Once it became clear that the Stupak amendment would pass–by the way, it passed thanks to a liberal, pro-choice Speaker of the House pushing for it in order to get the votes of pro-life Democrats on final passage–it was entirely unsurprising to see the health care reform bill pass. End result? A failure to control costs and a health care bill which criminalizes health care choices, and limits the ability to get more life-saving drugs to come down the pipeline.
Voting for the Stupak amendment, of course, was tremendously stupid on the part of House Republicans. They helped make it easier for pro-life Democrats to vote for the bill on final passage. Their tactical and cognitive failure on this issue was amazing to behold.
TNL