BULLETIN:  STUPAK TO LEAVE CONGRESS – AT 9:22 A.M. ET:  Bart Stupak, informal head of the pro-life Democrats in the House, will announce his retirement from Congress, CNN reports:

Marquette, Michigan (CNN) – Nine-term Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, will reveal Friday he is retiring from Congress, several Democratic sources close to Stupak tell CNN.

The anti-abortion Democrat has been facing opposition from both the right and the left for his 11th hour deal with the White House that he says bans federal funding for abortion. The deal ultimately led to his decisive vote in favor of the health care bill.

Stupak first informed Democratic leaders last week that he was considering retiring. He has received calls from President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others urging him to run again.

Democratic sources in Washington and Michigan say they fear losing Stupak, a historically popular Democrat in a sprawling conservative district, will mean likely losing his seat to the Republicans.

COMMENT:  Stupak, it's widely felt, sold out his constituency by voting for health-care "reform" after getting Obama to sign, with no cameras present, a piece of paper that presumably bans federal funding for abortion.  Not many people on the pro-life side take that piece of paper seriously.

Stupak's retirement is a big deal.  It may, we hope, send a message from the American people to "moderate" Democrats that we expect them to behave like moderates when they're in Congress, not just when they're running.  If Stupak is brought down because he's perceived to have sold out, a chill will go up many moderate spines in the Democratic Party.

April 9, 2010