Dispatches from U.S. Representatives Experiencing the Pain of Forsaking — and the Pleasure of Defending — Their Principles
The award for the U.S. House Member most foresaking his principles goes to Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) — Mr. We-Must-Have-a-Public-Option-to-Medicare-Buy-In-is-better-to-I’ll-vote-for-a-bill-with-no-public-option-and-no-Medicare-buy-in-but-I’ll-whine-about-it:
“If you think about the three letters that almost all of us signed, we signed a Courtney letter saying we weren’t going to go along if it included the Cadillac tax, a [Rep. Diana] DeGette letter saying we weren’t going to go along if it included Stupak [restrictions on publicly funded abortions], and someone had a letter saying we we’re not going to go along unless the public option is in there,” [New York Rep. Anthony] Weiner said. “So we’re eating a lot of letters right now, [and] I think there’s got to be some nominal [emphasis added] movement on those things to let all of us who signed those things at least say, ‘All right, we got improvement in those three areas.’”
Unless Members of Congress who signed these three letters, like Rep. Weiner, who was on almost every national television news station demanding a public option, make a credible threat to vote no — and do if their bluff is called (since most do not believe the letter signers will actually vote no) — they will end up forsaking each of the principles they pronounced, in each letter they signed. (See picture above.)
But wait, since posting this, I now find out that Rep. Weiner has said if it’s the Senate bill, he will not vote for it. It’s a start.
“If you’re a member who voted no after the uproar these plans have caused, how do you vote yes?” asked Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, one of the last converts after party leaders inserted his controversial restrictions on abortion. “I mean, really. Those who voted no probably went home and got slapped on the back. Those of us who voted yes got slapped across the head with a two-by-four.”
I wonder who sleeps better?