Will we be "Stupaked" in November

GradeGov membership as of DEM/INDEP = 43% and GOP = 55%

Voters who are considering supporting moderates in the GOP and the Democratic Party this upcoming election cycle might want to ask themselves, do they want to be "Stupaked"? From coast to coast and from Mike to Mike, meaning Mike Castle (R-DE) and Mike Bennet (D-CO), both of these Mikes are congressional incumbents running on the moderate, middle of the road platform. These folks and all other moderates need to be studied and questioned now more than ever. Remember the Health Care debate earlier this year. This is when Cong. Bart Stupak (D-MI) bamboozled all of his supporters who believed he would protect the right to life during the House debate on the bill. Cong. Stupak (D-MI) had been saying since he was elected to Congress in 1993 that he is committed to protecting life by making sure government funds never went to pay for abortions. Cong. Stupak is actually the co-chair of the caucus within the House of Representatives that affirms to promote a pro-life agenda in Congress.  That didn't work out so well earlier this year when Cong. Stupak held the fate of health care reform bill in his hands. Now we have a Federal Health Care law that is minus abortion language restricting federal funds. This is entirely thanks to the leadership of Cong. Stupak, since he led and supplied the health care bill's winning margin in the House of Representatives.

Congressional leaders have much power to wield when they need to round up votes for passing legislation. The "goodies" range from the obvious, trading a vote for support for other initiatives, to plum committee assignments and leadership posts. However, when members of Congress make these deals, they never include, as part of the deal, any repayment to their good constituents. They are the ones that devote their time, talents and put their trust in electing the member of Congress only to be disappointed when deals are cut to make the member of Congress go back on his campaign commitments. This Bart “Bamboozle” was especially heinous because he had been a pro-life leader for over 20 years.

While the remembrance of this may be grievous for many of us, the burden of this is intolerable for pro-life supporters. Be careful, be diligent, be knowledgeable and don’t get "Stupaked" by so-called, self proclaimed moderates this November. Stay tuned to see if we remember and apply this old adage come Election Day. It goes like this: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”