Stupak’s Out
by digby
Bart Stupak is retiring. Evidently, he doesn’t care for the way he’s being treated by his erstwhile allies on the right. I guess he never noticed how they treated people they disagree with before.
And while nobody should have to deal with death threats, it’s more than a little ironic that someone who adamantly opposed the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances Act would end up being driven from office by his allies on that issue. Perhaps he can have a better feeling of what it must be like to be a desperate teen-aged girl facing a raging mob and gory pictures, red faced zealots calling you a murderer — as you try to walk into a clinic.
It shouldn’t happen to anyone.
From what I gather around the blogosphere the party is searching madly for the right man to run in Stupak’s place and one of them might even be pro-choice, although that doesn’t appear to be any kind of consideration. If history is any guide the DCCC will try to recruit the most rightwing, forced pregnancy Blue Dog they can find because the only thing worse than losing is backing a liberal and losing. That makes you look weak.
Connie Saltonstall is already in the race. She’s not backed by anyone important, only the National Organization For Women, NARAL and Planned Parenthood and there’s no reason why the Democratic party should pay any attention to them. (It’s not like they’re the Catholic Bishops or the NRA or anything …) She is just a Michigan Democrat who was so offended by the fact that Stupak held health care reform hostage in order to stage yet another assault on women’s constitutional rights that she decided to run against him, one of the most difficult tasks any politician can undertake and one that almost always earns the enmity of the local and national party. She did it anyway, and while they were happy to have her put some pressure on Stupak at the right moment they would be even more happy for her to be a good little girl and back out now, I’m sure.
I sincerely hope she stays in. I have no way of knowing if the women’s groups will stay on board, but if the party picks another anti-choice candidate they probably will. Saltonstall has raised almost 100k on Act Blue in the past month. Blue America has been a strong backer from the day she announced. We’ll stay on board as long as she does.
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