Shell Game: Will Target Dems Support Healthcare Bill After Party Bosses Remove Stupak Amendment?

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: Marion Berry (AR-01); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Chris Carney (PA-10); Jim Costa (CA-10); Joe Donelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Brad Ellsworth (IN-08); Baron Hill (IN-09); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Michael Michaud (ME-02); David Obey (WI-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); John Salazar (CO-03); Vic Snyder (AR-02); Zack Space (OH-18); John Spratt (SC-05); and Bart Stupak (MI-01).

Shell Game: Will Brad Ellsworth Support Healthcare Bill After Party Bosses Remove Stupak Amendment?

Senior House Democrat ‘Confident’ that Abortion Restrictions Will Be Removed from Final Product

Washington- It looks like Brad Ellsworth just lost his political cover for backing Nancy Pelosi’s $1.2 trillion government healthcare takeover. Even though the bill that passed late Saturday night included overwhelming support for an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) restricting federal funding for abortions, one senior House Democrat announced today that she was “confident” that language restricting taxpayer-funded abortions would be removed from the final bill that comes before Congress. Ellsworth’s vote to pass his party’s reckless job-killing healthcare plan was bad enough, but now he’s out of excuses. With his last shred of political cover likely to be removed from the final product, will Brad Ellsworth still support a big-government spending spree that is sure to pile a mountain of new taxes on small businesses and middle-class Indiana families?

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL): I am confident that when it comes back from the conference committee that that language won’t be there.

Click to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DlKKkAndew

“As if Brad Ellsworth’s vote for Nancy Pelosi’s government-run healthcare wasn’t bad enough, it’s now clear that his party leaders are intent on forcing taxpayers to pay for abortion,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Now that it looks like he can no longer hide behind an abortion provision that won’t exist, will Ellsworth finally side with Hoosiers or will he reveal himself once again as a loyal crony to the big-government Democrats who insist on bankrupting the country with their reckless government healthcare takeover? Ellsworth should announce his opposition to the final healthcare bill immediately – that is, if he is actually opposed to a job-killing healthcare agenda that will stop economic recovery in its tracks.”

Will Brad Ellsworth come out against his party’s latest cynical political ploy by announcing his opposition to a healthcare bill that includes federal funding for abortions and an explosion of new government bureaucracy? Or will his true colors finally shine through with his support for Nancy Pelosi’s latest job-killing, tax-hiking spending spree?

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