Who Are The 40 Anti-Choice Democrats Bart Stupak Claims To Have In His Pocket To Kill Health Care Reform?

Republicans are all atwitter that, between the Blue Dogs and the Democratic anti-choice fanatics their new best friend Bart Stupak (D-MI) has herded together, they'll be able to stop the health care reform momentum and kill the bill. This morning's Washington Post was fanning the flames of false hope.

House leaders were still negotiating Monday with the bloc of Democrats concerned about abortion provisions in the legislation, saying that they could lead to public funding of the procedure. After an evening meeting of top House Democrats, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) said, "We are making progress," but added that they had not reached an agreement.

The outcome of those talks could be crucial in deciding the fate of the health-care bill. Democrats need the vast majority of their caucus to back the bill, since nearly all congressional Republicans have said they will oppose the legislation.

"I will continue whipping my colleagues to oppose bringing the bill to the floor for a vote until a clean vote against public funding for abortion is allowed," Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said Monday in a statement. He said last week that 40 Democrats could vote with him to oppose the legislation -- enough to derail the bill.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, cast Stupak as "attempting to ban abortion coverage in the private insurance market."

The problem with Stupak's math is that (a) he doesn't really have 40 votes pledged to kill health care and (b) most of the ones he does have can't be added to the Blue Dogs who oppose it; they are the Blue Dogs who oppose it. When Stupak and Lipinksi drafted a whiny letter to Nancy Pelosi crying about funding women's health, they only wound up with 19 signatories: Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN), Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Lincoln Davis (Blue Dog-TN), Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS), James Oberstar (D-MN), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Steve Driehaus (D-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA), John Murtha (D-PA), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and Kathleen Dahlkemper (Blue Dog-PA). Eleven of them are die-hard reactionary Blue Dogs who routinely vote with the GOP on many-- in some cases most-- substantive measures. Gene Taylor, Bobby Bright, Travis Childers, Charlie Melancon, Heath Shuler and Dan Boren vote so consistently with the Republicans that they are Boehner Boys.

In past years Blue America would sometimes interview candidates who would present themselves as progressives and somehow neglect to tell us that they would join the Blue Dog caucus and vote against progressive legislation on a regular basis. Chris Carney was the worst of the slimy and deceitful candidates to have done that, but Patrick Murphy, Kirsten Gillibrand and Mike Arcuri all presented themselves as being far more progressive as candidates than they turned out as Congress members. These days we ask for an explicit promise, taped, before we endorse anyone that they are not now, nor will they ever be, a Blue Dog.

Sometimes we run into confused candidates who don't understand what the Blue Dogs are. Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet looks like a great candidate on paper. He certainly supports women's right to choice. And as for gay equality, he's married to a man and they have two children. But when I asked him about the Blue Dogs, he hedged. He likes them. Even after I pointed out that the only Democrats who opposed the hate crimes bill were all slimy Blue Dogs, he still couldn't promise he wouldn't join their caucus. I still hope he beats Mary Bono-Mack, but he won't be getting any endorsement or contributions from Blue America for his efforts.

For Blue America, supporting a woman's right to choice is nonnegotiable. Last January-- long before Michael Moore stumbled onto her and made her a heroine of his latest film-- we applauded Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur for her powerful populist message about illegal foreclosures by slimy banksters. More recently we have included Kaptur in our list of the 32 Democratic heroes who voted against Obama's war supplemental in June. But when people started getting wildly enthusiastic about her and yelling and screaming that she should be president, I asked them if they were aware that she's an anti-choice Democrat. It goes beyond just her religious convictions. She uses her position in Congress to try to impose her beliefs on all the women in America. She's good on almost every single issue that comes up-- better than most Democrats, in fact, but when it comes to choice, she's no better than Michele Bachmann, Mean Jean Schmidt or Virginia Foxx. And she did sign on to the Stupak-Lipinski letter.

Would she vote with the Republicans against health care reform because of her anti-choice mania? There are 75,000 uninsured people in her Lake Erie district centered on Toledo and stretching all the way to Lorain and Oberlin. Around 56,000 will be covered if the bill passes. And around 12,400 small businesses in the district could qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance for their employees. Annually 7,600 seniors in Kaptur's district fall into the Part D doughnut hole. The bill she's threatening to block would rescue them. I can't believe if push comes to shove she's going to side with John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Michele Bachmann, Bart Stupak and the Boehner Boys against her own constituents. Can you?

Watch Marcy Kaptur with Bill Moyers last month:




UPDATE: Stupak's Legions Come Out Of The Closet

Here's the full list of the anti-choice Democrats who are voting against allowing a vote on the health care bill unless women's choice is explicitly denied:

Jason Altmire (Blue Bog-PA)
John Barrow (Blue Bog-GA)
Dan Boren (Blue Bog-OK)
Bobby Bright (Blue Bog-AL)
Chris Carney (Blue Bog-PA)
Travis Childers (Blue Bog-MS)
Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Kathy Dahlkemper (Blue Dog-PA)
Artur Davis (D-IL)
Lincoln Davis (Blue Dog-TN)
Steve Driehaus (D-OH)
Parker Griffith (Blue Dog-AL)
Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA)
Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD)
Dan Lipinski (D-IL/TN)
Jim Marshall (Blue Dog-GA)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC)
Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA)
Michael McMahon (D-NY)
Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
Jim Oberstar (D-MN)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Nick Rahall (D-WV)
Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR)
Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC)
John Tanner (Blue Dog-TN)
Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS)

Basically just a bunch of reactionary Blue Dogs who are opposed to health care reform regardless of choice issues. And, of course, Marcy Kaptur has disassociated herself with these unsavory characters.


UPDATE: 2014

With the exceptions of Blue Dogs Dan Lipinski (IL) and Collin Peterson (MN) every person on the list above of Democrats from the Republican wing of their party has been defeated or forced to retire rather than face certain defeat... and one died. Lipinski and Peterson will be the only ones who will be back in Congress next year. Although both should be primaried, Lipinski's seat is safely blue and if he's beaten by a real Democrat, everyone will be better off.