Lawmaker Tries to Have It Both Ways on Health Care Reform and Abortion?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Yes Man
Michigan Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak wants taxpayer-funded abortions excluded from health care reform legislation, but now says he will vote for the bill either way. Stupak says he has 40 Democrats on board with his effort to cut abortion funding from the reform package. But during a town hall meeting Saturday, he said this three times, three different ways:
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CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK: I don't want to see abortion in the bill. And I've got to get a chance to vote on that somewhere along this process. But that doesn't mean — and it if I lose that vote that doesn't mean I vote against the whole bill. It doesn't. No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One Pro-life blog calls Stupak's latest comments a "disaster."
Dirty Trick?
Accusations of political dirty tricks are flying around the congressional race in New York State's 23rd district.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Politico reports ads are running painting Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava as "the best choice for progressives," lauds her for supporting the Obama stimulus, organized labor and gay marriage. The spot is apparently an attempt at reverse psychology: To turn Republicans against their own candidate.
The Scozzafava campaign says the ad's sponsors are working for Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman. Spokesman Matt Burns says: "He's lied, he's distorted and now he's just using another underhanded tactic because he's desperate."
Hoffman's office tells Fox News there was no coordination and it was not aware of the ad before it was released.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.N.-Usual Suspects
The United Nations has sent a special investigator to look into whether affordable housing is so hard to find that it constitutes a human rights violation. Her destination? New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and three other U.S. cities.
U.N. special investigator Raquel Rolnik's mission is to tour the American cities and report back to the U.N. General Assembly. The New York Post editorial board writes: "Since 2000, the U.N. has had a housing investigator looking into shortages in such obvious places as Cambodia, Kenya, and Iran... but this is its first foray into U.S. territory — and it remains to be seen whether she'll call for Donald Trump and other landlords to be hauled before the International Criminal Court."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— Fox News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.