Please donate here to send Bart Stupak a message!

Stupak has put his personal opinion on women's rights ahead of everything else in the fight to reform health care and it's sickening to me. I understand that we all have a certain belief system, but he was undermining HCR way before the Senate even released their bill and that told me that he cared more for a single religious issue over the health of real working class families in America. He relished the role of representing the party of the Catholic Bishops instead of being a Democratic politician.

Bart Stupak, a representative from Michigan, proudly states that Catholic bishops worked closely with him to help him and Joe Pitts, a Republican from Pennsylvania, draft an amendment proposing tight restrictions that prevent any insurance plan purchased with government subsidies from covering abortion. Lisa Miller of Newsweek reports in the March 15 issue that Stupak told her that the "bishops were very, very, very engaged" in framing the amendment. He went on to say that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops "was working with my staff" and that "we had to coordinate forces" with the bishops and that he told the bishops, "I'm not moving forward until you know what I'm doing.

I've had it and I'm glad Connie is running against Stupak as a primary challenger no matter what happens.

Howie Klein:

It's better not to let your emotions get in the way of real life political decisions. But yesterday when I read that former Charlevoix County commissioner Connie Saltonstall had jumped into the primary race against anti-Choice fanatic Bart Stupak, I was on the phone to her within minutes. Pro-choice and pro-healthcare reform, hardheaded and hardworking, we were happy to get her right up on the Blue America Sending Democrats A Message page. And I was also happy pulling out my credit card and making a donation to the very tough campaign she's taking on.

Stupak has successfully painted himself as a Democratic populist and justifies his anti-Choice mania with a veneer of sanctimonious moralism. His overall voting record isn't nearly as populist or progressive as he attempts to portray it. According to Progressive Punch he's been with the Democrats only 66.15% of the time on the tough closely contested votes where he's been most needed. Since Obama was elected he's been the 159th most progressive Democrat, a pretty mediocre record but one that the district has been satisfied with. Connie has a great deal of sympathy in the district when she says that although Stupak "has a right to his personal, religious views... to deprive his constituents of needed health care reform because of those views is reprehensible."

"As a realist I know that defeating an incumbent is difficult," Saltonstall told CNN. "But I also know that there are many past supporters who have told me they have voted for Bart in every single election and they'll never vote for him again. It will be a lot of hard work, it will be a serious challenge, but we're going to try because the voters of this district deserve a choice."

Please, help us send the Democrats-- and conservatives-- a message, in this case, that their religious beliefs should not be imposed on the general public.

Do it here at ActBlue.

Listening to the TV talking heads discuss Stupak and Ben Nelson's opinion on a women's right to choose is very upsetting. They talk as if a women's right to choose is some icky-worthless issue and there comes a point when enough is enough.