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According to the Associated Press, President Obama later today will be signing the executive order that prohibits federal funding for abortion.  Rep. Stupak and other “pro-life” democrats will be invited.  It will be a private signing. (AP)

What a contrast  to the almost college-party atmosphere that surrounded the signing of the health care reform bill.  Festivity surrounds the enactment of a rotten bill that among other things provides for abortion.  Closed doors and no ceremonies accompany an act that saves babies.

Does Rep. Stupak know that he already has been lied to?  He insisted on a public signing of such an order.  In a recent interview with Fox News, Rep. Stupak fully admitted nothing is stopping President Obama from rescinding his order the very next day.  Yet – instead of voting no so that some sort of law could be codified about abortions – he instead put his trust in a president that has no ideological reason to stop abortions, and who has consistently broken campaign promises in order to get things done.

Abortion is not a private matter.  A study done by Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health shows that 93% of all abortions are done for purely social reasons.  These reasons include:

• Feels unready for child/responsibility 25%
• Feels she can’t afford baby 23%
• Has all children she wants/other family responsibilities 19%
• Relationship problem/single motherhood 8%
• Feels she isn’t mature enough 7%
• Interference with education/career plans 4%
• Parents/partner wants abortion >1%

Less then 7% are for hard cases like rape, incest, or the health of the mother. (Fact sheet, PDF Download)

What do these numbers say about a society that allows for the routine murder of a baby for such trivial reasons?  What does this say about a President who has done everything to ensure that a woman can kill her baby and has done nothing to protect that baby itself?  What does this say about the foolishness of Rep. Stupak who have now allowed a bill to go into law that does nothing whatsoever to protect the unborn?

Mr. Stupak and others will find that they will have to answer for their foolishness.  And it won’t be done in private.

Yet again, some conservatives are looking at “moderate” Democrats as a good avenue to stopping this monstrous health care bill. And – yet again – conservatives will be disappointed.

Rep. Bart Stupak

According to Fox News, Representative Bart Stupak – the Democrat from Michigan who passed an amendment restricting the expansion of abortion in the new bill – is hopeful that a compromise can be reached.

“I’m more optimistic than I was a week ago,” Stupak told The Associated Press.

“The president says he doesn’t want to expand or restrict current law (on abortion). Neither do I,” Stupak said. “That’s never been our position. So is there some language that we can agree on that hits both points — we don’t restrict, we don’t expand abortion rights? I think we can get there.” (Fox News)

What Stupak and others are asked to do is in essence let the Senate-approved bill pass in the House, then trust the powers-that-be to go back and change things. The bill has to pass basically unchanged in the House in order for the Reconciliation Process to begin. In other words – the bill has to become law before any meaningful changes can be made to it.

Huh?

Congressman, don’t fall for it. According to Politifact.com, President Obama has yet to fulfill the majority of his promises. The ones he has fulfilled are ones that expand government expenditures and influence. Why would he want to change legislation after it has been passed? Given that the President has a 100% approval rating from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) (OnTheIssues), he has not political nor ideological reason to limit the murdering of babies. Congressman Stupak and other pro-life Democrats have based their careers of bucking their party on this issue. I am astounded that he would endanger his political future by trusting people who should not be trusted.

But then again, Stupak is not a moderate in any sense of the word. His view on healthcare says it all:

Health care is not a privilege it is a basic right that should be afforded to all Americans. In reforming health care, Congress is building on the existing framework by making it easier for employers to provide health insurance through government-sponsored programs. (Stupak’s Website)

No Congressman. Healthcare is not, nor ever has been, a right. It is a benefit, a perk, a way of keeping employees around. It is a hedge against catastrophe. It is nice to have – but I do not see it listed as a basic right. Nor does Congress have the right to take it over – as everything the government gets its hands into explodes into a cacophony of bureaucracy and red tape.

Congressman Stupak will probably cave – since his principles are at best mixed and at worst contrary and cannot be simultaneously held. What will probably stop this bill – if it does indeed get defeated – is not decency, nor honor. What will stop this bill will be – and probably only will be – the desire of some Democrats to stay in office just a little longer. Unlike Speaker Pelosi who is calling for a heroic vote in opposition to public opinion yet knows she risks nothing because of her very liberal voting district – quite a few Democrats know that they will have to face a very angry constituency come November.

And they really do like that job in Washington, DC.

By repeatedly issuing statements and holding seminars, Evangelical Christians gave DaVinci Code author Dan Brown a tremendous amount of free advertizing for what was a mediocre movie at best. By railing and decrying the Tim Tebow commercial, liberal women’s groups did the same for what turned out to be a very tame commercial.

Just go back and read the headlines: Women’s groups call for CBS to pull Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad (LA Times), Stop Anti-Choice Super Bowl Ad (Women’s Media Center), Tell CBS that using the public airwaves to promote an anti-abortion message will lose the network both respect and business (Feminist Majority Foundation). These are just a few of the organizations that rallied and pushed CBS – to no avail – to pull the ad from the network.

I imagine somewhere at CBS today a savy ad exec is telling her bosses, “See, I told you so.” What in fact was a very tame – and a little hooky – ad became a national event. I – like countless others around the nation – stayed glued – looking for that one commercial. If there had been no pre-game angst about the ad – it probably would have gone unnoticed by most. It was the first set of commercials – following a somewhat funny commercial starring Betty White and Abe Vigoda. It would have been lost in the endless commercialism – and alcoholism – that marks this annual meeting of the gridiron titans. Instead, this 30-second, white background, country music commercial will probably land in the top ten.

I imagine the blogs and airwaves will be crowded with spins and backpeddling. From the Huffington Post:

After much anticipation, the ads have now been released — and the Heisman winner tackles his mother! They do not contain any overtly pro-life message and are tamer than many may have expected. The ads mostly consist of Pam Tebow, Tim’s mother, talking about her son. The former Florida quarterback only speaks at the end of the commercials. (Tim Tebow SUPER BOWL AD VIDEO: See Tebow TACKLE Mother Pam)

Focus on the Family – who sponsored the ad – is a pro-life group committed to the very serious problem of unwanted pregnancies. This commercial, however, focused on the tenacity of a mother to give birth to a child in a very uncertain situation. It was a commercial about the strength of mothers, of their commitment to their children, and the joy of families. Hard to find the hyped-up hate there.

So, thanks Dan Brown for showing us that conservatives can give voice to something that should have just been ignored. And – thanks Women’s Media Center, Feminist Majority Foundation, and others – for not learning that lesson.