Smoke Signals from 1600
10 November 2009 1:55 am by Taylor Marsh
“I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill,” Obama said. “And we’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.” … “I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test — that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we’re not restricting women’s insurance choices,” he said. – Obama: ‘This is a Health Care Bill, Not an Abortion Bill’
um… The health care bill is not an abortion bill. Who knew? Sneaking in funding for abortions? The President has got to be kidding. He is kidding, isn’t he? With the crew we’ve got in Congress, we can’t even keep our current “rights.” And that’s with the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
The reaction to the Stupak amendment in the House health care bill was immediate. The post I wrote on Huffington Post was one of several posts signaling the beginning of a serious backlash. Nancy’s Compromise, as it will forever be known, had backfired. The “historic” moment we heard ad nauseam from House members had actually proved a bust.
Those cranky women had blown a fuse (h/t wb).
It grew on Monday when Representative Diana DeGette threw down the gauntlet, letting Pelosi know that if Stupak language comes back to the House it’s dead. And so is health care legislation.
At the same time, Sen. Claire McCaskill was being annoying on “Morning Joe,” floating that Stupak wasn’t really a problem, as far as she knew. The go with the flow to get things done abettors, also known as Democrats without an ideological compass or core, trying to make the case that having the Stupak amendment in the Senate version, well, not a biggie. The worst had been floated by a known insider of the Administration. But Claire was just being Claire, you know, never getting too far out on a difficult women’s health issue for fear someone might get offended. Is she so clueless that she doesn’t know what the Hyde amendment means for military women? That they don’t have access to full reproductive health care? She broke Twitter silence late yesterday: Oppose Stupak.Don’t think we should change current law which is no public $ for abortions,but amndmt goes too far limitng private funds too.
Hyde is holy.
When I talked to “Jane Roe” yesterday, which you can hear in this podcast, she demolished McCaskill while laying out the ills of Stupak.
This past summer, h/t reader texan4hillary, the National Women’s Law Center gave Pelosi and the Democratic majority all the ammunition they needed. They found it would tick people off if reproductive health care for women was eliminated, and covering Viagra, but not women’s reproductive health, isn’t a good idea either.
But we don’t use this reality, instead we’ve got Democrats practically apologizing for standing up for a basic tenet of the Democratic Party: supporting women’s civil rights, while hoisting Nancy’s Compromise as “historic” legislation that should make us happy. Read this.
But it was MSNBC’s Dr. Nancy, which Digby also saw, who got really riled up, inspiring a public Twitter mea culpa from me for previously reviewing her show so harshly. A portion of what she said is below. Kelly O’Donnell’s reactions are priceless. She likely has gashes in her legs from digging her finger nails into them to keep from breaking into a full smile. But her lips definitely turned upwards.
“Kelly, you know what I find so infuriating about this, I mean absolutely infuriating? And this is not about being pro-choice or pro-abortion or any of the hot button lingo. We know that women pay more for insurance than men. We know that women are restricted in many states and now it’s basically, if you’re a 50-year-old woman and you’re in a monogamous relationship, but you finally find yourself pregnant, you better know that you have an abortion rider in order to access health care that you thought you had. It is one more pressure on women. I’m surprised, that frankly, there isn’t more outrage over the fact… (stops a moment)… This isn’t fair. … .. A white man deciding a woman’s… (she takes a deep breath) …a woman’s responsibility in her own procreation. I mean, I find it infuriating. I mean, I really think it doesn’t matter what side on the abortion issue or pro-choice issue you’re on, the fact that you’re now making health care harder and harder for women to navigate the system. I think it’s outrageous. Just outrageous.
At the same time, even as Sen. Ben Nelson heaped praise on what Stupak had accomplished in the House, plotting to do the same in the Senate, restrict abortion in a manner that not even George W. Bush and the Republican Congress had done, Robert Gibbs’ floated a non-committal statement on Stupak during the briefing that wouldn’t last the day.
At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Pres. Obama had been on the receiving end of a very different message. Letters received, positions delineated, that pro-choice women and those of us who are on women’s civil rights watch would absolutely not support anything that encroaches on current law. Stupak meant war.
Though you sure as hell wouldn’t know it from national NARAL yesterday. Again proving why I’m glad I don’t belong to this group.
This is the first sign from the White House since the health care debate began. Health care is not an abortion bill. We must keep the “status quo.” Outcome? Military women (and others) still can’t have access to full reproductive health care and abortions. Hey, but you can die for your country, ladies.
This with a Democratic majority. I’m pining for Martha Coakley. Getting ready for the Capp amendment, for which we’ll be expected to be grateful. It’s not Stupak! A Democratic majority is a hell of a thing to waste.
And anybody thinking that Stupak wasn’t meant to curtail abortion access for millions of women hasn’t been paying attention to the right. Rep. Stupak is their new hero, especially since they were able to make this move through a Democrat, faking out Pelosi, because she didn’t want to make the case and piss off the Catholic Bishops, never mind the evangelicals hiding behind them. Or maybe you think Stupak living at C Street is a coincidence?
It had been a very long day.
