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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.

Are we just at the point where “politician” and “corrupt” go hand in hand?

Look at the following examples:

• Chris Dodd – In trouble again over a gift of a house in Ireland that came suspiciously after securing a Presidential pardon. (The Associated Press)
• Senator Burris is not as clean as he made himself out to be. (The Sun Times)
• Speaker Pelosi continues to lie about what she knew about water boarding (Judicial Watch)
• Republican Senators and Congressmen who still do not get it about earmarks (RealClear Politics)

Clearly, these are not men and women who are morally competent to be elected. Yet, statistics show that House members have above a 90% re-election rate since 1974. Senators have a 80-90% chance of retaking their office. (Center for Responsive Politics).

The question then becomes – why do we keep reelecting them? The country clamored for a change in November, yet sent the same people back to Washington. No wonder we are still in a mess, still in gridlock, and still hearing about corruption scandals and unsubstantiated claims of falsehood. These people were corrupt before the elections – by sending them back we have in fact affirmed them in their dishonesty.

The mess that we see in Washington is OUR fault – we keep giving power to those whose irresponsibility has led us to this point. Imagine if we the people decided to always vote against the incumbent for the next 6 elections – that the time of the career politician is over? Imagine the fear that would be struck into the hearts and minds of our representatives. I think a little fear would do them good.

Yesterday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi accused the Central Intelligence Agency of lying to Congress about the use of waterboarding.  In an extraordinarily disjointed press conference, she adamantly denied having any knowledge that the technique was in use, just that the Bush administration was thinking of using it.

Speaker Pelosi is lying.  You can tell – because the liberal press – which has supported her for these last two years – are pouncing on her like sharks on a wounded California seal.   Some excerpts from the “Big Three”:

Pelosi says she was only briefed once about harsh interrogation methods and was not told waterboarding was being used against top al Qaeda detainees. But the the CIA pointed to recently released documents that raise questions about Pelosi’s account, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. (CBS News)

A report released last week directly contradicted Pelosi’s recollections of the briefing. The Director of National Intelligence’s report indicated that the speaker was in fact briefed about such techniques used on Zubaydah — one of three terrorist suspects subjected to waterboarding, an interrogation tactic that simulates drowning. (ABC News)

The speaker’s discomfort was evident yesterday as she was grilled by reporters for the first time since the CIA issued information suggesting that she and others were told about the use of the techniques, including waterboarding, at a classified briefing on Sept. 4, 2002. Pelosi was then the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee. (NBC News)

So, file the papers.  Either bring the felony case agains the members of the CIA who lied to congress, or file the papers to commit the Speaker to intense psychological counseling.  Hopefully, the citizens of her district will demand the latter.

My father-in-law and collegue T. M. Moore has posted a good article at his website.

I wonder if the country has ever been as politically divided as it is today. There have always been deep political divisions in America. One thinks of Jefferson and Adams, Lincoln and Douglas, and even Nixon and virtually any Democrat. But the attitudes of spite and malice that characterize the worst political machinations have generally been confined to handfuls of people. Today the rancor, name-calling, and rage are spreading throughout the electorate and the nation as a whole. Witness the outrage over the interrogation memos and the heated confrontations over gay marriage. The idea of America as one nation under God is officially obsolete; it no longer exists. “My America” is now the nation of choice, while “your America” is an enemy to be vilified and crushed. What passes for public debate – radio talk shows and cable TV news – only enhances the rage and deepens the rifts. There is nothing on the horizon to offer any hope for uniting the nation around the idea of the nation and all its glorious vision, purpose, and heritage. This is the result of the politicization of American life, the view that everything of interest or importance can be reduced to politics and resolved through party action. Party lines have been drawn clearly and definitively, and each side is simply waiting and hoping that the other will screw up so royally that a window of opportunity will appear through which they can grab power and further the cause of their America while they may. Saddest of all this is the impotence of the Church to bring reason, reconciliation, or peace to the nation. We’re too compromised, too alienated, and too ill-informed to offer anything but more fuel to the fire. But we must not give up and we must not despair. Ours is the responsibility of seeking to promote the welfare of the nation for all its citizens, and prayer is the place to begin. Let the end of politics not be irreparable division, but incessant prayer for revival and renewal throughout the land.

Read More at MyParuchia.com