No time at home, constantly on the road, constantly raising money and no private life.
Now add in constant media coverage and intrusion into your private life and constant questioning of your values, belief system and honesty.
No wonder members of Congress want to retire earlier than normal. Whew.
Congressman Stupak I am sure found this a difficult decision.
I have to agree that this decision was probably extremely difficult for Rep. Stupak. It had to be hard to deal with this whirlwind of media coverage he has been getting, and all the backlash of his decision to vote for the health care bill. My family has always voted for congressmen Stupak and I wish him the best in retirement.
ReplyDeleteI honestly am not at all surprised Congressman Stupak has retired. After all the media coverage, hatred, and constant bombarding of the small amount of personal life he did have I don't blame him. Although, I understand why people are upset with him and in a way I feel as though he brought it upon himself I think there is great justification in his actions for retiring. As I stated above I do feel as if he brought this upon his self. If he had that strong of 'values' on certain issues then he should have voted in a way that reflected those values, but he failed to do that. Therefore, I understand why the people are upset. If he didn't want this reaction from the people then he should have taken a stand for what he said believed in.
ReplyDeleteIt becomes a lot for someone to deal with the media, political issues, public and being away from your family all the time. That is why it is not surprising that Congressman Stupak retired when he did. A lot of pressure falls upon the Congress and I wish the best for Stupak and hope he enjoys his time in retirement.
ReplyDeleteCongressman Stupak's retirement represents the division between voting for your constituents and voting for what you believe is best for them (even if they think differently). Stupak believed voting for the healthcare bill was best for his constituents in the long run despite their opposition. However, I cannot begin to imagine the intense political pressure that he faced in the days approaching his decision. I am not sure what I disagree with more, a congressman voting against something he has ran most of his career representing, or a system where a representative has to make decisions under the arbitrary political pressures of the day.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I don't think that Stupak had a way to vote for what he believed in. His amendment was to prohibit funding for abortions and all hell was raised from the Democrats but when he voted for the health care (something I think he believed in) the Republicans fired at him. Congressman Stupak really had no option. Healthcare is a good thing for this country and its citizens (though it really should be single payer instead of this mess) and in the end he made the decision he thought was right.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways...Stupak did bring this on himself. He kept telling the citizens in the UP that he wouldn't vote yes for the health care bill unless the prohibiting of funds for abortions was added. But then in a townhall meeting in Cheboygan, he said that he'd vote yes regardless. So he told the members of his district one thing and another group of people another. The UP citizens trusted in Stupak's word because he was a Yooper and thought he was going to stand up for his beliefs and those of his district members. So with the trust gone from his district, harsh comments coming at him from the media and the people of Michigan (and maybe other states)his choices were limited during this election year. He could try and run for re-election but raising funds would be difficult and he might not have had full party support. So the other option was retirement.
ReplyDeleteWhen Stupak came to lower harbor of Marquette over the summer, my friends and I were there to ask him questions, namely, "Will you support this bill if there is no provision against funding abortions?" Since the question was not worded in a way that you could see our stance on abortion, I think that Stupak did not know how to answer. I could honestly see the confusion on his face.
ReplyDeleteMy point in saying this is that, regardless of what Stupak believes, he is a politician. He wants to tell his constituents what they want to hear, and if that means changing his opinion for the moment that I am sure he will do it.
In saying this, however, I do wish Stupak the best of luck in retirement. I feel as though he has always been a great representative for the Upper Peninsula.