Some Nebraskans are upset with Senator Ben Nelson over his change of heart on healthcare reform.
Senator Nelson (D-Nebraska) was considered the 60th vote Democrats needed to push the massive legislation through with provisions that would require taxpayers to pay for abortions. He agreed to vote in favor of cloture, leaving the early Monday morning vote 60-40 to proceed.
Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, contends the Democratic lawmaker sold out to pro-abortion forces in the Senate in exchange for several concessions -- among them permanent and full federal aid for this state's expanded Medicaid population.
"That falls directly on us as a [political action committee] and on me personally because I was his biggest defender," she says of Nelson. "I'm taking it very personally that this is a real betrayal." And no pro-life Nebraskan, she laments, is more "devastated" by Nelson's actions than she is.
Nelson, says the pro-life leader, has turned against a heavily pro-life Nebraska -- and "obliterated the hope of pro-life Americans" who were counting on him to stand strong.
"The backlash here [in Nebraska] is unbelievable," she exclaims. "I can't imagine that Senator Nelson thinks he's going to run for re-election in 2012." In the 2006 election, Nebraska Right to Life endorsed Nelson rather than a pro-life Republican.
Schmit-Albin believes that when Nelson cast the 60th vote, he lost all pro-life support in Nebraska -- and Republicans in the state, she adds, are extremely upset.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: December 22, 2009
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