Key Anti-Abortion Dem: Passing Senate Bill Would Be “Pro Life”
Rep Dale Kildee of Michigan, a key pro-life Dem who was thought to be part of the Stupak bloc, released a statement today confirming that he will vote for the Senate bill.
But what’s really got Democrats psyched today is the language he used — his strong endorsement, in religious terms, of the Senate bill, which Dems think will prove persuasive to what remains of the Stupak bloc:
For those who know me, I have always respected and cherished the sanctity of human life. I spent 6 years studying to be a priest and was willing to devote my life to God. I came to Congress two years after the Hyde Amendment became law and I have spent the last 34 years casting votes to protect the lives of the unborn. I have stood up to many in my party to defend the right to life and have made no apologies for doing so. I now find myself disagreeing with some of the people and groups I have spent a lifetime working with. I have listened carefully to both sides, sought counsel from my priest, advice from family, friends and constituents and I have read the Senate abortion language more than a dozen times.
I am convinced that the Senate language maintains the Hyde Amendment, which states that no federal money can be used for abortion. The Senate bill includes a “conscience clause” and allows states to ban plans that include abortion. I also disagree with the argument that the Senate bill would lead to abortions being performed at community health centers. Under existing law (42 C.F.R. § 50.301), community health centers are prohibited from performing abortions.
We must not lose sight of what is at stake here — the lives of 31 million American children, adults, and seniors — who don’t have health insurance. There is nothing more pro-life than protecting the lives of 31 million Americans. Voting for this bill in no way diminishes my pro-life voting record or undermines my beliefs. I am a staunch pro-life member of Congress — both for the born and the unborn.”
Kildee isn’t persuading all his fellow pro-life holdouts. Rep Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, for instance, is still strongly condemning the Senate bill.
But here you have a member who studied to be a priest describing the Senate bill as “pro life” — something that one assumes will prove persuasive to at least some of his fellow anti-abortion Dems.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
Great news. We are making great progress. Like the Catholic Nuns Of America stated; This Is A Pro-Life Bill.
Greg, was Kildee already leaning yes? I can’t find him on David D’s list. Also did you see my posts on earlier thread? He and Bowers added Kaptur, Altmire and Bean to the undecided from leaning yes. So it’s 11/18 now I think. It’s easy to get confused, well for me at least.
Isn’t almost everyone counting virtually all of the supposed gang of 12 as Yes votes? They ALL voted yes on the House bill …?
Ahh, a consistent and right-headed pro-life politician. Its a nice change, as a Catholic, to see pols like Kildee making a decent effort to properly represent us as opposed to posturing like pseudo-christian born-agains. Between him and Bob Casey, I think that makes 2.
PLEASE, please, please, please, please let it be Friday (or Saturday) already! Or at least, please, dear, CBO, release the score. Please!?!?!?!
lmisnca, Kildee was leaning Yes.
And SBJ, most people are counting the stupak bloc as undecided, and assuming that some will vote No. that’s why there’s the move to flip NOs to Yesses
And Liam, did they also call it a pro life bill? sounds like a meme building
Despite the above whine, this was a beautifully written piece from a legislator. I didn’t know any of them COULD write!
Greg/Liam: from the letter: This is the real pro-life stance, and we as Catholics are all for it.”
another coward comes forward.i will recommend to the bishop in his diocese to prevent him from receiving communion( I PRESUME HE IS A CATHOLIC IN NAME AT LEAST SINCE HE SAID HE STUDIED TO BECOME A PRIEST) . he should be prevented from entering a catholic church.catholic bishops of america have denounced the bill. i’d have to investigate who these nuns really are. im sure there is more to this story. i have never seen so many people cheering for the destruction of the united states. those who support this bill are more destructive to the USA then any islamic terrorist could ever be. GOD HELP US!
Dennis Kucinich voted No, on the original house version that was passed, so that is abig pickup. We had to get 218 yes votes, the first time, and this time we only need 216, and with the switch of Kuch. from No to Yes this time, that makes a big difference.
Greg,
Yes; the Nuns called it a Pro-Life bill, in their letter.
From AP.
Excerpt:
“The letter says that “despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions.” The letter says the legislation also will help support pregnant women and “this is the real pro-life stance.”
O/T. Not to interfere with the HCR Countdown but the article recommended earlier today by Bernie Latham is brilliant and essential. Here’s a clip:
And that, Ladies and Germs, shows what we’re up against and what I heavy lift it will be. I hope that conversation about the place of government in our lives, suggested by Nancy Pelosi, gets started immediately. Because that won’t be a minute too soon.
Find the rest at:
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/Republican-Propaganda1sep04.htm
Well worth the time.
ummm…joe.
At this moment, Catholic bishops don’t have a moral leg to stand on. It’s gonna take a generation of new Priests and recruits to rid the church of the harm it did to its self.
I’m pleased that Kildee’s conscience, or whatever, tells him to vote on HCR in a way that I agree with. Kaptur’s conscience, or whatever, sends her in the opposite direction.
I can only say to those representives who “vote their conscience” that they shouldn’t be surpried when their constituents vote theirs.
wbgonne,
And yet The mainstream Media never even notices that while Republicans have been trying to destroy Americans trust in their own Government, they were claiming that they were Invading Iraq to establish the same form of government in that country, and planned to spread it to the surrounding nations.
GOP(Grand Oxymoron Party)
HEY MIKIE,
im just curious what community college did you drop out of .obviously, u arent a catholic. while you have maybe talked to someone who visited the white house i have actually had long discussions with people who have been at meetings in the white house(yes, with obama there),
noting that you were able to read my last comment you may be able to raed a book. read “RULES FOR RADICALS ” by saul alinsky and you will see what is going on here.
do you understand the amount of rationing of care that will occur for all people. do you think that illegal aliens and poor people are dying in the streets because they dont have health care? no, they can get as good if not better care than us.
thats what is bad about the internet. any idiot can have an opinion but no facts. let me guess you are 20,dropped out of college and living in ur parents basement. admit it.
Dear Joe,
If you want to claim friends in high places (i.e. [that means, "that is"], those who have been at meetings in the [W]hite [H]ouse), I suggest you learn how to spell.
Sincerely,
It has just being reported that Cardinal Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, when he was a Priest, investigated claims of *** abuse on two children, by a pedophile priest, who since served prison time in Ireland for his crimes.
The key finding, in the new report is: When Cardinal Brady investigated the claims against the pedophile priest, he swore the 10 year old girl, and the 14 year old boy, to vows of secrecy.
Now there are new reports coming out of Brasil, about the same sort of conduct in the clergy there.
joe, rationing is a fiction. I am American born and a CURRENT participant in the Canadian System, and rationing isn’t real- no matter how much your associates on the right would like you to believe it. This will be doubly (possibly triply) so with the current HCR bill, as it does fairly little to change the health care industry (i.e. providers), and as News Ref so enthusiastically points out all the time, won’t even take control of the INSURANCE industry either.
And based on your grammar, I’m going to go out on a limb and assert that Mike is considerably better educated than you are.
Joe,
You are living proof of your own statement; that any idiot can have an opinion.
Insurance Rescission Practices is the Ultimate Form Of RATIONING.
# Liam | March 17th, 2010 at 04:00 pm
“Great news. We are making great progress. Like the Catholic Nuns Of America stated; This Is A Pro-Life Bill.”
I was hoping for more of a Pro-Lifestyle bill. One that would allow me avoid paying insurance premiums. Those damn IRS fines are really going pinch my lifestyle. Maybe I’ll start a paypal account. Liam, you can be the first to donate.
Sure thing Common Bond. Post your Paypal account number, and all your personal details. I must have your name and social security number, to make sure that you are a genuine dead beat.
wow kelley!
that really hurts! when i am writing on the internet it isnt the same as writing a letter.
let me profile you. you are a 21 yr old with a boyfriend who cheats on her.your job is low paying and your dissatisfied.
let me explain to you. the internet is not a place where the same grammatical rules are necessarily used.
in ten years, when u are divorced with three kids and you cant get a doctors appointment or if you do it is with a PA or nurse practioner you will say why is it this way.grow up little girl.
i was programmer computers before you were even born. in 1985 we called it electronic mail not email. wow ,now you know what the “e” in “email” means
that really hurts
“the word “public,” in all its uses and declensions (public service, citizenship, public health, community, public park, commonwealth, public school, etc.), connotes inefficiency and waste”
Same with the word SOCIAL.
It’s quite clear that the Republican Right is ANTI-SOCIAL.
James Oberstar (D-MN), believed to have been a part of the Stupak gang, is now a firm YES on the final bill.
http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/Oberstar_will_back_final_bill.html#
Looks like Joe The Plumber Has joined us, and is trying to type with a Plunger.
i have to leave you morons.i will be laughing at you for next few hours . some of us actually have jobs and we actually deal with those who are uninsured.
holyhand grenaid, hey loser look up the writings of ezekial emmanuel if you want to see rationing. also, recent recommendations on mammograms and prostate screening.
wish i could stay longer with you losers as it has been nice getting responses .no facts but at least you can write.take care losers!
Insurance Rescission Practice, is the Ultimate Form Of Health Care RATIONING.
Joe, we don’t speak tweet. You’re going to have to do better.
Thanks joe, calling me a loser was so necessary, I finally get it, I suck, and to think I was going to go through life thinking I was the bee’s knee’s.
And why would I need to look up anybody’s writing on the issue, when I have personal experience that disproves that lie? I notice you didn’t even try to refute what I’ve seen with my own eyes, or even actually provide a link to your ’source’. Sad, really.
I came across a link to this: which is posted on Huffington;
“ust how much are Republican donors willing to pay for a private photo opportunity with conservative firebrands Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)?
The folks at Minnesota-Bachmann Victory Committee are putting the price tag at a whopping $10,000 per couple, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Huffington Post
……………….
I think they could really rake it in, if they demanded $20,000.00 contributions from all those who wished to not appear in a picture with the GOPshite Twinkies.
Joe! My God! You need to get yourself a Psychic Hotline number. You sure nailed that read on me!!
Isn’t it great this week..learning that hyperbole spewing morons like Joe are outnumbered by rational human beings in our nation. For awhile I was beginning to wonder.
Sue, maybe Greg can confirm, but I believe Oberstar was counted as leaning yes.
Imsinca, yes, I think Oberstar was leaning yes, but I recall reading that he needed to check out the senate abortion language. I think he was like Kildee…(allegedly) part of Stupak’s group, but able to be convinced.
Dear Joe the troll,
I think you need to look into those nuns, and more importantly, you need to find out what kind of countertops they have. Michelle Malkin wants to know.
was programmer computers before you were even born. in 1985 we called it electronic mail not email. wow ,now you know what the “e” in “email” means
Wow. Kelley, did this leave a mark?
“Al-Qaeda crippled as leaders stay in hiding, CIA chief says”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031702558.html?hpid=topnews
“Relentless attacks against al-Qaeda in the Pakistan tribal region appear to have driven Osama bin Laden and other top leaders deeper into hiding, leaving the organization rudderless and incapable of planning sophisticated operations, CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
So profound is al-Qaeda’s disarray that one of its lieutenants, in a recently intercepted message, pleaded to bin Laden to come to the group’s rescue and provide some leadership, Panetta told The Washington Post in an interview.
Panetta credited an increasingly aggressive campaign against al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies, including more frequent strikes and better coordination with Pakistan. He called it “the most aggressive operation that CIA has been involved in in our history.”
“Those operations are seriously disrupting al-Qaeda,” Panetta said. “It’s pretty clear from all the intelligence we are getting that they are having a very difficult time putting together any kind of command and control, that they are scrambling. And that we really do have them on the run.” “”
………………..
Just received an email from NRSC.
It was about TWO things:
1) SCARY PROCESS
2) Joe Sestak, Kendrick Meek, Brad Ellsworth, Paul Hodes and Charles Melancon
And what do the people listed in #2 represent?
They are Dem Reps who are running for Senate in the 2010 midterms.
In other words, the GOP is saying to its own members:
We lost the HCR fight. Now we have nothing left but extreme rhetoric against Democrats seeking office.
Well, now we know their strategy going fw.
Sucks to be them.
Actually, it doesn’t. It sucks to be uninsured. It sucks to have our economy collapse. It sucks to be mired in two wars. It sucks to have Republicans in charge of anything, PERIOD.
With Rep Dale Kildee’s pronouncement of the Senate bill being “pro-life” it makes it difficult for any anti-abortion grandstanders to unilaterally declare it otherwise. I would really like to know who Stupak thought the members of his posse were. I wonder if he ever really had even any actual support or if he was just posturing all along.
I’m willing to bet that at least a few of those on the fence will begin to mull what the consequences of being identified as THE ONE who killed HCR. They will have nothing to show for it except gaining the very real enmity of organized labor and the left side of the Democratic Party. They will find out what it is like to get their @ss kicked by liberals.
I have NEVER understood the beltway conventional wisdom which held that it’s OK to run to the right, but NEVER to the left. What historical evidence supports such a ridiculous notion? Certainly the last two elections don’t.
Gasman–here’s why you never understood Beltway conventional wisdom.
Because “Beltway conventional wisdom” is a super-duper oxymoron.
I have NEVER understood the beltway conventional wisdom which held that it’s OK to run to the right, but NEVER to the left. What historical evidence supports such a ridiculous notion?
The Communists of the last century….like FDR.
“# Kelley | March 17th, 2010 at 04:05 pm
PLEASE, please, please, please, please let it be Friday (or Saturday) already! Or at least, please, dear, CBO, release the score. Please!?!?!?!”d
Word.
If they get desperate enough, maybe they will start giving up the leaders.
“some of us actually have jobs and we actually deal with those who are uninsured.’
O say it ain’t so, Joe. You poor poor thang – I quit having to work back in the 90s.
“PLEASE, please, please, please, please let it be Friday (or Saturday) already!”
Seriously. I’m really looking forward to the NCAA tournament starting tomorrow just so I’ll have something to take my mind off of this for a little while.
C’mon Joe – profile me! Pretty please! I’m dying to hear it…
Check this out! Energy & Commerce committee published today the benefits that will be forthcoming by Congressional district.
Could be very useful for calling the fence-sitters.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1924:benefits-of-health-care-reform-district-by-district-impact&catid=169:legislation&Itemid=55
Ethan,
Seems like Republicans would be getting used to losing by now. We still have eight months until November to get Democrats fired up.
sue,
Your also not a member of MENSA, I take it?
Your = You’re
I kinda figured the differences between House and senate bills with respect to funding abortions (or not funding them, as it were) would not rise to the level of a deal breaker for all of those guys. Maybe not even for most of them. A principle difference between the religious right and the religious left in this country is that the latter tend to be New Testament Christians, whose moral compass tends to gravitate more toward the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46) than say, the book of Leviticus.
When you come right down to it, not only is there little if any practical difference between the abortion language in the two bills but healing the sick and afflicted is about as Christian a thing to do as you can get. This isn’t an opportunity that any person of real conscience should be able to walk away from lightly, over a few small semantic differences.
“some of us actually have jobs and we actually deal with those who are uninsured.’
Maybe Joe is one of those who work for the insurance cartel and cancels people’s insurance.
Gasman, MENSA ???
sue,
Anybody that is still hurling the McCarthyite invective of “communist” in the 21st Century is clearly a moron. You might want to update your playbook. It appears that it is about 60 years out of date.
Seriously, is “FDR was a communist” representative of your rhetorical zenith?
Being A Teabagging Ditto Head is Conventional. Wisdom never is.
Gasman, sue is one of us. I think your snark detector is malfunctioning.
“another coward comes forward.i will recommend to the bishop in his diocese to prevent him from receiving communion( I PRESUME HE IS A CATHOLIC IN NAME AT LEAST SINCE HE SAID HE STUDIED TO BECOME A PRIEST) .”
Good luck with that… He is from the Saginaw Diocese, and that’s one of the most liberal dioceses in the country. They actually have nuns at the alter assisting with mass.
Gasman–dude–dudette–whatever—sue was being snarky.
Really snarky.
Gasman, I forgot the quotation marks around “Communists.” Jeezus. Lighten up. I’ve worked for progressive causes since 1972.
“Gasman, sue is one of us. I think your snark detector is malfunctioning.”
You beat me to it.
Chill, Gasman. Sue ios a good guy.
Holy cow sue, what an AWESOME link! Thank you!!!
Folks, get on this and by all means start calling the fence-sitters with this info:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1924:benefits-of-health-care-reform-district-by-district-impact&catid=169:legislation&Itemid=55
Thanks for having my back, you guys!
C’mon Joe – profile me! Pretty please! I’m dying to hear it…
Me too! And after he profiles you, he can profile me!
Republican Politicians support the death penalty, which most of the civilized world has banned. No country that allows State Executions can become a member of th EU.
The Vatican is against the Death Penalty.
When are The US Catholic Bishops going to start refusing communion to the Republican Politicians who support the death penalty.
sue,
My apologies. Someone hurling “FDR was a commie” doesn’t sound like snark, it sounds like teabagger 101. Their so over the top, how do you parody them?
Nelson Muntz is a better taunter that Profiler Joe.
AGH!
Their = They’re
For example, info for fence-sitter Lincoln Davis (TN-4thCD):
Holy canoli.
And that’s just in ONE congressional district in TN!
In Rep. Cantor’s district (VA-7), the health care reform bill will:
* Improve coverage for 539,000 residents with health insurance.
* Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 138,000 families and 16,400 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
* Improve Medicare for 107,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
* Extend coverage to 27,500 uninsured residents.
* Guarantee that 9,100 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
* Protect 1,600 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
* Allow 57,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.
* Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 3 community health centers.
* Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $42 million annually.
Someone from TN: please ask Lincoln Davis if he really wants to turn down 23 community health centers in his district.
http://www.house.gov/lincolndavis/
All, happy hour roundup posted:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/happy-hour-roundup-cant-kill-bill/
@ Joe the troll: do you understand the amount of rationing of care that will occur for all people.
I understand that we ration care by price in the US. Other criteria for rationing make much more sense, especially for people of low and moderate means (the vast majority of us)
Rationing (ie deciding which treatments are cost effective in aggregate) is coming no matter who is in charge or what the shape of HCR is currently or in the future. Tough choices need to be made to keep health care from consuming the entire GDP. No one wants to face this, but it is the only way health care spending will be contained short of creating a VA type system for everyone in the US.
I know of nobody, who wants tax dollars to fund abortions. Even among the most liberal of people, would take this bill than not having it pass. From the very “get-go” I read the language of the senate bill and I promise you Kildee has it right. What’s sad,is the o ther pro-life Dems are holding out and using this issue as a scape goat, for entirely other reasons and issues.
Certainly prolife, not sure how we will save on health care since it will be a government run program for 948 Trillion Dollars!
I for one have never seen anything the government did that saved money for the general public.
Wars in several different countries, fallin soldiers that died before their time.Families destroyed all because of greed of the government(both sides included and to blame).
Economy in the ditch, no jobs, illegal aliens flooding the streets with guns,drugs,thugs and gangs. Now we are going to buy them health care.
Politicians waring among themselves, to me none of them have our best intentions in mind despite the rhetoric.
Regardless we are all in this together!