Bart Stupak

Bart Stupak
Former U.S. Representative from Michigan's 1st Congressional District From: January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011
Predecessor	John Conyers
Successor	Dan Benishek
Information
Party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Laurie Ann Stupak
Religion	Roman Catholic

Bartholomew Thomas "Bart" Stupak (born February 29, 1952) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 2011.

Stupak claimed to be pro-life regarding abortion, but then caved in to liberal pressure by the pro-aborts and agreed to vote yes on the health care bill. In 2006, he received a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee, but another time voted against defunding Planned Parenthood. He voted for banning partial-birth abortions and supported President George W. Bush's veto of embryonic-stem-cell-research.

Stupak was a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. His high-profile betrayal of the pro-lifers resulted in the creation of a new word: "Stupaked".

He is a graduate from Northwestern Michigan College, Saginaw Valley State University, and earned a Juris Doctor from Thomas Cooley Law School. Stupak served as a Michigan State Trooper from 1973 to 1984. After being injured in the line of duty he retired, and was elected to the Michigan House in 1988. In 1990 he lost a race for the State Senate. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 and has been easily reelected ever since.

Stupak endorsed John Edwards in the 2008 Democratic primaries.

ObamaCare

In 2009, Stupak co-wrote the Stupak–Pitts Amendment, which prohibits funds from being "used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion, except in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness." He led a small group of twelve pro-life representatives in the House to thwart legislation unless abortion was removed. It was removed, the group voted for reform and the bill was sent to the Senate.

The Senate would strip the bill of abortion limitations while claiming abortion funding was not included. The bill must again be approved by the House for the changes made by the Senate. Stupak is sticking to his original request for no abortion funding. Obama and the Senate want Stupak to sign off on the bill through reconciliation whereby they vote for the legislation and then go back and make changes, such as abortion terms. Since the administration will stop at nothing to pass their bill, it is expected that Stupak will be the deal-clincher or deal-breaker yet again. He stated, "I'm more optimistic than I was a week ago" that abortion will be removed form healthcare reform legislation. Stupak would reiterate, "Everyone’s going around saying there’s a compromise—there’s no such thing." He will not agree to a promise to fix the bill in the future. Stupak emphasized, "My numbers remain firm at 12. These are 12 who voted for it [in November] who will not vote for it unless we resolve this issue."

Bart caves in to Obama and Pelosi, strikes a deal with an after the vote executive order. Stupak is mistaken that an executive order will suffice, it does not have the force of law that legislation would provide. "One man can sign an executive order and one man can repeal that again, the president of the United States," said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

An arrogant Stupak holds a press conference after the successful vote for universal healthcare in which he shames Republicans and touts pro-life Democrats. "Republicans don't want to cover 32 million uninsured," “The Executive Order will have the full force of law.” Which is in fact a bold face lie. It was such a bad deal that the Susan B. Anthony List rescinded its' “Defender of Life” award to Stupak.

See also

• Abortion Betrayals
• Stupak Amendment

External links

• Official Website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress