Today, Rep. Bart Stupak threatens to derail ObamaCare over the issue of abortion, but last Saturday, Stupak tried a different position back in his home district. The Heritage Foundation blog The Foundry published the video, where Stupak told a town-hall audience that he would support ObamaCare if the Democratic leadership allowed him a vote to ban federal funding of abortion first:

Read the Foundry’s post to discover why Stupak may not have expected this to come to light.  Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Does this negate what Stupak asserted just a few days later? Perhaps not. When Stupak attempts to explain that it’s the American way to vote for bills that offend your conscience, his constituents loudly boo him, which seems to take him aback. They understand that principles only have value when people stick to them. The voters present at this forum understand that a floor vote is a floor vote, but not why Stupak feels it necessary to cooperate with a bill that goes against his principles.

Maybe Stupak learned a lesson at this meeting, which is why he has become so aggressive this week.  Or, perhaps, he’s just trying for a little attention. We’ll see soon enough.