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Dear Friend,
A lot of you may be wondering what happened this past weekend. The short answer is that a liberal majority jammed its dangerous health care agenda down the throats of the American people. The bill(s) is filled with ugliness, but among the worst is its vast expansion of abortion the single greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade, the modern era’s Dred Scott.
The deal was struck when the formerly pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) fell for the illusion of a “pro-life” executive order offered by the most pro-abortion president in our history. Mr. Stupak apparently talked himself into believing that a president can change the law by the use of executive orders. A president does not have that authority. Even if he did have such authority, is it even remotely believable that this president would exercise it? No. Imagine for a moment that the president somehow keeps his word and issues the order. The judicial branch will throw out such an executive order without batting an eye. And then the president will give Mr. Stupak a call and tell him, “Hey, sorry my friend. I tried (really!) but you know, the courts have tied my hands.”
The defeat is tough, but this is a time to renew our courage and prepare for a long fight to restore our liberties. You’ve heard the quote a thousand times: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Well, when it says “eternal,” it means eternal! Remember the words of Sir Winston Churchill: “Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never! In nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
You should know that pro-lifers tried to talk to Mr. Stupak in the halls of Congress when word of the deal was going around. I was there myself with Shari Rendall, Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) Director of Legislation, and Susan Muskett, Senior Legislative Counsel for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). We tried to talk to Mr. Stupak in the halls. He ignored us. We waited outside his office and he ignored us. His only reply was to dismiss us with a demand over the shoulder that we should go get 60 votes in the Senate.
Consider a contrast.
The Republican sponsor of the pro-life Stupak-Pitts amendment the amendment which would have stopped government funding of abortion is none other than Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania). That amendment is not on the Senate bill and it is not in the reconciliation of the Senate bill. It is gone.
Whereas Mr. Stupak left the walls undefended at the very moment the battle raged, Mr. Pitts behaved otherwise during a similar battle. Mr. Pitts single-handedly stopped a major bankruptcy reform bill because it had anti-life language in it. Bankruptcy reform, like health care now, was supported by the party in power the Republicans at the time. The Republican president supported it. The Republican party’s typical business interests supported it. But one pro-life Republican, Joe Pitts, saw how the bill punished pro-lifers. He stood up against his party leadership. He stood up against his party’s president. He stood against all the interests of his party who wanted bankruptcy reform with no regard for the pro-life consequences. And he stood tall. He stood FOR life. And, he defeated that bill! What happened to bankruptcy reform? The Republicans came back later and tried again successfully the second time and without the abortionists’ language in the bill.
Mr. Stupak could have done for health care reform what Mr. Pitts did for bankruptcy reform. He did not. In the heat of battle, Mr. Stupak turned and ran.
CBN’s David Brody asked if Mr. Stupak were a villain. He asks if everyone didn’t know ahead of time that Mr. Stupak would cave in. True, we feared he would. We hoped he wouldn’t. We know the pressure is great. But, we also know that some people are able to withstand the pressure. Others are not. Perhaps Brody is right and Stupak is no villain. But, his failure was tragic to watch. It’s like this scene from A Man for All Seasons. You feel sorry for Sir Richard. But your heart soars for the defeated hero Sir Thomas More. “Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales?”
So, too, does Mr. Stupak inspire our pity and our prayers. May he find grace to comfort him when awakes in his private moments to the shame of what he has done.
The battle now moves to the U.S. Senate. Please pray!
Please contact your Congressman to thank him or her if they voted against ObamaCare or to tell them (politely) how disappointed you are. For the votes click here. To find contact information for your Representative, please click here.
| Sincerely, |
 Penny Nance Chief Executive Officer |