Catholics United, a group funded by George Soros, a self-avowed atheist and longtime financier of Planned Parenthood, NOW, and NARAL, sent disruptive protesters to our Votes Have Consequences stop in Erie, Pennsylvania where local pro-life activists called out Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper for selling out Pennsylvania values by providing a key vote for the passage of Obama’s health care bill.

The protesters – led by James Salt, political director of Catholics United and close associate of Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius (an avid pro-abortion activist and cheerleader of late-term abortionist George Tiller) – followed the bus as it made additional stops in Meadville, Grove City, and Butler.

It is important to note that during the health care debate, Catholics United actively opposed efforts to add Hyde amendment language to the bill to ensure taxpayer dollars wouldn’t be used to pay for abortions in health care legislation. From the start to the end of the debate, Catholics United worked to undermine the efforts of honest lawmakers working to protect the unborn, their mothers, and the conscience of American taxpayers.

So it comes as no surprise that Catholics United is now doing everything they can to undermine our efforts to educate pro-life voters as the mid-term elections draw near.

Catholics United protesters claimed the SBA List is lying about funding for abortion in health care because of an executive order issued by President Obama.

The problem with their argument is that the executive order doesn’t hold any legal weight, isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, and does not even attempt to address all the funding problems in the bill.

The executive order reiterates the accounting gimmick under which federal subsidies will be used to pay for insurance plans that cover elective abortion that Rep. Bart Stupak – the leader of the Democrats who sold out – objected to in a December press release: “… the segregation of funds to pay for abortion is another departure from current policy prohibiting federal subsidy of abortion coverage.”

For proof that the executive order did not ban federal funding of abortion in the health care bill, look no further than Pennsylvania, site of our rallies and Catholic United's protests.

Just over a month ago, on July 13th, HHS approved $160 million in federal taxpayer funding for Pennsylvania to establish a new high-risk insurance pool program that would cover any legal abortion in the state.

Only after the National Right to Life Committee and other pro-life groups and lawmakers very publicly protested the funds did HHS decide to ensure the taxpayer subsidized plan wouldn't include elective abortion.

But in assurances to pro-abortion groups, White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle wrote in a blog post, “is not a precedent for other programs or policies given the unique, temporary nature of the program and the population it serves.”

So, it wasn't the executive order that made the difference, only a very public outcry only because pro-life groups were paying attention.

Thus, decisions made on whether abortions will be covered in taxpayer-subsidized health care will be decided on a case-by-case basis by President Obama’s appointees to HHS, not his executive order. And even if the executive order had any weight, it could easily be reversed by future presidents.

Instead of an executive order, Dahlkemper and other once pro-life Democrats could have held their ground and demand the insertion of statutory Hyde language permanently banning the health care bill from funding abortion. Of course, Catholics United opposed Hyde language, saying it went “too far.”

Stupak and Dahlkemper folded their cards, caved to party bosses, and now they are learning the consequences of their actions. Stupak has already retired, and our Votes Have Consequences project – with your continued support – is ensuring that every voter that cares about the protection of the unborn in Kathy Dahlkemper’s district knows she sold them out. And they’ll remember in November.

-- Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List

Over the weekend, the Votes Have Consequences Express hit the Indiana State Fair where the staff enjoyed eating different foods you can only find at a decent state fair:



On Sunday, the bus headed to Toledo, Ohio where it met up with local pro-life activists for a cook-out.

And today, the bus tour hit the Keystone State, making stops in Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper's district. As noted last week, Dahlkemper preempted the bus tour on the very front page of her Congressional website.

Besides her own spin, Dahlkemper supporters organized by Catholics United, a pro-abortion front group funded by pro-abortion billionaire George Soros, who also funds Planned Parenthood, NARAL and NOW, came to our stop in Erie and followed the bus to our additional stops:



More on them later.

Luckily, four times as many local pro-life activists were there to support their local speakers including Tim Broderick, director of People for Life; Abigayle A. Koller, team facilitator of Rachel's Vineyard; Marielle Lafaro, first vice president of People for Life, and Ed Franz, former candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District:







And here's a great shot from our stop in Meadville:

The Votes Have Consequences Express continued roaring through Indiana today, making stops in New Albany, Seymour, Columbus, Franklin, and in Indianapolis. Tomorrow, it'll head to the Indiana State Fair before heading to Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The most exciting development today was that the Indiana chapter of National Organization for (Pro-Abortion) Women actually showed up! What they failed to bring without a message. When asked by reporters why exactly they were there and why they were protesting us, they couldn't provide an answer.

And that's no surprise to me. They organized to stick up for Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill... but Ellsworth and Hill want their constituents to believe that they fought against taxpayer funding of abortion. So I don't see how having pro-abortion supporters bolsters their argument. The logic of NOW is just mind boggling.

Anyway, have a great weekend, SuzyB readers and we'll continue to give you updates from the road.


Great pic from today's stop in New Albany, IN

Looks like the Votes Have Consequences Bus Tour will have some company in Indianapolis tomorrow from the ever-shrinking and always aging National Organization for (Pro-Abortion) Women:


Here's what I don't get.

If Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill were responsible for ensuring that taxpayers didn't fund abortion in ObamaCare like they claim, why is NOW rushing to their defense? Hmmm.......

You can thank Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, a Democratic Congresswoman selling out the 3rd District for making it all possible.

In 2008, Kathy Dahlkemper campaigned for Congress as a pro-lifer and won. But when push came to shove, Dahlkemper caved to Pelosi and Obama and is personally responsible for ushering in the biggest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade by supporting ObamaCare.

Kathy Dahlkemper put politics above principle, sold out Pennslyvania values, and now it's time for her to pay.

The Votes Have Consequences Bus Tour will roll through her district this upcoming Monday, August 16th. Here's a quick rundown of the press conferences and speakers. Local activists are invited to attend and bring homemade signs.


If you're in the area, make sure to bring your friends, co-workers, family, etc. to any of the stops.

We already know that Dahlkemper is a tad bit worried about the bus roaring through her district considering the current splash on the front-page of her Congressional website:



Considering that Dahlkemper's name is spelled wrong -- Dahlkekmper -- and the text contains grammatical errors, I'd say her efforts to spin are off to a bad start.

Why the spin?

Check out our PA-03 polling results here -- 3 out of 4 voters in Pennsylvania's 3rd District oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, and oppose the overall health care bill by a margin of 51% to 39%. Monday should be fun.

Looks like the mainstream media has picked up on what we knew all along – conservative women are leading the way!

 

In a long report by POLITICO’s Ken Vogel, it turns out that a majority of the tea partiers are conservative women! Surprise main stream media – we could have told you that!

 

Pro-life women leaders like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are among the tea party’s most recognizeable figures, and are a part of the expanding popularity of the tea party movement.

 

Great job to our favorite conservative women! Keep speaking out!

    We all know how Rep. Bart Stupak caved the day of the passage of the government takeover of health care. But we don’t know why.

    Well, we do know why. We’ve known all along that Stupak supported ObamaCare. After getting his amendment passed to the original public option health care bill that passed the House in November, he voted for the final bill. But it is baffling to pro-lifers why he, who had the power to singlehandedly make or break health care reform, would give up all that power in the last minute for a worthless scrap of paper.

    An executive order cannot change current law. They can easily be overruled by the courts, which have done so in the past. Legislation from Congress supersedes them. And an executive order can be rescinded at any time. President Obama could sign the order then revoke it 60 seconds later. If the new health care system withstands legal challenges and a possible repeal, this executive order will just become another Mexico City Policy, rescinded and reinstated whenever a new president takes office.

    Stupak’s  move pleases neither side of the abortion debate. The pro-life side thinks the order doesn’t go nearly far enough, and the pro-abortion side thinks it goes too far. The SBA List rescinded the Defender of Life award we were supposed to give Stupak at our gala two days ago. Other pro-life groups across the country have condemned him and are now working to defeat him instead of supporting him. Pro-abortion groups are doing the same. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund are now backing Stupak’s primary challenger.

    In an editorial to be published Saturday in the Washington Post, Stupak says, “The pro-life groups rallied behind me – many without my knowledge or consent – not necessarily because they shared my goals of ensuring protections for life and passing health-care reform but because they viewed me as their best chance to kill health-care legislation.”

    Oh, yeah? Then why did pro-lifers in Congress vote in favor of the Stupak Amendment in November, thus opening the door for your group to vote for the bill and therefore pass it? And if you didn’t want pro-life groups rallying behind you, why did you accept their money and support?

    Mr. Stupak, we trusted you. We thought we had found a hero, someone who was standing up for Life when it looked hopeless. And then we found out you’re just like any other politician, lying to the people to get your way. You broke our heart. And now pro-lifers are not rallying around you, but around your opponent. We’re going to do everything we can to ensure you get defeated with everyone else in November.

*Note: The SBA List, whose mission is to advance pro-life women in politics, does not get involved in an election unless there is a pro-life woman or pro-abortion woman in the race. The last sentence reflects the sentiment of the author, not the SBA List.

    Thanks to the efforts of thousands of dedicated pro-lifers, Personhood Colorado has collected and submitted enough signatures to put the Colorado Personhood Amendment up for a vote. Assuming enough signatures are verified by the state, the amendment will appear on the ballot for voters to decide in the November elections.

    The amendment would change the state constitution to apply the term “person” to “every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.” Unborn children would thus get the same right to life that born persons enjoy, effectively outlawing abortion.

    Assuming the signatures are verified, the amendment will be placed on the ballot as an initiative for voters to approve or deny.

    Personhood Colorado led the campaign to gather the 76,047 signatures of registered voters required to get an initiative on the ballot. The organization submitted 79,817 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State.

    Thousands of pro-life volunteers worked tirelessly for weeks, gathering signatures without pay. The campaign had no paid staff members.

    “We are thrilled with these results. These signatures represent thousands of hours of hard work,” remarked Gualberto Garcia-Jones, co-sponsor of the amendment. “All of our volunteers are 100% committed to seeing that the dignity and personhood of preborn babies is recognized in Colorado, and it shows.”

    As with any signature campaign to get a proposition on the ballot, some signatures will be deemed invalid because they are not from legally registered voters. Should 3,771 signatures be thrown out, putting the campaign below the 76,047 threshold, pro-lifers will have an additional 15 days to gather more signatures.

    Colorado had a similar amendment on the ballot in the 2008 election that was rejected. But pro-lifers certainly have not quit and have no intention of doing so.

    “Our grassroots, volunteer campaign will continue to be a success, because we are working towards a very worthy cause -- protecting the lives of innocent Colorado citizens,” Garcia-Jones said. “The 79,817 signatures are an indicator that the people of Colorado are determined to protect innocent life; we will not rest until every child is protected by love and by law.”

    Personhood movements are underway in several other states for the November election, including Florida, California, Montana, Mississippi, and Missouri.

FOLLOW UP: Personhood will appear on the Colorado ballot in November.

    An Associated Press article released Monday says Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Majority Leader, is pro-life. While Reid would like his conservative constituents to believe this, he has proven through his actions that he is in no way, shape, or form pro-life.

    The article, titled “Senate Leader Harry Reid faces tough re-election”, discusses Reid’s growing unpopularity among Nevada voters. The statement in question reads, “Reid, a Mormon, is conservative on gun control [and] opposes abortion rights.”

    However, Reid has cast consistently pro-abortion votes in the Senate:

•    Voted NO on an amendment that would prohibit the United Nations Population Fund from giving money to organizations that promote coercive abortion and forced sterilization. The bill failed 39-55.
•    Voted NO on defining the unborn child as eligible for state-funded health coverage. SCHIP is a federal program that finances health services to children of low-income families. In 2002 President George W. Bush instituted the “unborn child rule”, which allowed states to include unborn babies under those covered. But since this was an administration rule, not a law, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment to make the rule into law to prevent the Obama administration from ending the rule. The amendment failed 39-59.
•    Voted NO on restoring the Mexico City Policy. The policy prevented U.S. funds from going to any organization that performs or actively promotes abortion overseas. The policy was put into place in 1984 by Pres. Ronald Reagan, ended by Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993, restored by Pres. George W. Bush in 2001, and rescinded again by Pres. Obama in his third day in office. Sen. Mel Martinez offered an amendment to restore the policy again and override Obama’s executive order. The amendment failed 37-60.
•    Co-sponsors a bill (S. 487) that mandates federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, which requires the killing of human embryos to harvest stem cells, even though adult stem cell research does not require the death of human embryos and has proven far more successful. The bill is intended to solidify the mandate that Obama restored shortly after taking office.

Perhaps the most important pro-abortion action Reid has taken is supporting federally funded abortion through the “public option” in health care reform, which would be the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.

It is clear as day that Harry Reid unequivocally supports the radical abortion agenda being pushed by Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and all their anti-life buddies. Perhaps the AP should check its facts before publishing false claims such as this.

Today's New York Times article about the Obama decision to fund Embryonic Stem Cell Research raised the issue of legislative restrictions currently on the books.  In order for the President to get his wish of compleltely opening the floodgates of taxpayer funding for embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life, he needs Congress to lift the "Dickey-Wicker" amendment, named for its legislative sponsors:

The ban, known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, first became law in 1996, and has been renewed by Congress every year since. It specifically bans the use of tax dollars to create human embryos — a practice that is routine in private fertility clinics — or for research in which embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected to risk of injury.

For a time, the ban stood in the way of taxpayer-financed embryonic stem cell research, because embryos are destroyed when stem cells are extracted from them. But in August 2001, in a careful compromise, President Bush opened the door a tiny crack, by ordering that tax dollars could be used for studies on a small number of lines, or colonies, of stem cells already extracted from embryos — so long as federal researchers did not do the extraction themselves.

On Monday, Mr. Obama will throw open the door much farther with an executive order that will “make clear that the government intends to support” human embryonic stem cell research, said Harold Varmus, the president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who advises Mr. Obama on science matters.

Congresswoman Diana Degette (D-Co), a long-time champion of embryonic stem cell research had this to say about the regulation that currently prevents your tax dollars from subsidizing the destruction of human life:

You know, Diana DeGette has been in Congress for 12 years now, and I think it is time we reviewed her policy priorities.  I've already talked to several pro-life Americans who don't want to pay for the destruction of human life, and they seemed open to finding new representation that accurately reflects their views in Congress.

Elections have consequences, folks.

EMILY's List, the nation's largest fundraising organization for pro-abortion female Democrats just threw its support behind newly appointed NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for 2010.

Gillibrand carries a 100% pro-abortion voting record in the House and was endorsed by EMILY's List in 2006 and 2008.  Some are speculating whether this will cause discord between the pro-abortion groups, as both NY Reps Caroline Maloney and Carolyn McCarthy already have support of other abortion organizations, like the Feminist Majority Foundation, for their own 2010 bids for the seat.

This ad is all the rage in pro-life circles.  Check out the latest, powerful ad to come from Catholic Vote.

With the announcement of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine being picked by president-elect Obama as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), some in the media and progressive Christian groups are claiming that Kaine is pro-life.

 

Unfortunately, such an assertion couldn’t be further from the truth, as Kaine claims to be “personally pro-life” while fully supporting Roe v. Wade.   He even opposes overturning the decision.

Frankly, Kaine’s position is no different from John Kerry’s position as a presidential candidate in 2004. Furthermore, Kaine claims to oppose partial-birth abortion, but in reality only supports it being banned if it contains an exception for the “health” of the mother.  It may sound nice and accommodating, but allowing the "health" exception is simply a strategic loophole used by the pro-abortion lobby because in their world, 'health' can mean virtually anything.  In other words, partial-birth abortion can still happen any time and for any reason in Kaine's world.

Pro-Life Democrats shouldn't expect any radical changes to come from the DNC, but they should certainly pressure Kaine to put his money where his mouth is, to the furthest extent possible.

Politico has the details on what we can expect with the next round of Congressional reapportionment in 2012:

Politicos have been saying this bodes well for GOPers, who tend to do better in the South and Southwest.  However, final results will be contingent on which parties have control of the state legislatures and panels who make the final redistricting decisions in 2010.

It looks like Sarah Palin won't be fading away. Not if Saxby Chambliss has anything to say about it. "I can't overstate the impact she had down here," said Chambliss shortly after his surprisingly solid 15-point victory in the December 2 Georgia Senate runoff. Chambliss, who went from a 49.8-46.8 percent lead on November 4 to a 57-43 victory over Democrat Jim Martin in the runoff (Georgia law requires an absolute majority), credited Palin with helping his campaign "peak" with four hugely attended election-eve rallies. Read more after the jump.   more »

The victory of Saxby Chambliss tonight is a bright spot in this election that we all must savor! 

 

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Saxby Chambliss defeated Jim Martin 58 to 42 percent. The SBA List aired radio ads statewide against Martin and mobilized members of Team Sarah to make get-out-the-vote calls to Georgia voters through an online phone bank.  On Monday we reached over 275,000 Georgia voters with a Get-Out-the-Vote message recorded by Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave.

 

Thanks to these efforts and the hard work of many pro-life volunteers, we were able to thwart the Democrats’ goal to reach a filibuster-proof majority of 60 in the U.S. Senate.  Go team!

(AP Photo/Jenni Girtman)

TODAY is the runoff election for Georgia Senate.  If you are in Georgia, be sure to head to the polls to vote for pro-life Senator Saxby Chambliss.  If you have friends and family in Georgia, make sure they turn out to vote today!

Governor Sarah Palin campaigned for the Senator yesterday, highlighting his pro-life credentials.  We need Senator Chambliss in Congress!  If he loses, the Democrats will be on their way to cementing a filibuster-proof, pro-abortion majority in the Senate -- the kiss of death for the confirmation of strict constructionist nominees for the courts.   

The Georgia run-off election for U.S. Senate is one week from tomorrow.  If you'd like to help, go to www.gop.com/phonebank to make GOTV calls to Georgia voters and remind them what is at stake!

After Obama's recent victory, pundits on both sides of the aisle are claiming America is lurching toward the left.  While it is clear our leadership is headed in that direction, Americans themselves have done little to abandon their support for conservative principles like protecting the innocent unborn.

Colleen Carroll Campbell of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (they do great research, check them out!) recently illustrated that conservatives have not disappeared:


I would add that 14 of the 15 GOP freshmen House members were supported by the House Conservatives Fund, a PAC dedicated to supporting candidates who embrace the values of Ronald Reagan, including respect for Life.   Those who won election (in a "bad" year for GOPers no less) were overwhelmingly conservative stalwarts.  The SBA List Candidate Fund endorsed four of the freshmen, Cynthia Lummis (WY-AL) and three freshmen men who defeated pro-abortion female Candidates:  Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-06), Steve Austria (OH-08), and Aaron Schock (Il-18).

Carroll Campbell goes on to say,