Those who have watched Bart Stupak (D-MI) over the years know that he is more a "workhorse" than "showhorse." That's why Rachel Maddow's claims that Stupak is opposing the current health care bill because he wants the publicity strike anyone with any knowledge of the man as ludicrous. (If you click on the link you'll have to endure a short advertisement.)
But I didn't realize, according to this report from The Hill, that he "has never signed up for federal health benefits because he promised voters in 1992 that he wouldn’t until universal healthcare was enacted."
For a short while, back in the 1980s, I worked on Capitol Hill and benefited from the health care plans offered to those who work there. Trust me, it was, and is, very comprehensive coverage. That Stupak refuses that coverage as a matter of principle speaks very well of him. Don't get me wrong: I think Stupak's analysis of the bill is way off, but he's not the caricature that has been painted by many in the "mainstream media."
