While the liberal media continues to lecture conservatives about civility, news broke today that the FBI arrested a Pennsylvania man, Norman Leboon, for making an online death threat against House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia. Last week, Leboon posted a profanity-laced rant against the conservative Jewish congressman on YouTube. In his diatribe, Leboon, who claims to be a Muslim convert, threatened to kill Cantor and his family. It turns out that Norman Leboon also donated $505 to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

The man appears to be a complete loon who has made many threats, so I won’t try to make him a “poster boy” for the Left. But, if the situation were reversed – if a Tea Party member who donated to John McCain’s campaign had been arrested for threatening to assassinate a Democrat leader – it would be headline news for days. There would be calls for the conservative leaders to renounce and condemn the Tea Party. There would be much ink spent on column after column about the extremism on the Right. And, of course, all of it would be due to obvious racism.

Over the weekend, New York Times columnist Frank Rich again picked up the canard that conservative opposition to healthcare “reform” is based on some “ism” or phobia. Rich wrote:

“If Obama’s first legislative priority had been immigration or financial reform or climate change, we would have seen the same trajectory. The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play.”
In one sentence, Rich dismissed the concerns of nearly half the country (based on the latest polls) for its alleged racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia. Once again, the “tolerant” Left is proving just how intolerant it can be.

So, I ask Rich this simple question: If a future black president and a female future Speaker of the House and a wise Latina on the Supreme Court were pushing for lower taxes, smaller government, a strong national defense and adherence to our Constitution, does he really think that the streets would be filled with Tea Party members demonstrating in opposition? Of course not! They might be in the streets cheering, but I suspect Rich would still find something to complain about.

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit to stop ObamaCare
in Federal District Court on the same day the
President held his ceremonial signing at the
White House.  I have recorded a special audio
message for you with important information about
these historic events. Click here to hear my
audio update and to read the lawsuit. – Mat.

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26493&PID=23384024

Friends,

Just hours after the over-the-top White House signing
celebration for ObamaCare, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit
in federal court against the new healthcare “reform” law.

Our litigation team strategized for weeks in anticipation
of the bill’s potential passage. To my knowledge, we are
the first private organization, joining several state
attorneys general, to challenge this outrageous,
unconstitutional bill in a court of law.

++Our lawsuit against ObamaCare is for you and your family.

Liberty Counsel filed this lawsuit for the millions of
citizens like you who recognize that ObamaCare is an
unconstitutional infringement on our rights as Americans.

Mandating health insurance for every person and employer
is a stunning example of the abuse of power that the
Constitution was designed to prevent.  Congress never
had the authority to pass this kind of legislation in
the first place!

++We’re calling the President’s administrators to account.

This lawsuit is designed to force a courtroom confrontation
on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. That’s why our
lawsuit specifically lists the following people as defendants:

Timothy Geithner, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor
Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General

In my exclusive audio message, you will hear how the events
of the past few days will affect all Americans and how we
are countering this egregious violation of our constitution
and personal liberties.

Click here to read the lawsuit in its entirety, to hear my
special message, and to sign your “Statement of Support.”

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26493&PID=23384024

++Citizens standing together can stop ObamaCare in court!

Now more than ever, the socialists and abortion advocates
need to understand that WE HAVE NOT GIVEN UP and will
resist implementation of ObamaCare to the very end.

WE WILL SEE THEM IN COURT!  And we have an excellent chance
of winning this federal lawsuit.

Here is what I’m asking you to do…

#1 — Sign the Statement of Support for our lawsuit.

We want to deliver hundreds of thousands of these Statements
to all the key plotters behind ObamaCare.  Reid, Pelosi,
Obama and all their confederates need to know they’re not
going to get away with this travesty!  Go here right now:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26493&PID=23384024

#2 — Pray that this bill will be derailed in court.  Pray
for God’s deliverance from being forced to pay for abortions
and from the overt deceit and trickery that has become the
norm from the Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis.  PLEASE keep
the heat on, especially now that the socialists have finally
played their hand.

And, of course, this litigation is going to be very expensive.
Please prayerfully consider a significant gift to help offset
Liberty Counsel’s expenses in mounting this major constitutional
challenge to ObamaCare.

++The battle over ObamaCare is far from being over.

Friends, this anti-liberty, anti-life, and
anti-family healthcare bill will now be strongly challenged
in the federal judiciary.

Don’t be deceived. This power grab was never about improved
healthcare or access to healthcare. It was always about
advancing socialism through overt government takeover.

That is why the President is once again stumping in Iowa
and across the nation to manipulate the truth about
healthcare reform and to gain support for his unpopular
law.  Shortly after the bill “passed,” a CNN poll showed
59% of Americans STILL disapprove of the President’s bill!

Never before has the will of the people been so completely
ignored and marginalized. Americans nationwide are expressing
OUTRAGE at the overt manipulation and total lack of integrity
that characterized the final vote on ObamaCare.  Reid,
Pelosi and Obama proved they were willing to do ANYTHING
to get this control of our medical system.

With your help, Liberty Counsel will fight in court on
behalf of Americans like you who know that ObamaCare is
an outrageous, unconstitutional infringement on our personal
liberties!

Please, take a moment to listen to my audio message
highlighting the events of the past few days. I have also
appended a copy of Liberty Counsel’s official News Release
and the text of the actual lawsuit next to your Statement
of Support. Access it all by clicking here:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=26493&PID=23384024

Also, please join thousands of other like-minded Americans
who will be putting the plotters on notice that we will
SEE THEM IN COURT and thwart this power grab once and for all.

God bless you,

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

P.S.  This battle is NOT over, no matter how much the
Pelosi/Reid/Obama power axis wants us to think that it
is.  Listen to my audio message and sign your Statement
of Support for our lawsuit so we can win this phase of
the battle!  Again, thank you for taking action with us!

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

On the same day that President Obama signed his healthcare “reform” bill in a White House ceremony, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit to stop it in Federal District Court. Although socialists may be celebrating their so-called “victory” today, this battle has just begun!  Please read below – Mat.

Friends, I’m sure you are finding it difficult to watch giddy liberal Democrats celebrating the passage of ObamaCare. That’s because you and I know that their “win” comes at the expense of our Constitution and through the complete marginalization of the will of the American people.

Here are just a few of the realities that make this such a bitter experience:

Fact One:  ObamaCare was unconstitutional from the beginning!  Congress NEVER had the power to force Americans to buy health insurance or to force employers to provide health insurance.

Fact Two:  It is always difficult for Americans to watch cheaters win.  That’s why we insist on placing asterisks after questionable records.  And we all know this bill was passed under extreme “Chicago Rules.”

Fact Three: No Democrat has yet come up with a credible estimate of what this monstrosity is going to cost. When it comes time to actually pay for ObamaCare, Americans are going to have the biggest case of buyer’s remorse in our nation’s history.

Fact Four: All across America, men and women of good will are asking themselves how they can live with the fact that their tax dollars may soon pay for abortions.

Friends, those are just a few of the reasons why Liberty Counsel filed our lawsuit…and why it MUST succeed.

Socialists twisted the system to get their prize.

Only by using the convoluted combination of “reconciliation” (that was never meant to be applied to this sort of legislation) and the threat of using the “Slaughter House Rule” (set aside only after Democrat leaders were assured of the “Stupak Sellout”), this so-called victory was disgracefully obtained.

That’s not “sour grapes”… that’s the plain truth. And with a CNN poll taken the day after the House vote showing 59% of Americans are still in strong opposition to ObamaCare, Barack Obama has been forced to go back on the campaign trail to try to “sell” his socialization of American medicine.

That means we’re in for more, “let me do a better job of explaining why you’re going to love this plan” speeches and other condescending, arrogant assertions.  Please, Mr. President, we “get it” just fine.

Americans have lost confidence in the legislative process.

At every step of the way in ObamaCare’s long march through Congress, the liberal Democrat leaders used trickery, overt manipulation, and out-and-out vote buying to thwart the American people’s clearly expressed opposition to their socialist takeover of our medical system.

Here’s what the 111th Congress has forced down our throats:

• Abortion coverage Americans don’t want
• Exorbitant costs Americans don’t want
• Mandatory participation Americans don’t want
• New federal bureaucracies Americans don’t want
• A vast expansion of IRS power Americans don’t want

Our Constitution has been subverted right before our eyes.

Friends, the “checks and balances” our Founders gave us are being systematically overpowered and dismantled by the Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis.  Never before has
the will of the American people been so completely marginalized.

Liberty Counsel has filed our complaint in order to protect the American people from a total government takeover.  I am not being an alarmist – the very survival of the constitutional republic our Founders gave us hangs in the balance!

ObamaCare is unconstitutional!  If Congress has the power to FORCE each person to have health insurance, then individual liberty is totally meaningless.

That’s why we need hundreds of thousands of Americans to sign our Statement of Support for this litigation. Given the sad spectacle we saw play out in the House of Representatives this weekend, we must now win this battle in a court of law.

If you haven’t done so already, please click below to sign your official Statement of Support.  If you have already signed, PLEASE forward this entire message to as many like-thinking friends as possible:

http://www.libertyaction.org/310/petition.asp?rid=23597880

ObamaCare was unlawful from its conception.

There were MANY reasons why Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi allowed no one but their closest insiders — and the White House arm twisters, of course — to participate in developing and managing ObamaCare. For one thing, its “Tooth Fairy” accounting couldn’t stand up to even mild scrutiny.

But the biggest reason was that Congress had NO AUTHORITY to force its socialist healthcare agenda on citizens and businesses in the first place!

The bill that passed the House of Representatives on Sunday night is unconstitutional because:

1. Congress has NO authority to force every American to carry insurance coverage, and,
2. Congress has NO authority to fine employers whose policies do not have the mandated coverage.

No matter the desires of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, there are some things Congress just cannot do!  And the threat to our liberty posed by ObamaCare goes FAR beyond healthcare.  If Congress can get away with this expansive power grab, then individual liberty and state sovereignty will soon vanish.

Nancy Pelosi said as much last week when she told reporters that after “kicking down the door” with ObamaCare, her Congress will push through the rest of its ultraliberal agenda.

EVERY version of the “healthcare reform” bill this Congress produced – even considering whatever “reconciliation” issues are eventually appended to the Senate version – is patently unconstitutional!

Friends, this monstrous, anti-life, anti-family healthcare bill MUST now be strongly challenged in the federal judiciary. Liberty Counsel is doing exactly that!

The battle over ObamaCare is just beginning.

Now more than ever, the socialists and abortion advocates need to understand that WE HAVE NOT GIVEN UP and will resist implementation of ObamaCare to the very end.  Now WE’LL SEE THEM IN COURT!  And we have an excellent chance of winning our federal lawsuit.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do…

1. Sign the Statement of Support for our lawsuit.  If you have already done so, please forward this message to twenty or thirty like-minded friends.

   We want to deliver hundreds of thousands of these Statements to all the key plotters behind ObamaCare.  Reid, Pelosi, Obama and all their confederates need to know they’re not going to get away with this travesty!  Go here right now:

   http://www.libertyaction.org/310/petition.asp?rid=23597880

2. Call your Representative’s and your Senators’ offices.

   Please… take a moment to call your Representative and your two Senators and let them know you are OUTRAGED by the way ObamaCare was handled.  Then let them know you will be supporting litigation against this unconstitutional bill.

   • Sen. Feinstein          202-224-3841
   • Sen. Boxer              202-224-3553
   • Rep. McClintock         202-225-2511
3. Pray for Liberty Counsel’s success in court.  Pray for God’s deliverance from being forced to pay for abortions and from the overt deceit and trickery that has become the norm from the Obama/Pelosi/Reid power axis.  PLEASE keep the heat on, especially now that the socialists have played their hand.

And, of course, this litigation is going to be very expensive.  Please prayerfully consider a significant gift to help offset Liberty Counsel’s expenses to mount a major constitutional challenge to ObamaCare.

I have appended a copy of Liberty Counsel’s official News Release about our lawsuit next to your Statement of Support. You can see it and sign your Statement of Support for litigation against ObamaCare by going here:

http://www.libertyaction.org/310/petition.asp?rid=23597880

Now is NOT the time to be silent!  Join like-minded Americans who will be putting the plotters on notice that we have filed a federal lawsuit to stop this power grab once and for all.

God bless you,

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

P.S.  This battle is NOT over, no matter how much the Pelosi/Reid/Obama power axis wants us to think that it is. Sign your Statement of Support for our lawsuit so we can win this phase of the battle in court and in the court of public opinion!

And please pray! There is always hope in God! Also, let your Senators and Representative know that you WILL hold them accountable for their decisions on ObamaCare and its outrageous handling.  WE MUST NOT SUBMIT to this tyranny! Once again, thank you for praying and speaking out.

As I was watching the Super Bowl and saw the opening coin toss, I was reminded that conservatives had better be careful about the White House’s offensive game. This administration is constantly on the attack. It’s very good at manipulating events to its advantage and changing the rules mid-game.

For example, President Obama talked about healthcare reform during a pre-game interview with CBS’s Katie Couric. He said, “I want to … have a large meeting — Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward.” Yesterday, the White House announced plans for a “healthcare summit” on February 25th. According to various reports, the president has promised that this summit will be televised live, presumably on C-Span.

Last week I wrote that the administration and congressional Democrats had totally ignored any ideas conservatives put forward during last year’s healthcare debate. In his statement to Couric, Obama essentially admitted as much. If they had been receptive to conservative ideas and input all along, then they never would have attempted a Big Government takeover of the healthcare industry and this summit would not be necessary.

But when conservatives said they were willing to work with the president, they weren’t talking about TV shows. As we saw from last week’s televised Q&A between the president and House conservatives, the entire event was staged for Obama’s benefit. Conservative members of Congress were faceless, off-camera voices, while the president stood behind the podium like a smug college professor lecturing his pupils. He wasn’t there to negotiate in good faith; he was there to score points with his leftwing base and convince the public that he was “reaching out.”

When conservatives said they wanted discussions to be televised, they didn’t mean choreographed Obama campaign rallies. They meant, as Candidate Obama promised, all key meetings in which substantive decisions were being made.

Call me skeptical, but I expect this summit is just another sham attempt to give Obama the appearance of bi-partisanship. The media will sing his praises and give him as much cover as possible. But the differences between the two parties are tremendous and can’t be glossed over in one made-for-TV “summit.” I suspect the president knows that, and all this is just for show – a play fake that allows Obama to say “I tried” and sets the stage for liberals to “go nuclear,” ramming ObamaCare through using budget reconciliation rules.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t falling for it. In a statement this weekend, Sen. McConnell responded to the summit suggestion by saying, “If we are to reach a bipartisan consensus, the White House can start by shelving the current health spending bill, and with it their goal of slashing a half trillion dollars from Medicare and raising a half trillion in new taxes. The American people want lower costs, not Medicare cuts and tax increases. Setting these proposals aside would be a sign that the administration and Democrats in Congress are listening to the country and are truly interested in a bipartisan approach.” Stay tuned.

President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address tomorrow night. He may or may not talk about dubious global warming, but a centerpiece of his address will likely be a dubious spending freeze. Many Americans were upset by the spending of the previous administration, but they have been shocked by the out-of-control spending of the Obama Administration. Last year, the Associated Press noted that Barack Obama’s budget “would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency.” (If you are a visual learner, click here.)

Not surprisingly, a number of recent surveys have found that deficit reduction and reduced federal spending are more important to voters than healthcare reform. Obama seems to have gotten that message – sort of. It’s being reported that the president will propose a three-year freeze on some discretionary spending, which will save about $25 billion a year. It’s a start, but let’s put that into perspective.

To begin with, the whole concept of a spending freeze is yet another flip-flop for Obama. As a candidate, Barack Obama repeatedlyopposed the idea of a spending freeze during the presidential debates, saying it was “using a hatchet when you need a scalpel.”

This spending freeze is coming from a president who just racked up a record $1.4 trillion deficit with a failed stimulus spending bill, numerous bailouts and a budget that “increased non-defense spending by 12 percent.” One congressional aide remarked that Obama’s spending freeze is like “going on a diet after winning the pie eating contest.”

Obama’s proposed $25 billion in savings amounts to less than two percent of last year’s record deficit. And it comes just as his liberal allies in Congress are trying to pass a trillion-dollar socialized medicine scheme and yet another $100 billion stimulus plan. Clearly we need to take a hatchet to the federal budget, but Obama is only reluctantly reaching for his scalpel.

Last week, Gallup released the results of a post-Massachusetts election poll on the direction the American people thought Congress should take regarding healthcare “reform.” Two-thirds of Americans want Congress to be doing something other than healthcare “reform,” and 55% believe that the current “reform” legislation should be scrapped completely. Only 32% felt that healthcare reform should be the top priority at this time.

Politically, the administration has three strikes against it in recent weeks, having lost gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, and the special election in Massachusetts for the Senate seat held by the Kennedy family for over 50 years. One would think the message of these three races was unavoidable: Less partisanship and more common-sense solutions.

But the administration is evidently living in a state of denial. As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation, the tone reportedly will be combative. Far from learning the lesson of past weeks, all indications suggest that the White House is refusing to moderate its liberal agenda and is digging in for a fight.

In fact, that’s exactly what top Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett said this weekend on “Meet the Press.” Responding to questions about how Obama will react to Scott Brown’s “stunning victory,” Jarrett replied, “He is going to fight for what he’s always been fighting for… We’re not hitting a reset button at all.” If we needed additional confirmation of this strategy, we got it in the news that Obama has brought David Plouffe into the White House. Plouffe was Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, and in spite of his cool demeanor, he is a committed ideologue.

In yesterday’s Washington Post, Plouffe outlined the lessons he’s learned from the Massachusetts election. Plouffe calls for passing healthcare reform legislation “without delay” even though “the short-term politics are bad,” doubling down on the failed stimulus spending bill with “more incentives for green jobs” and appealing to the far Left fringe. He concludes by writing, “Instead of fearing what may happen, let’s prove that … we have the guts to govern. Let’s fight like hell.”

Plouffe and the president want a fight for the heart and soul of America. I’m ready to “fight the good fight” for our values in public policy. Are you ready to rumble?

As the nation approaches the one year anniversary of Barack Obama’s inauguration, administration officials are crowing about all their “accomplishments.” On the White House website, you can read about the myriad ways in which President Obama has saved the global economy, tackled climate change and made us safe.

Some of you may be dubious, but you can participate in a series of live online chats and blogs with key White House aides as they detail “what the Obama Administration has done over the past year, and where the Administration is heading on pivotal issues.” The White House may be trying to put on a happy face, but the American people clearly aren’t happy with hope and change.

Virtually every major polling outfit and news organization now finds that the president’s approval rating has tanked. Yesterday, CBS News reported that Obama’s approval rating hit a new low in its polling at 46%. Today, it’s Gallup, which reports that only 40% of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the economy and just 37% approve of his performance on healthcare reform.

CNN and Quinnipiac University asked voters whether Obama’s first year in office had been a success or a failure. Quinnipiac found that voters were evenly divided at 45% each. CNN found 48% of voters saying Obama’s first year was a failure, while 47% said it was successful. And, after a year of Obama’s leadership, Quinnipiac found voters statistically tied when asked whether the nation would have been better off or worse off if John McCain had become president instead of Barack Obama.

What Are They Hiding?

While Barack Obama is talking terrorism today, Democrat congressional leaders are huddling in secluded suites on Capitol Hill. Why? They are hammering out their differences on a socialized medicine scheme in secret, rather than in the usual conference committee process, which is held in public. Reports broke late yesterday that the liberals would try to bypass the normal legislative process and shut down further debate. Democrats said they didn’t want to give Republicans any more opportunities to slow down or stop the process.

Here’s the truth: Republicans voted unanimously in opposition to this bill, but Democrats control 60 votes – enough to shut down GOP filibusters, which is exactly what the Democrats did. This is entirely their bill. Every significant Republican amendment was defeated. Every GOP attempt to block the bill was shut down. The problem is not conservative opposition, but division within the Left.

So they are once again going behind closed doors as they attempt to socialize nearly 20% of our economy, pass massive new tax hikes, dramatically expand the government (including the IRS) and take away more of our freedom. It is disgusting and outrageous.

It’s also a blatant violation of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2006 pledge that her party would “lead the most honest, most open and most ethical congress in history.” And it also breaks candidate Obama’s promise that the legislation would not be negotiated behind closed doors but broadcast on C-SPAN. To its credit, C-SPAN is demanding that President Obama and congressional Democrats keep their word and “allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American.”

It does make one wonder: If passing this bill would be such a success, why all the secrecy? What are they hiding?

The healthcare “reform” debate in the Senate may well be in its final stages. Yesterday, President Obama rushed to Capitol Hill to give Senate Democrats a pep talk. The president reminded them of the historic significance of their work and urged them to stick together. According to various reports, he avoided discussing contentious policy issues and attempted to “stay above the fray.”

Friday, Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin told reporters that only two issues remain unresolved. Durbin said, “Abortion and [the] public option are really the major obstacles at this point.” One may be dealt with today. Sunday, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate will take up abortion funding today. Senators Hatch (R-UT) and Nelson (D-NE) will offer an amendment similar to one that passed the House guaranteeing that no federal money will be used to pay for abortions. Few expect the amendment to pass since only three Democrats are likely to support it.

That said, I found Durbin’s statement very profound. This “reform” plan sets the stage for socialized medicine in America, and liberals are okay with that. It raises taxes by half a trillion dollars, and liberals are okay with that. It cuts Medicare by half a trillion dollars, and liberals are evidently okay with that. For the first time in our history, the federal government is going to mandate that citizens purchase a product or risk going to jail, and liberals are okay with that.

There is no enforcement mechanism to guarantee that illegal aliens would not be subsidized in this plan, and liberals seem to be okay with that. The bill creates a new trillion-dollar entitlement program when we are running record deficits, and liberals are okay with that. It purports to cover tens of millions of individuals without providing one additional nurse or doctor to care for them. The obvious result will be long lines leading to rationed care, and liberals are okay with that too.

Liberal politicians may be oblivious to reality, but the American people are very worried about what government-run healthcare would mean for them. For example, voters in Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada are growing more skeptical of this socialized medicine scheme. Just 39% of Nevada voters support Obama’s takeover of our healthcare system, while 53% oppose it.

What’s interesting about this poll is that Harry Reid is up for reelection next year, and the percentage of voters who say they would reelect him isn’t much higher than those supporting this socialized healthcare scheme. This poll and others suggest that politicians pushing ObamaCare this year may find their careers in critical condition next year.

At 11:16 PM Saturday night, the House of Representatives passed Nancy Pelosi’s 2,000-page, $1.2 trillion socialized medicine scheme by just two votes. Republicans were virtually unanimous in their opposition (only one Republican – Anh Cao, who represents a liberal majority-black district in New Orleans – voted for the bill), while 219 Democrats voted for it. More than three dozen Democrats voted against it, proving yet again that on major liberal initiatives the most bi-partisan aspect of these bills is the opposition to them.

The House version of the healthcare bill has been declared “dead on arrival” in the Senate, and Democrats remain divided over some big issues, including taxpayer-subsidies for abortion. During the House debate, 64 Democrats broke ranks to back the Stupak (D-MI)/Pitts (R-PA) amendment preventing taxpayer funding of abortion. After that vote, Planned Parenthood issued a statement noting, “Planned Parenthood Federation of America has no choice but to oppose HR 3962 [the entire healthcare ‘reform’ bill].” That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news. Today House liberals are demanding that the Stupak/Pitts amendment be stripped from the bill in the House/Senate conference committee. The Hill quotes Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) as saying, “I am confident that when it comes back from the conference committee that that language won’t be there.”

This battle will continue, and there is a chance the Senate won’t be able to act at all until next year. We will keep on defending our values, and you need to do so also.