3/9: Schtuing It Up

All eyes are back on Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who holds a dozen Dem votes in his hand as he seeks a compromise on abortion language. After a town hall meeting yesterday, he indicated he's closer to the Dem position than he was last week.

"It looks like Stupak is laying the groundwork for a cave-in on Obamacare," worries Pat Austin, and Pat's not alone among righty bloggers. NRO's Daniel Foster: "Stupak has come a long way since just last week, when he said that he was no closer to a deal that would spur his support for the broader bill."

Wizbang's Kim Priestap: "I'm not sure if Stupak and the Democratic leadership can agree to something that is workable because animosity and distrust is rampant between Democrats in the House and Senate. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to see Stupak and the other pro-life Democrats kill the bill, but I'm not sure he has the guts to do it."

Blogometer alum Conn Carroll, at The Foundry: "Democrats may be telling their conservative counterparts that they will have reconciliation legislative text in front of the Budget Committee by tomorrow, but don't hold your breath. The 'fixes' that the White House is promising wavering House Democrats they will make all sound easy at first glance: 1) scaling back the tax on high-end health insurance policies; 2) closing the Medicare D loophole; 3) boosting insurance subsidies; 4) increasing Medicaid payments; and 5) fixing the Cornhusker Kickback. But when you take a second look, you see that all of these 'fixes' will cost more money."

Ed Morrissey is concerned about a new provision in the bill that would require insurance for some part-time employees too.

RedState's Aaron Gardner didn't like Pres. Obama's speech in Philadelphia yesterday, which he calls "nothing more than rank fear mongering, tactics which the progressive left has successfully been painting as the modus operandi of the right for years."

RedState's RealQuiet advocates the GOP shut down the Senate until the new Congress is sworn in if health care passes.

Hugh Hewitt wants his fans to focus on Rep. Zack Space (D-OH).

Lefties are optimistic. Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "There's a certain oddity to the dispute. Generally, when there's a disagreement like this, we see two sides that want to go in different directions, trying to find some areas of common ground. In this case, both sides claim to want the same thing: maintain the status quo as it relates to abortion funding." But, he adds, "progress with Stupak is encouraging and important, and if an agreement is reached, it would give reform a real shot in the arm at a critical time."

Benen and Kos team up on a new political dictionary, and David Dayen has a whip count standing at 194-191.

MASSA: No Conservative Hero

The right smells a rat in ex-Rep. Eric Massa's (D) resignation, and though he will go on Glenn Beck's show tonight, there's not much love for Massa.

Moe Lane points to Massa or House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer: "Somebody is lying, here. Either Massa, or Hoyer: and if it's Hoyer, it doesn't matter whether Massa was or was not sexually harassing his staff. The House Majority Leader does not get to abuse the public trust by lying about what he did in a particular investigation. It's not so much this specific case as it is what happens in less public ones. There's a word for having two standards of behavior, based on how much media coverage one is expecting: it's called 'hypocrisy.'"

Michelle Malkin wants no part of the ex-rep.: "'Crapweasel' is too kind a description for the desperate, bottom-feeding Massa. He is not a useful idiot. He's just an idiot."

Kathryn Jean Lopez: "There's no pedestal awaiting his bust in these parts."

The left is quick to discard a candidate they once thought highly of. The Albany Project was, once, a Massa fan: "It smells like conspiracy-paranoia-last ditch attempt to save his skin. And for that, I find the whole situation utterly depressing. When someone who comes across as straight forward, active, and bold as Eric Massa can get caught up in this sort of insanity, it makes me wonder how we can trust those that represent us. If not Eric Massa, then who?"

WashMonthly's Benen isn't buying it: "Massa's conspiracy theory is not only at odds with his own remarks from last week, they're also belied by the record. The ethics inquiry was initiated in early February. In order for the conspiracy theory to be true, Democratic leaders would have needed to know at the time that a Massa vacancy would improve the arithmetic on the final health care vote. It's far-fetched, to put it mildly."

Chris Bowers: "It should also be noted that Massa has a strong motive to change his story. With his entirely new story, he is going to become a martyr for many opponents of health reform legislation. I guess he has decided that is a better track to take than being disgraced over sexual harassment charges."

Meanwhile, check out our colleague Chris Good's excellent takedown of the Massa timeline here.

BECK: Not Invincible

Some on the right are criticizing Glenn Beck for his latest lecture, in which he took after Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

"Is this going to be be Beck's narrative? If so, he is wrong. And he ought to be silent until he learns everything. Beck could destroy the freedom movement in Europe -- and the US -- if he erroneously stigmatizes it as fascist. The little green monster is one thing, andGlenn Beck is another," writes Pamela Geller.

"Evidently, Beck doesn't know his French political figures very well, either. But he didn't let that stop him from going on about them. What's it going to take for people to realize the guy doesn't seem to give much thought to what he says on air? And if he does, then it's his mind that's weak, not his willingness to do his homework," says Dan Riehl. "But that's okay. He doesn't like Obama and says George Washington a lot, so he must be one of us."

Robert Stacy McCain blames Fox News: "Now, there is perhaps some 'fair and balanced' ambiguity here, and perhaps a good deal of unnecessary sensationalism - 'Ooooh! The controversial far-right leader!' -- but the overall tone of the portrayals, and the fact that these two reports were filed practically back-to-back suggests to me that somebody at Fox News (and somebody pretty important) is guilty of accepting liberal media reports of Dutch politics at face value.

David Horowitz is no less angry, while Paul Mirengoff joins the fray.

From the left, Little Green Footballs: "This is one of those Bizarro days, because I actually find myself agreeing with Glenn Beck. Geert Wilders is a far right ideologue, and the European far right does often equal fascism. How the heck did Beck ever get this one right?"

POLITICS: For Crist's Sake

Lefty Jonathan Singer doesn't see a place for FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in the GOP: "[I]n recent weeks Crist has bucked his party, reaffirming his support for last year's stimulus bill and generally sounding more like a moderate than an angry conservative -- which puts him at odds with his party's primary base. ... I ask again, ask I have been asking for months, how long until Crist leaves the GOP?"

We're not the only ones who love the clip of Charlie Crist talking about back waxing (ouch). Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft loves it too.

538's Tom Schaller points out Dem gains in some of the wealthiest countries in America.

Doug Hoffman is back in the race against Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY), and this time Hoffman's running as a GOPer.

And Leon Wolf thinks CA Assemb. Chuck DeVore won the first CA SEN debate against better-known rivals Carly Fiorina and ex-Rep. Tom Campbell (R).

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: He's Baaaa-aack

Recall the 43rd POTUS. Recall his unpopularity. Some on the right are saying they told us George W. Bush's reputation would rebound.

NYT's Stanley Fish: "[R]ight on schedule, Bush has resurfaced (just as I imagined him doing a year ago last September ) to join Bill Clinton in a humanitarian relief effort. He is officially a member in good standing of the ex-presidents club, and the longer he lives the more his reputation will be burnished. To be sure, his post-presidency resume is still thin, but we can expect it to be beefed up by good deeds, ceremonial appearances and the activities that will surround the building and opening of his library at Southern Methodist University. We'll see Bush the tour guide and Bush the patron of historical scholarship and, perhaps, even Bush the seminar leader.

LEST WE FORGET: Huh?

Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL), defending himself after learning he accepted money from embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel: "We don't know who contributes to a campaign, checks show up and they get cashed."

Nice catch, Ben Smith.