As I wrote earlier, the Stupak amendment to prevent taxpayer
funding for abortion poses a dilemma for pro-life Republicans,
since supporting the pro-life amendment would help ensure that
the Pelosi bill moves forward. While the Republican leadership in
the House and many of the members have said they would support
the measure, Rep. John Shadegg has told
Politico that he will vote "present," and says at least 4 or
5 Republicans will join him:
“(Nancy) Pelosi is speaker and she’s pro abortion every minute of
every hour of every day as speaker,” Shadegg said in an interview
with POLITICO Saturday evening. “This is a vote to help her move
the bill forward.”
He added: “This is a gut-wrenching issue for a lot of
people...But I won't support Pelosi’s bill, which is not pro-life
at all.”
The item also notes that Shadegg has "has been bickering all day
via email with his Republican colleagues" about how to vote, and
disagrees with the pro-life groups who have announced they would
negatively rate a "present" vote on the measure.
So, will enough Republicans join Shadegg and help block passage
of the Stupak amendment? And if that language doesn't make it in
the bill, will Pelosi have enough votes to pass it? Right now,
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's office counts 35 Democrats
opposed to the larger health care bill -- just five short of the
number needed to defeat it, if the GOP caucus stands together.
And that number doesn't include the pro-life Democratic members
who are currently undecided, awaiting the outcome of the vote on
the Stupak amendment.
