Here in DC it’s no secret that one of the tactics used by those in favor of the democrat takeover of health care is to simply tire us out. Thus the accelerated pace of the legislative process, weekend votes at 1AM, etc.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted from simply covering the health care debate, let alone participating in it at any level.

Nevertheless, we simply cannot give up because the stakes are so high and right now, we are in a very grave position.

So fix yourself another cup of coffee and take a look at this snapshot of what the battle looks like now….

The pro-life movement has been in a pretty pickle since Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska sold-out his friends for a sweetheart deal offered to him by the democrat leadership. He’s now calling the whole thing a “mistake“, but there can be little trust that he will change his position when the vote for final passage is offered.

Senator Bob Casey meanwhile – the subject of a special CatholicVoteAction.org TV campaign – also continues to vote and speak in a way that is out of step with the majority of the people he represents in Pennsylvania. Bottom line: no help is coming from Casey.

Rep. Bart Stupak, however, appears for the moment to be holding on, and in an interview today with the New York Times (summarized well by Steven Ertelt here) says he isn’t going to back down in his opposition to the inadequate Nelson amendment language:

“Mr. Stupak insists that the final bill include his terms, which he says merely reflect current law. If he prevails, he will have won an audacious, counterintuitive victory, forcing a Democratic-controlled Congress to pass a measure that will be hailed as an anti-abortion triumph. If party members do not accept his terms — and many vow they will not — Mr. Stupak is prepared to block passage of the health care overhaul.”

“It’s not the end of the world if it goes down,” he said over dinner.He did not sound downbeat about the prospect of being blamed for blocking the long-sought goal of President Obama and a chain of presidents and legislators before him. “Then you get the message,” he continued. “Fix the abortion language and bring the bill back.”

The entire interview is really very worth reading {Ph/t fellow CVA blogger Justin Aquila.}

Switching gears now to focus on the role of the bishops in this debate, the New York Times interviewer of Rep. Stupak let a fascinating tidbit fall out during the course of his article – he even enclosed it in parenthesis:

(Mr. Stupak says he urged the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to toughen its stance on the legislation.)

That’s just a bombshell comment (as Deal Hudson referred to it).

I wish Stupak or Jodi Kantor (the author of the interview) would have elaborated more on what Stupak meant by it.

At any rate, outside of the official capacity of those who work for the USCCB, individual bishops are speaking out more and more strongly about the stakes in this debate and the ramifications of the choices made by elected representatives throughout the process.

Bishop Tobin, for instance, recently published an editorial in the Rhode Island Catholic entitled, “Not Even a Penny for Abortion.” Moreover, he directly called on Catholics in his diocese to call their elected officials and tell them so.

Secondly, and even more intriguingly, Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, OR has just published an extensive article explaining Excommunication. When I appeared on EWTN’s The World Over a couple weeks ago, Bishop Vasa conducted a phone interview during a segment we shared. He was very forceful and convicted when he spoke about how flawed the current health care legislation is when it comes to life issues and other issues important to Catholics (CVA blogger Justin Aquila also points out that Bishop Vasa has some significant personal and pastoral experience in health care-related issues and Church teaching and praxis).

Now, as it happens, I do not believe there are any Catholic Senators or Representatives in Bishop Vasa’s diocese who will have a chance to vote for this pro-abortion health care bill. But Bishop Vasa’s timely reminder about the nature and use of the “medicinal” penalty of excommunication is certainly something that all serious Catholic politicians – Democrat and Rebpulican – should keep in mind in these crucial weeks ahead.

For our part, as lay men and women we can continue to tell our elected officials to vote against any bill that does not at least contain Stupak-approved pro-life language (that matches the Hyde amendment language currently observed in the U.S.).

I am proud to see that Pro-life organizations have undertaken a road tour of the offices of pro-life Democrats who voted in favor of the Stupak amendment the first time around to hold rallies outside of their congressional offices while they are home on break.

If you are near one of these rallies I would urge you to attend!