No good deed goes unpunished: Under Fire for Abortion Deal, Stupak to Retire

Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat at the center of a furor over abortion coverage in the new health law.

This comes as absolutely no surprise whatsoever to me. The congressman, after obtaining his high profile status during the health care debate, got himself into a no win situation, regardless of how things played themselves out.

The only possible way it could have had a different ending (short of his running and winning reelection), it appears to me, is if his group had not been the final votes insuring passage. But when they were, he immediately became vilified by both sides, the abortion-rights community as well as the anti-abortion activists who considered him a traitor who caved to Pelosi at the last minute.

According to The Wall Street Journal, many political analysts believe he would have prevailed in both a primary and a general election fight, but the fight was likely to be contentious.

From The New York Times:

Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, who played a central role with fellow anti-abortion Democrats in negotiating a compromise in the final hours of debate that allowed the health care overhaul bill to pass, said on Friday that he would not seek re-election.

Mr. Stupak, a nine-term incumbent, has been under intense pressure from anti-abortion groups and others since the health care bill passed last month.

His decision to not seek re-election sent a fresh wave of anxiety through the Democratic Party, narrowing their margin for error as they fight with Republicans for control of the House in the midterm elections.

Republicans in Michigan and Washington seized on the departure of Mr. Stupak as an opportunity to improve their chances for control of the House.

“Bart Stupak is the first casualty of the Obamacare vote,” said Ron Weiser, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. “Caving to pressure from Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, Stupak ignored his district and betrayed his principles.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a statement moments after the news of Mr. Stupak’s decision began to circulate: “Red Alert: Former pro-life Democrat throws in the towel rather than running on health care sellout.”

Mr. Stupak, a leader of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus, put himself at the center of a debate over provisions in the big health care legislation regarding insurance coverage for abortions.

In the fall, Mr. Stupak pulled off what at the time seemed a remarkable political feat, forcing Ms. Pelosi, who is a fierce champion of abortion rights, and other liberal Democrats to allow a vote on an amendment inserting tight restrictions on abortion coverage into the House health care bill. His name became capitol shorthand for the amendment.

With Republican support, the amendment was approved, immediately creating a challenge for Democrats in the Senate. Negotiations there between two abortion foes, Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and a supporter of abortion rights, Senator Barbara Boxer of California, produced compromise language for the Senate bill, but when it returned to the House, Mr. Stupak insisted that the Senate language was not good enough, infuriating all sides. Whether they were for or against abortion rights, many Democrats seemed to become anti-Stupak.