the “yes” and “no” letters in separate columns and watch them mount up.
aimai
jackie
@JMC in the ATL: As of this morning Lipinski is holding firm. How in the world he didn’t leap to cover his retreat from this lunatic with the cover of 59,000 nuns is a great mystery. This is a roughly +12 democratic district. Who tries to claim to be more pro life than 59,000 nuns? Who picks a fight with unions, pro obama voters, health care supporters and women in a democratic district? Our primary is over but the next one has no gov, senate or presidental drama. Alot of us will have nothing better to do than concentrate on the congressman.
Kryptik
Ah, folks like Stupak are the kinds of assholes George Carlin warned about when he said things like this:
“If you’re pre-born, you’re fine, if you’re pre-school, you’re fucked.”
bemused
Stupak is a ginormous mass of contradictions. Maybe someone has already mentioned a post today from Booman but it’s bizarre that Stupak would not sign up for Fed health benefits in 1992 because he promised voters he wouldn’t until there was universal health care & was denied coverage under the Mich health plan due to a pre-existing condition yet still stubbornly cling to his current extreme positions.
Wildcat12
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, primarying Stupak won’t work.
A) He’s perfect for his district. Even with all this BS he’s pulling now, it’s an incredibly long shot for him to lose his primary.
B) I don’t see him abandoning this issue even if his primary opponet is getting helped by it. Heck, Lincoln is going to lose her primary, and she decided to run towards the centre.
C) Even if we are successful in knocking him out, there are still other C-Street jackasses that will bring this issue up next time.
IMHO, the best thing we can do is be better an anticipating this thing the next time it looks like they will bring it up, and try to make is as much of a non-issue as possible.
Yes, I hate Stupak and how he thinks a woman’s uterus is government property, but a primary won’t work.
cleek
Obama must’ve found some good dirt on Kucinich. because Dennis the menace is now helping whip House undecideds.
Mike Kay
@Michael D.: but the experts at clown-college
FDLsay the numbers are too low.Can you believe them — using winger talking points saying the CBO estimate too liberal and thus moving their precious Overton’s window to the right.
Kryptik
@Corner Stone:
Yep. He only likes fucking women if they shoulder all the consequences.
Xenos
Meanwhile, the Episcopalians are about to appoint a lesbian-in-a-committed relationship Bishop. It may be a teapot, but we will have quite a tempest in it soon enough.
Mike Kay
@cleek: Maybe he showed Dennis the classified files on the UFO landing in Roswell.
schrodinger's cat
Does he wear a hair piece or is that Stupak’s real hair? It sure looks weird, also what is with all these congressmen and senators with weird wigs and hair pieces, is fake hair covered by their insurance policy?
elmo
I am snail-mailing a check for $50 (all I can afford right now) to Connie Saltonstall and copying it, with a cover letter, to my own Rep Lincoln Davis. The cover letter:
Dear Rep. Davis,
I advised your staffer yesterday morning that I would contribute both funds and time to any challenger that you have this November. I am providing you with a copy of this check to Bart Stupak’s primary opponent to demonstrate my purpose and resolve.
Best regards,
etc.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Wildcat12: All true, but I think it’s symbolically important, since others who could (maybe) be successfully primaried in states where filing deadlines are passed (Driehaus, Lipinski) are watching too. And it’s not just abortion, it’s the unions too, and as noted, African Americans. I don’t know if these people realize how much anger they’re stirring up.
Mnemosyne
I was trying to explain all of this to a friend of mine at work who is pretty reflexively anti-abortion. I was finally able to explain it by saying that there are two kinds of people who are anti-abortion: people who want to reduce the abortion rate and people who want to punish women for getting pregnant. People like her who want to reduce the abortion rate look at healthcare reform and see a good thing, because increased access to contraception and prenatal care will help reduce the abortion rate. People who want to punish women for getting pregnant don’t want healthcare reform because then they can’t punish women for getting pregnant.
Once I explained it that way, it made perfect sense to her why Stupak is an asshole.
slag
For some reason, I don’t think Stupak will ever see the light.
geg6
@Wildcat12:
February 2007:
America will never vote for a black man to be president. Nahgahappen.
March 2010:
Bart Stupak can’t be primaried and it won’t matter if he is.
JGabriel
I think it’s time for Stupak to make his party switch to the GOP official.
.
Bulworth
Here is the Booman article on Stupak that I and someone else mentioned:
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2010/3/18/94544/0087
Micheline
John please diary about this:
bemused
My tv news tells me that this is the busiest time of the year for doctors performing vasectomies. Many men schedule the procedure now because they think it’s perfect timing since they will be laying around watching sports anyway.
Anti-choicers have really been missing out on another way to save those fetuses. Logically, they should be protesting outside clinics that perform vasectomies & insist that men buy separate insurance to get one.
Wildcat12
@geg6
Those two aren’t similar at all. A black man being president was more being thought along the lines of “How long until someone finds a black man who can be well liked enough to win a primary and then president.” Obama came into the picture, and we know the rest.
Stupak, OTOH, won 65-32 last election. I haven’t seen a poll done recently about his favorability ratings, but my guess he’s still above the 50% favorable margin.
I hope I’m wrong, but it’s as I said, if Stupak goes down, there will be another C-Streeter to take his place.
Wildcat12
@ Jim, Foolish Literalist
(side note, i don’t know how to make the @ comments link to the posts I want to respond to, sorry.)
Yes, Stupak is causing a lot of people to be upset with him, but I don’t think he or anyone else on C-Street cares. I don’t think any guy part of that group will budge on this issue, even if it costs them their seat. The less of them, the better.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to primaying Stupak, I’m just stating that in his case, he’s pretty secure. We should continue doing what we’re doing now, which is ignore him and try and wait for him to self-destruct. Maybe then, he will shoot himself in the foot.
nogo postal
Here ya go John.. a Bart/Fox/Tea etc song ya tap yer feet to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw
Tsulagi
Who knew Stupak could bring the comedy?
Shorter Stupak: If you don’t have a dick, I’m not listening to you. If you have a dick but you’re not a Focus on the Family dick, I don’t listen to you either. I’m a connoisseur of dicks with a discriminating palate. It’s all about the dicks.
Slightly off topic, but speaking of stupid dicks, RedState has recommended post up along with 150 comments or so that is about as airhead loony as anything I’ve seen there. Not only do they know the truth, but the future as well. If the House uses deem and pass for HCR, an apocalypse certain will befall the D-party. SCOTUS will act within days to repeal, states will revolt, rioting will break out leading to martial law. In the comments there is debate as to whether teabaggers would be victorious over the military.
This is the really smart demo CNN is trying to reach in hiring RSSF Commander EE. Smart move.
K. Grant
Have you noticed that folks like Stupak routinely piss on the folks who actually do the work? Nuns are the grassroots of the church structure; they actually teach the students, feed the hungry, staff the shelters, you know, the stuff Jesus actually said his followers should do.
Auugghh. I really would like it if folks like Stupak actually took some time to read the words of the one they say that they follow (but clearly don’t).
Will
I can’t believe he said that. Does he plan on getting ANY female votes in November?
Kerry Reid
Stupak cares about THE CHILDREN!!!! That’s why he takes his marching orders from the bishops — you know, the ones who consistently protect the pederasts in the priesthood.
Ash Can
@Tsulagi: I believe the technical term to describe that Red State post is “wingnut heads exploding.”
bemused
@Mnemosyne:
Your friend saw the logic because she truly wants to see abortion rates reduced. If she had been a punisher, she would have had none of your sensible points. This is a great way to flush out into the open the two different types. I do think that there are many anti-choice people who want to see women punished but are in denial about their true feelings.
ChrisB
@Mike Kay: And reliably Joe Scarborough used the FDL number this morning to try to slow whatever momentum is building toward passage of the bill.
kay
@Wildcat12:
I’m not worrying about him. He’s a vehicle to reach the rest of the Democrats who voted for his amendment because he hijacked the whole debate and turned it into a discussion about what the Bishops do or don’t like.
I read a statement from Marcy Kaptur this morning that indicated she’s uncomfortable with where Stupak has taken this. She’s pro-life, and backed the Stupak Amendment, but she reiterated that this is not and should not be primarily about abortion.
The whole basis of being an anti-abortion Democrat is they aren’t single issue. They prioritize and compromise. If they didn’t, they would be Republicans.
We have a Party for single issue abortion voters. It’s the GOP.
Sentient Puddle
@Micheline: If their choke point is to be the House, then they might as well wave the white flag already. The minority has much less power there than in the Senate. No crazy shit they could pull like the filibuster or the hold.
About the worst they could do is attempt to ratfuck the bill through amendment, like Stupak did initially. Something tells me, though, that Pelosi will frown upon such shenanigans happening this time around.
scav
@Mike Kay:
This apparently doesn’t rule out some some serious ass-kicking and face-stomping like behavior, nor in the case of nuns, synchronized dangerous ruler-waving.
Jager
Has Bart forgotten that many Nuns wield metal edged rulers?
arguingwithsignposts
@Wildcat12:
To the right of the time stamp is a little arrow. Click on that and it will link to the previous comment. e.g., 77
March 18th, 2010 at 12:26 pm Reply to this comment
YellowJournalism
Remind me who hates our troops again…
Corner Stone
@Tsulagi: I hate you for this. I can’t believe I clicked on that damned link.
Normally I stay away from it but you entreated me with the little nugget about teabagger vs military.
I couldn’t resist, and am now shamed for my weakness.
Damn you Tsulagi! Dammmmnn youuuu!!
Corner Stone
@scav: I don’t know what went wrong with your comment here but I will let you know this:
If you ever confuse me with anything related to Mike Kay I will fucking hunt you down and punch you in the neck.
Then I will find your grandmother and mercilessly punch her in the neck until she disowns you.
Now I have to go take a shower to try and scald the ick off.
jl
I don’t know why Stupak is wasting his time on this abortion issue.
If he goes to Focus on the Family for his agenda, he should be concerned about prohibitions against beating the crap out of dachshunds to make them poop in the toilet like a person.
That kind of interference with our individual rights would destroy American.
Except I forgot that Dobson was just kicked out of Focus. Sorry, never mind.
eyepaddle
@Betsy:
You just won the “making-me-laugh-cynically” contest today.
I wish I didn’t have to have such a contest, but the Stupak’s of the world insist.
gbear
@Wildcat12:
This is a group who’s leader thinks that Christ was in it for the power. He admired Hitler for his leadership skills (not snarking). This is not a group who wants to give up their seats.
(ps: you can respond to someone’s comment by clicking on the little curved arrow at the right corner next to the timestamp)
JGabriel
Wildcat12:
And primary him!
Because primaries lead to pressure that could make his self-destruction more likely, and because we want to have a primary opponent – one already vetted and unlikely to become a C Streeter – already in place to take advantage of it.
.
scav
@Corner Stone: huh? But ok, sorry for any inadvertent bletch-making. If you find either of my grandmothers, I warn you, check your pulse. One of them probably already disowned me before she died and the other one may not remember me as she had Alzheimers. Ask her about the person that showed up one day with Charlie Chaplin and she’ll gladly write me off.
geg6
@Wildcat12:
Huh. Is that really why people questioned whether Obama could win the presidency? Seriously? It was all just about finding a likable enough black guy and then it was simple?
And your questions about whether Stupak could primaried or if another Dem could possibly win simply do not take into account a large number of factors, including a loss of union support, a loss of any sort of support from women’s groups, and his rather horrid behavior throughout this HCR process. I have to question your abilities at political analysis when you are only pointing to his margins when he had the support of all those groups to whom he has now burned all bridges.
slag
@K. Grant:
How awesome would it be to see a bunch of nuns marching on Washington for healthcare reform?
Of course, you know what we’d have to call such a march…
/bad joke
Jon H
Traditional, devout Catholics don’t believe in abortion because they know you’re supposed to only diddle little boys.
Jon H
@JGabriel: “and because we want to have a primary opponent – one already vetted and unlikely to become a C Streeter – already in place to take advantage of it.”
Hell, primaries can train newbies who, if they lose, can learn and establish a funding base and generate name recognition, which (if they didn’t lose because they were just utterly inept) can be utilized for *any* seats.
For example, it remains to be seen whether Ned Lamont can win the CT gubernatorial, but he has a lot more political experience and exposure than he had when he took on Joementum.
Clearly there’s a case of diminishing returns if the person never wins anything but keeps running. In that case it’s a good idea to cut grassroots support.
Sasha
As a product of parochial schooling, allow me to offer one friendly suggestion:
Do not argue or fuck with nuns.
Trust me on this one.
Uloborus
I really, really hope the Republicans DON’T have an ace up their sleeves. This is hanging by a thread as it is.
My only consolation is that so far every time they’ve had an awesome foolproof plan on HCR it’s been to get up and humiliate themselves publically.
FormerSwingVoter
Why is Stupak surprised by this? I mean, seriously? It’s a surprise that scuttling your party’s entire platform based on your singular pet project which is also in direct conflict with your party’s platform might lead to a lack of support from them? Who knew?
Maude
@Corner Stone:
@29
Not seen, and not heard.
Mnemosyne
@bemused:
I’ve seen some people online (not you) who argue that everyone who’s anti-abortion should be grouped in with the “pro-lifers,” but I just don’t think that fits reality. Arguing in favor of contraception and prenatal care goes pretty far with people who don’t like abortion but are not anti-woman otherwise, because they see the sense in preventing the need for an abortion as much as possible.
My friend was extremely shocked to find out what our maternal and infant mortality rates are, so that’s another point that can be won with people who are anti-abortion but is discounted by people who claim to be “pro-life.”
Jon H
@Wildcat12: “Stupak, OTOH, won 65-32 last election.”
That would be against a Republican, correct?
So how would this be relevant as regards a Democratic primary challenge?
scav
@Maude: Oh, I get it. Didn’t block quote enough to attribute the quote properly. Sorry dude. You can still go frighten my grandmothers if it amuses you.
kay
@Mnemosyne:
I agree with that, generally. It’s the whole premise of anti-abortion Democrats.
You can be an anti-abortion Democrat. You just can’t be a single issue anti-abortion Democrat. And if make or break on health care is an amendment that extends the reach on Hyde, you’re a single issue anti-abortion Democrat, and you’re in the wrong Party.
kommrade reproductive vigor
The only way Stupak could be a bigger clown is if a ventriloquist stuck a hand up his ass and worked his jaws to make him say stupid crap.
Corner Stone
@Maude: It’s the gays that are to be not seen, nor heard.
Womens is useful arm candy.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@slag: He will if a nun belts him round the ear hard enough.
Corner Stone
@scav: More of a statement about my intense distaste for all things Mike Kay related.
jonas
God, this guy’s a total cobag. That little comment just earned his primary opponent $25 from me.
Tiparillo
Stupak is quoted elsewhere complaining about groups outside his district putting pressure on him to vote for HCR, but he listens to these outside groups?
#lame
Bulworth
@Tiparillo:
Yeah, ya can’t brag about going to the Catholic Bishops and Right to life league to pre-approve your votes and then whine when people who support your party call in response.
Cheryl from Maryland
I guess Stupak doesn’t remember the reaction to John McCain’s airquotes around health of the mother in the 2008 October debate. Dissing nuns (=women) is going to get him into a world of hurt.
Betsy
@eyepaddle:
Woohoo!! What do I win?
Betsy
@Cheryl from Maryland:
OOOHHHH I’d forgotten about that. I remember coming close to damaging my TV when I saw that.
Wildcat12
@geg6:
Yeah, so right. That’s why Joe Sestak is going to easily beat Specter in the primary, amirite? While you argument sounds right, in reality it doesn’t play out.
While Stupak is being a jackass, it’s not like he does this on every issue. In other words, he’s a reliable D most of the time, but on some issues he isn’t (like most D’s.) Yes, on this issue he is really being polarizing, but unless this continues for the next couple months (which I doubt,) then Stupak will slowly sink out of the limelight. Heck, how often are we now talking about Joe Pitts? And just like what Specter has become, Stupak will win. Yes, Specter doesn’t have the labor support he used to have, but he’s become a solid vote for the Democrats now. In other words, there’s not a huge push to get him out since he has mended some bridges.
I’m curious to see Stupak’s favorable/unfavorable in his district after this, but my guess is that he’ll still be above the magic 50% approval mark.
And as I have pointed out before, which no one is arguing with, that even if Stupak is defeated in a primary, this type of BS will continue, with only a different C-Street Democrat taking the mantle from him. The best way to handle these clowns is to anticipate their actions and plan accordingly to try and limit them to nothing but hot air.
Joshua Norton
I’d be more afraid of 59,000 pissed off nuns than a few hand wringing bishops. Hell, I’d be more afraid of ONE pissed off nun.
bemused
@Mnemosyne:
Sure. I do know some republican women, neither Catholic nor fundies, who can’t even discuss abortion without getting extremely distraught therefore actually even talking about the most basic facts, high US infant & maternal mortality rates, lower abortion rates in countries where abortion is legal & birth control/childcare is funded for all women doesn’t happen. I suspect they are fully buying into the falsehoods about late term abortions & abortions in general that fanatics have been so successful in getting into msm. Until they can get a handle on their emotional trigger response to just hearing the word abortion, having a rational conversation that making abortion illegal is counterproductive to actually reducing abortions is almost impossible.
Wildcat12
@JGabriel:
To understand Stupak, you have to understand his district.
MI-1 is the largest, geographically. Most people up there are conserva-dems. If you break it down, the majority of districts in his area voted for McCain over Obama.
As I have been saying, Stupak is perfect for his district. I highly doubt he will see a drop in favorable ratings because of this.
Sestak primaying Specter did work, but that’s because PA is now pretty solidly leaning Democratic. MI-1 is not the same.
Mnemosyne
@Wildcat12:
Actually, Joe Sestak isn’t going to beat Specter in the primary because the threat of a primary challenge made Specter move to the left and get in line with the Democratic caucus. Specter did exactly what people wanted him to do or else he would be primaried.
You don’t have to actually go through an entire primary for a primary threat to be effective. The mere threat can be very effective on its own. I’m not sure why the anti-primary folks forget that.
geg6
@Wildcat12:
Do you actually know anything at all about the people and the state which you bring up here as an example? Anything??
And Sestak’s campaign did everything right, amirite? Like making sure he had the state and Pgh/Philly party leadership on his side, right? And lining up the White House on his side, right? And making sure that the unions were gonna back him, right? He has run a perfect campaign and is losing. How could that possibly be?
This guy, though I like him on the merits, has done everything wrong you can possibly do in making a Dem primary run. Everything. Pissed off everyone imaginable with power in the state party. I really don’t think you can make any comparisons of Sestak to Saltonstall.
Jerry 101
I hope a crowd of angry nuns shows up in Stupaks office, rulers in hand.
He deserves a good ruler whoopin’.
Corner Stone
@Joshua Norton:
Especially if you’re old enough to tell the police when the funny hats touch your privates.
Corner Stone
@Betsy: I’m going to guess – polite golf clap?
Wildcat12
@geg6:
For crying out loud, it’s as simple as this:
Bart Stupak is PERFECT for his district. The majority of countys in his district went for McCain. Not by much, but still McCain got the majority. He won 65-32, so any Republican against him is too far to the right. With that being said, I don’t see him losing because he’s weak on the left. Most people up there are blue-dogs, and have shown they liked McCain over Obama. I don’t see Stupak losing in a primary. Running to the left of him will get some support, but I highly, highly doubt that he’ll lose the primary because of it.
Further, while Sestak did push Specter more to the left, Stupak won’t abandon this issue. I hate Stupak as much as everyone else here, but trying to primary him out of his seat won’t work. Everyone is more than welcome to try, but the best way to handle him is as I’ve stated previously.
Joshua Norton
A “Stupak” is obviously a 6 pack of stupid.
The end.
Wildcat12
@Mnemosyne:
I agree with you about Sestak and Specter. But Stupak and Staltonstall is not related. PA leans D. MI-1 had the majority of it’s countys go to McCain. I don’t see these people thinking that Stupak needs to be taken out by someone to the left of him. And I don’t see the threat of a primary forcing him to back off on this issue.
Tax Analyst
I think “teh Stupak” should be added to the BJ lexicon.
geg6
@Wildcat12:
As you are so fond of telling us, you are an expert political analyst regarding Stupak’s district. I haven’t seen anyone else anywhere, even reading some MI blogs, that say what you are saying with so much authority (they all admit it’s a tough district for a challenge, but not impossible at all with union and women’s groups getting highly involved). But take my word for it, you know nothing at all about PA and should probably refrain from making a lot of comparisons here. Because you are talking a lot of ignorance about PA in just about every way.
Wildcat12
@geg6:
Nothing at all about PA? I’ve said 2 rather broad things about it, both are true by the by, and thus you conclude that? And why so defensive? You state I’m ignorant, but it’s you who doesn’t realise the situation.
I’d love to eat crow on this and see Stupak lose. But it’s not going to happen. I’m not trying to be the doom-and-gloom here, only the realist. In the long run, Stupak doesn’t matter. C-Street will just find another guy to lead the anti-choice crusade.
Bart Stupak will not lose by having a challenger on the left.
The best thing to do about him is what we’re doing now, minus the emphasis on the primary. If we keep letting Stupak sound frustrated, then good. Let’s keep it that way. Reduce him to nothing but hot air. As some have stated his actions are causing a couple other pro-life D’s to reconsider. This isn’t because he has the threat of a primary. This is all him.
Repeat: Getting rid of Stupak will not get rid of the BS that he’s raising right now, someone will take his place. Anticipate, and minimize them.
Oh, and I never stated I was an expert political analyst. But thanks for putting words in my mouth. Tell me, what other things have you imagined I’ve said?
asiangrrlMN
@Tax Analyst: Seconded. Pooooor baby getting his widdle fee-fees hurt by the nasty ol’ pro-choice Democrats.
@Mnemosyne: Unfortunately, it’s mostly the pro-birthers who get the most attention because they are batshitfrothingatthemouthcrazy. Being reasonable and rational doesn’t grab the ratings.
Jon H
@Wildcat12: “The majority of countys in his district went for McCain. Not by much, but still McCain got the majority. He won 65-32, so any Republican against him is too far to the right.”
Just a thought, but how much of McCain’s vote was because Obama’s black, perhaps some kind of carryover from rural scorn for Detroit?
geg6
@Wildcat12:
All I’m saying is what you’ve been implying for days now: you know Stupak’s district better than anyone here and therefore your analysis should be considered as fact. Which also implies a level of expertise in such analysis.
And the two things you stated about PA are not in reality exactly as you stated them. Since I live in PA and have been active in the state and local party since 1976, I can state with authority that things are not quite how you see them and that your comparisons to the situation in MI are completely off base.
Um, no. He has all the labor support he could wish for. Even as a GOPer, he supported EFCA.
It would be ridiculous to talk about Joe Pitts since he lives in a very safe GOP district. Very safe. You can’t get more wingnut in PA than Lancaster. Stupak, OTOH, may be from a socially conservative district, but I’m willing to bet that a district with a median income of less than $35K in a place with high unemployment due to loss of union jobs might be open to someone who wants the people there to have things like affordable and secure health care. Especially the women. All those Polish women who were taught by, are related to, and value nuns.
Waynski
@arguingwithsignposts: Thanks, man. I always wondered how you do that. And thanks @Wildcat 12 for asking the question.
D-Chance.
Since there’s nothing else of importance going on… I must take this time to say to CBS, “Bravo!” The first day of March Madness, and I’ve had almost 4 hours of nothing but pixelated stills, “no signal”, “no program”, and “no audio” blank screens. Way to go, morons.
slippy
Why does Bart Stupak insist that this is a bill about abortion?
Asshole. Be honest for just once and admit that you’re just carrying the GOP’s water for them in order to sabotage HCR.
kc
What a jackass. I read about this at Digby’s and followed a link to Act Blue. Gave Saltonstall a little money under the Balloon Juice group.
SIA
@beltane: I actually looked up Stoo-Pak on Wikipedia today as I was wondering the same thing. His wife was mayor and ran and lost elective office in Michigan. She doesn’t sound like the meek little helpmeet. They had a son who committed suicide which is why I haven’t gone full Screaming on him. I have compassion for them for that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Stupak