This could get interesting:
Stupak said that he was in Northern Michigan, without internet access, with the emails were sent from his office to McConnell’s. Smith “should have let me make up my own mind,” said Stupak.
A spokesman for McConnell declined to comment about the staffers’ exchange.
“Smith” is Erika Smith, the Stupak aide coordinating with the Republicans and others this morning. I’d bet that while the House Democrats will tolerate a lot of things, openly coordinating with Senate Republicans is too much for even them, and Stupak is going to walk this down rather quickly.
GregB
Stupak will be switching parties anyday now.
Stu-pid.
-G
Kryptik
Either that, or hissy fit that this wouldn’t have been necessary if his fine colleagues on the Democratic side weren’t a bunch of heartless baby killers. Either or, you know.
Considering how things have gone, I’m not about to throw either possibility out of the window.
Kennedy
See Senate Dems and their handling of Lieberman’s endorsement of a certain Republican presidential candidate and subsequent trashing of Barack Obama.
My bet is that not a thing happens to Stupak, regardless of the fact that we’re talking about the House here.
electricgrendel
I think it is far more likely that Congressional Democrats have an inexhaustible capacity for humiliation and Stupak will suffer nothing because of this.
jonst
Ain’t a good damn thing that CAN be interesting, if it is predicated on the Dem leadership showing any spine. They go after Stupak and he’ll give a press conf saying ‘they want to kill babies’ and the Dems will fold like a cheap lawn chair.
Yutsano
Am I the only one seeing that as Stupak trying to throw his aide under the bus to cover his own ass? Or am I overthinking this?
jonst
God, not “good”….although ain’t a “good damn thing” either
Kryptik
@Kennedy:
@electricgrendel:
Both comments are depressingly valid, sadly enough.
Senyordave
If nothing offical happens to Stupak the least the Dems should do is make sure he is not privy to any strategy. Also should not receive any DNC money.
John Cole
@Yutsano: Did you read the title of this post?
Jim
@Kryptik:
True, but if he’s walking all this back and pretending to be out of the loop in his own office, it suggests that he overreached on this, and is less likely to try and throw this wrench in the machinery again.
MikeJ
You and Cole are correct. This is the proper role of congressional aide. Do what your boss wants and fall on your sword if he gets caught. She’ll be ok.
Elise
He sounds nervous…maybe he knows Pelosi will punish his ass. He should fire this staffer.
Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill
This actually makes sense. Staffers have a lot of power, esp. since many Freshman Congresspeople have to lean on them to manage even the basics of working the chamber with any efficiency — and as the Congressperson’s power grows, so does their staff’s.
I could see a staffer going “above and beyond”; Stupak clearly has been nobbing with the GOP leadership on this a little close, anyway, and it sounds like she went over the line, both in terms of actions and “traceability”. She was sloppy, and that’s almost as big a sin as her acts, themselves.
That said, I suspect the net effect is that she’s get kicked around, maybe even out depending on her personal power level, and Stupak’ll be a bit more…circumspect about this Abortion business, which is to our good.
gwangung
@Jim: I’m hoping so.
Chuck Butcher
Now that y’all have demonstrated what isn’t too much for you that takes a certain amount of nerve. Better than a GOP something or other…
kommrade reproductive vigor
Shorter Bart the Stupid: Bitch set me up!
Jim
The only unforgivable sin in American politics, getting caught.
“It’s worse than a crime, it’s a mistake”.
CalD
If Stupak hates it, does that mean it’s good?
Anya
What is he saying here? I don’t get it. Is he saying that his aid basically on her own accord contacted McConnell’s office and suggested that they coordinate their campaign against the bill? What was he making up his mind about?
I just don’t want to click on Politico, I give them one click per month, if I have to.
gwangung
@Anya:
See @kommrade reproductive vigor:
stickler
I don’t know. Maybe Madam Pelosi has the ability to crack the whip on obvious party traitors like Stupak; I suppose it’s possible. But we haven’t seen much in the way of party discipline yet. Why start now? Much better to let Stupak off scot-free, then watch him put together 64 anti-choice votes to make HCR even worser than it already is.
jnfr
I want to know who leaked the emails to Politico.
Anya
@CalD: You should have seen McConnel, practically crying. I saw a clip in one of GOS’s diaries.
MikeJ
@jnfr: I’d bet a McConnell staffer.
Maude
The question I have is can she get him back? As in make him sorry that he said that.
Mark S.
Geez, that compromise sounds stupid. I doubt any insurance company is going to go to the trouble of offering abortion coverage.
jwb
I still don’t get why Stupak was playing footsie with the Senate Goopers. I just don’t see what they bring to the table.
Jim
@jwb:
Stupak admitted in his NYT op-ed (IIRC, I didn’t actually read it) that his amendment to the House bill didn’t do anything wrt federal funding the Hyde Amendment didn’t already do. I hate to think that our elected reps are so vain, petty and trivial, but what conclusion can you come to but that he briefly held the national spotlight, convinced himself it was because he was battling courageously for a noble cause, and wanted that light and warmth back again.
Ecks
@jnfr: Yeah me too. Some inter-office fighting here maybe? Or someone pissed off at how cozy things were getting.
BTW, Ezra’s take on the abortion compromise:
Jim
Speaking bloodlessly: One that wants female self-insurers and sells abortion coverage as part of a broader health package?
Rhoda
McConnell leaked this to try to kill the mommentum towards passage I guess; and Stupak has enough sense to throw his aide under the bus.
You know, after all this drama, what happens in 2010 if health care reform passes on the right? You already have Red State throwing this all on McConnell’s shoulder.
robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles
From an insurance company standpoint, an abortion is cheaper to pay for than a full birth. I read that somewhere recently.
Anya
@jwb: I was thinking the same thing. They’ve already stated that they will vote against the bill and he already know that they will vote for any amendment that weakens the bill, so why waist his time with them? Maybe he is planning to switch parties if he does not get his way.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Kennedy: Two things: first, Lieberman is not a Democrat, and can’t be expected to stick to the party line. Second, House Dems are generally more feisty that Senate Dems.
jwb
@Rhoda: I hope McConnell leaked this. That would make Stupak doubly stupid—first dealing with the Senate Goopers, who have dealt themselves completely out of the game, and then getting double-crossed by them.
asiangrrlMN
Well, Stupak has to say SOMETHING. I hope she slashes his tires on her way out.
I think Pelosi may have a quiet word with him behind the woodshed. I hope she kicks him in the nuts.
@jwb: I like the way you think. Anything to make the idiots look stupid is A-OK by me.
MikeJ
Not if she ever wants to work in politics again.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Chuck Butcher: Wha…?
Jim
as to who leaked it, I don’t know exactly how Congressional staffing works, but maybe someone in the BS office works for him cause it’s the best Dem job available, but doesn’t like his manoeuvre? somebody shot their mouth off at a party last night? it would be irresponsible, and less fun, not to speculate.
demkat620
Gee, let’s see:
Bart Supak being stupid, check.
Senate Republicans stabbing him in the back by releasing the email to Drudgico, check.
Formerly unknown aide about to walk the plank for her stupid boss, check.
Seems like SOP to me.
What am I missing?
valdivia
I think one point getting lost in all of this is that the invisible people who make Congress work, who leak stories, who plant the seeds for deals and congressional alliances are the staffers. Do we know, as political junkies who the staffers of the most important senate and congress members are? what are *their* politics, their agendas? Who is this smith gal? A Family person? I don’t doubt that she is getting set up as the fall person but let us not underestimate the power of an aide/staffer with an agenda and connections to the other side. One thing we never talk about when we talk about Lieberman’s changing policy positions aside from him being an asshole (correct diagnosis in my opinion) is that ALL his staff is now made up of republicans. I think this is something we should pay more attention to, because these are the people that actually get things done. Stupak is still a jerk and so is Lieberman but I would be very very curious to know who this Smith person is, and sincerely what her politics are.
demkat620
@valdivia: Congressional staffers are a reflection of their bosses.
Teddy Kennedy’s staff was considered the best because Teddy made them so.
She works for Bart Stupak. Tells you all you need to know.
Jim
Interesting point. I remember in the nineties one of the big rightwing objections to Bob Dole as a nominee was that his top aide (Sheila something) was pro-choice, and they didn’t trust BD because of that, his actual voting record be damned. Mary Matalin used to be suspect for the same reason, before she revealed herself to be the Bellatrix Lestrange to the Dark Lord Cheney. I spend more time than I’d care to admit on political blogs, but I can’t think of the name of a single Dem congressional staffer.
Litlebritdifrnt
Totally OT for the most part but ya’ll have abandoned the threads below so:
It was a day of freezing rain here in NC so I filled up the bird feeders first thing, spent a couple of hours weather stripping the doors and all the windows (and it has made a lot of difference in the great room), and replaced the broken cat flap. We have a fire in the hearth (which I think is more psychological than anything else), dinner tonight is home made beef stew (very lean sirloin cubed, carrots, green beans, peas, rutabega, potatoes) with dumplings and home made wholewheat french bread (I love my bread machine).
Re: Idiots driving in the snow. I see it when it snows here in NC cause you see all the lunatics in their 4 wheel drive vehicles (mainly trucks and SUVs) thinking that they can drive as normal cause “I have 4 wheel drive” not realizing that it has absolutely nothing to do with it. Last snow storm we had (last year) I was driving down to Swansboro to feed the cat and there were seven trucks and SUVs spun out in the ditches and the median. Idiots (especially seeing at the emergency people have to waste their valuable time dragging their sorry arses out of said ditches).
As for the HCR thing, I am just hoping that as someone else said, this bill may not be all that we hoped for but the camel is getting his nose under the tent, and that has to be a good thing. Social security today bears no resemblance to the Social Security bill that was originally passed, ditto Civil Rights Act. Lets get the camel’s nose under the tent, we can get the rest of the camel in one leg at a time.
ds
The Nelson abortion compromise doesn’t give away too much, as far as I can see it.
States are ALREADY allowed to restrict abortion coverage in private health insurance plans. 5 states currently do so. The other 45 have chosen not to.
I think that states should mind their own fucking business, but this compromise doesn’t directly make anything worse. It basically maintains the status quo.
rh
John, did you know Jake Tapper follows your twitter feed? That struck me as extremely odd. Shocking, even.
valdivia
@demkat620:
Yes and no. It tells me she may have been shaped by working for him but not all staffers come green to their jobs right? Some of the top staffers come from other members of congress or campaigns. Again my point is that not all staffers are necessarily a reflection of their bosses, and that some should be seen as independent political operators.
@Jim:
I know the guys who report on congress talk mostly to staffers and these are their sources. This is why I have so much trouble with the reporting that uses only anonymous staffers because they are always pushing something, they have an agenda and we as readers cannot evaluate what it is right? I think I would be better informed by knowing who these people are then by knowing the gossip bs the political reporters always give us.
Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill
@rh: Some people do like flagellation.
Wile E. Quixote
I’ve read that conditions in Stupak’s district up in the Yooper region of Michigan are such that he will never face a primary challenger. Given this why not just get Act Blue to start raising money for a Republican opponent? Call me a purity troll, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and Stupak has stepped way the fuck over that line with his collaboration with the GOP. Rather than give the little shit a chance to switch parties and keep his seat fund a Republican challenger and force Stupak out. I’m sure he’d find a lobbyist gig somewhere, the Catholics would probably give him a job working for NAPBLA, (North American Priest Boy Love Association) but it would be a comedown from being a congressman and it would send a message to future Stupak-types as well that if they want to get in bed with the GOP like this that they’re going to be destroyed.
MikeJ
Smith was a “shared employee” until 30 Sep of this year. She’s a legislative aide now.
gwangung
@Wile E. Quixote: I’d settle for making his Congressional life a constant, befuddling day of frustrating hell.
bago
Stupak is “Family”. That should inform you of his opinion of the help.
valdivia
@MikeJ:
sorry for my ignorance what the hell is a shared employee?
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Wile E. Quixote: Purity troll.
HRA
You can check Erika M. Smith here
http://www.legistorm.com/person/Erika_M_Smith/12005.html
Napoleon
BS, Stupak knew exactly what was happening. On the plus side if the anti-Stupak amendment people are smart they use this to scare some Democratic reps who may have gone along with it away from it.
MikeJ
According to the House, “An employee who is paid by more than one employing authority of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
That could be splitting pay between a member’s office and a committee or possibly two members. She was split between Stupak and the House Energy and Commerce committee.
valdivia
@HRA:
thanks.
Kennedy
@Comrade Scrutinizer: I’m aware Lieberman isn’t a Democrat. He’s an independent who frequently caucuses with the Democrats. In this capacity, Stupak and Nelson and all the other idiots are pretty damned similar.
Also, I already said that I’m aware that this is the House, but I’m still speculating that nothing will happen to him.
valdivia
@MikeJ:
interesting.
Mnemosyne
It’s unfortunately that Harry Reid’s suckitude as a leader is so bad that somehow Pelosi keeps getting lumped in with him as being equally ineffective. The fact is, she’s not, and Stupak knows that, which is why he’s so desperately backpedalling in the hope that he’ll escape punishment. The House doesn’t have any of that tradition of playing nice that the Senate likes to maintain.
Not to mention that, as others have hinted, House members are quite sensitive to any hint that they’re not as important as Senators, so the fact that Stupak was coordinating with senators is a major black eye for him among his fellow House members. He just punched a bunch of his fellow representatives right in the ego.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Rhoda:
Erikkk, son of Erikkk, is already foaming at the mouth at McConnell for his ‘waiting until it is too late to do anything’ on the HRC bill and Erikkk’s minions are licking the foam off of his face.
Ok, Erikkk is always foaming at the mouth but this time there is MORE FOAM!
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Kennedy: Pelosi isn’t Reid. She’s willing to cut slack to Blue Dogs who have to vote against the party to keep their seats, but if this story is the real deal, Stupak has gone way beyond that. I think he’ll pay a price, although we may not see it.
Citizen Alan
Can I just also say that it annoys me that people are always willing to give Bart Stupak attention for his antics without also noting that he’s a member of that creepy C-Street sex cult. I mean, if anyone on the progressive side were always out trying to get publicity for themselves while living in a Congressional frat house whose leadership thinks that it’s okay for politicians “anointed by God” to cheat on their wives as long as they worship Jesus as fervently as the Nazis worshiped Hitler, I think it would get some media attention.
I propose that from now on, whenever anyone mention’s Stupak’s name, we also point out that he’s a member of that creepy C-Street sex cult, like so:
Napoleon
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
So what was he suppose to do in addition to what he has done. What a bunch of morons.
Jim
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
Winners win, losers lose. Republicans get this. Maybe Dems are starting to.
Yutsano
@John Cole: D’OH! Blond moment, ignore me.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Napoleon:
That’s morans, get it right! ;)
Hey, he could of hung a couple of teabags off of his ears and stapled a picture of Palin to his face before speechifying in the Senate. This would show his dedication to the cause!
@Jim:
The saying is that hope springs eternal but when it comes to the Democrats I think that spring is damned near dry.
Jack
@Maude:
She’s not going to get revenge. She fell on a sword for him. As another respondent stated, that’s par for the course. After “fervor” dies down, she’ll get her reward.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@John Cole:
You should have titled it as:
The wheels on the bus go round and round…
Martian Buddy
@Rhoda:
Better yet, some wingnuts are already saying that “repeal the bill!” should be the rallying cry for 2010, before the bill is even in conference committee. They know they’ve lost.
Now imagine what the freakout will look like if the Dems can pull a hat trick and follow up with immigration reform and cap-and-trade–Glenn Beck might weep himself to death.
Chuck Butcher
@Martian Buddy:
So, those will involve more corporate subsidies out of …
When this is done you’ll be able to tell CEOs from Congresspeople by … um, er, income? 40 automatic nays and then?
You have laid out the line you’ll not cross.
Jay B.
This cracks me up. After all the crap that happened this week, this is what gets you upset with the calls for a scalp and everything? That a pantysniffing Democrat is coordinating with the Republican Senate Minority Leader?
You want the win, remember? Suck it up. It could be worse. If you punish a guy sponsored, like Ben Nelson, by the U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops, you might alienate the pantysniffing Democratic vote in the House and Senate enough that the bill that comes out of committee might lose their support.
And, so I’ve been told over and over again, the Democratic Leadership really doesn’t have much in the way of sticks here. Reid is helpless. Obama’s hands are tied. And Pelosi, well, what’s she going to do? She barely has enough votes as it is.
This is exactly the kind of thing I would have been upset by before you all convinced me that endless capitulation is the best way to win.
Laura W
@Yutsano:
Speaking as a natural blonde (drapes match and all), that’s pretty offensive.
If we’re gonna start correlating IQ and EQ with genetics, race, and eye/hair coloring, I’d at least like to see BOB engaged in the repartee.
Yutsano
@Laura W: Seriously, I have no excuses. I apologize. Feel free to flog me.
Chuck Butcher
@Laura W:
Who gets to verify?
AhabTRuler
@Laura W:
@Yutsano:
@Chuck Butcher:
I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that this was a private party. I’ll let myself out.
Chuck Butcher
@AhabTRuler:
Ha, I expect, momentarily, a ballbat from LauraW so you’ll be stepping over my twitching body.
Laura W
@Yutsano: You get a flogging.@Chuck Butcher: You get to verify.
@AhabTRuler: You get to stay.
@Chuck Butcher: You get the ballbat.
You guys are funny.
I have nothing else, except that you are funny and I appreciate you all tonight.
Chuck Butcher
@Laura W:
Well I certainly appreciate you providing the opportunity…
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Chuck Butcher:
When opportunity knocks… ;)
Martian Buddy
The reaction over on Freep is amusing me entirely too much. WOLVERINES!! (No, really, someone actually posted that.)
Tyro
Proper etiquette when throwing one of your staffers under the bus for an incident like this is to set them up with a nice job at a think tank or lobbying firm. It both sends a message of “no hard feelings, it was just business” and well as, “don’t slash my tires or dish dirt to Politico on your way out the door if you want to work again in this town.” Ms. Smith will be just fine.
Yutsano
@Laura W: Thank you ma’am may I have another? :) In all honesty, I’ll extract my foot from my mouth and eagerly await Chuck’s report.
fasteddie9318
He thinks “I was without internet access” is going to fly when we’re less than 2 weeks away from 2010? Was he hibernating in a lead bunker in a cave?
BruinKid
@HRA: Interesting, thanks. So she worked for Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) before working for Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL) for several years before going to work for Stupak. Looks like she’s definitely not some greenhorn who didn’t know what she was doing.
Bobby Thomson
I know you were a Republican until recently, John, but that’s not how Democrats roll. Democrats have about a tenth of the party discipline that Republicans do.