Originally posted at American Thinker. Blog
When Jesus retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane He went there alone to pray for strength to endure the trial that lay before Him. Gethsemane literally means “oil press” where fruit is crushed and the valuable endures. Such is the situation that Bart Stupak (D-Mich) finds himself in as he leads a revolt against the controversial issue of abortion funding included in Obama’s healthcare legislation.
True character isn’t revealed in the utterance of words–talk is cheap. Jesus’ true test came when what He preached cost His life. Over the years, Bart Stupak has quietly worked with Democrats “behind the scenes” concerning the issue of abortion. Suddenly, the stalwart Congressman finds himself crushed beneath a millstone whose pressure insists abortion be funded with federal monies.
What began as healthcare negotiations, between pro-abortion and pro-life Democrats has transformed for Stupak into a”living hell.”Threatened with being spit upon and exposed to obscenity and violence Stupak impressively refuses to bend a knee to Molech, regardless the price.
Supporters of Obamacare view Stupak as the “one Democrat standing between the party and the achievement of [government run healthcare] one of its most coveted accomplishments.” Stupak’s pro-life stance has singled him out when,in reality,he and his dozen lack the power to block passage of the bill. According to the Michigan Congressman, “There are 39 other people who didn’t vote for it.”
So what made Stupak a “household name?” Something Bart claims he didn’t anticipate, which was “…how big the abortion issue would become during the health care reform debate.”
Stupak’s admission that he’s”a little surprised,” was over due. It was bound to happen though because a Democrat stepping forth to defend the unborn brings out the worst in a political party determined to kill innocent babies. In militant pro-choice circles demanding “tough language in healthcare legislation to prevent any federal subsidies from being used for abortion services,” could inspire a crucifixion.
The night that Jesus knelt alone in the Garden of Gethsemane some of His followers abandoned Him just as “Democratic leaders [have] peeled off a few of [Stupak’s] group.” Pro-life Democrats like Michigan’s Dale Kildee’s capitulation has added to Stupak’s healthcare reform “hell.” But unlike opponents to the bill, whose resolve was diluted by back room deals, kickbacks and amusement park rides on Air Force One, “the intensity of the resistance to Stupak’s position has, if anything, stiffened his resolve.”
Bart Stupak shows “no sign of voting for the Senate healthcare bill” if the abortion language doesn’t change. For the pro-life Democrat maybe “The ideal outcome might be for the House Democratic leadership to get the votes they need without him and for the bill to pass.”
A resolution? The health care bill funding abortion is passed without Bart’s bloody fingerprints on the legislation. Resigned to the inevitable, Stupak, squeezed like an olive in a press said, “You know, maybe for me that’s the best; I stay true to my principles and beliefs and vote no on this bill and then it passes anyways. Maybe for me is the best thing to do.”
No Congressman, the better thing would be lily-livered legislators looking to you as a leader after acknowledging the character deficit in Washington DC. What could be better than a “living hell” producing the oil to grease an insurgency within the Democrat Party that would save the United States from a legislative fate far worse than a federally funded full term abortion?
