Tony Perkins Washington Update
Doctors announced that President Obama passed his annual check-up--but the most important one may come in November. Whether voters still think he and his party are fit for duty on Election Day may depend on what happens in the next few weeks.
Despite last weeks high stakes talk the President is tossing aside the same bipartisanship he promoted on television to force his reforms through a reluctant Congress. According to White House advisors all signs point to the reconciliation process which would protect the bill from Republican opposition by calling for a simple majority vote.
Right now however its unclear whether Democrats even have enough of their own party on board to succeed. A handful of key ayes have already promised to peel off the House majority if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) moves forward with legislation that removes Rep. Bart Stupaks (D-Mich.) outright ban on taxpayer-funded abortion. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) told Congressional Quarterly on Thursday I will not vote for a health care bill that doesnt have the House abortion language in it. His Mississippi colleague Rep. Gene Taylor (D) agreed. Its a fairly safe bet that if they include the Senate language on abortion the legislation would go down.
Of course Speaker Pelosi would have us believe that the Presidents plan (a mildly modified version of the Senate bill) does erect a wall between taxpayers and the bloody business of abortion. During Fridays press conference there werent enough lie detectors in the greater metropolitan area to process all the whoppers. Let me say it this way theres three three I dont want to say principles but three standards that we are using as we go forward and I talked to the Catholic Bishops about this and people on all sides of the choice issue... Federal law prevents federal funding of abortion. There is no federal funding of abortion in this bill. Therell be no expansion or diminution of a womans right to choose... This bill that passed the Senate does not have federal funding of abortion.
Not surprisingly the Catholic Bishops have a different take on the conversation. In a counter-statement the USCCB was flabbergasted. We do not know how anyone who has spoken to the bishops could conclude that the Senate health care bill does not fund abortions. As bishops have said in their letters to Congress abortion problems in the Senate bill are so serious that despite our strong support for expanding access to health care we will have to oppose the bill unless they are resolved.
