Bessemer, Mich. – The Tea Party Express bus caravan barreled into the Wolverine State late Thursday with a single purpose in mind: to unseat Rep. Bart Stupak for his “betrayal” in voting for President Obama’s health care legislation.
The tea party group, which is in the middle of a 42-city cross-country bus tour, has launched an aggressive ad campaign targeting Stupak – with the group’s political action committee, Our Country Deserves Better, pledging $250,000 in radio and T.V. ads aimed at ousting him from office.
Stupak, a pro-life Democrat representing Michigan’s 1st congressional district, was roundly criticized by the tea party movement and other conservative groups when he voted in favor of Obama’s health care legislation last month. Stupak and other Democrats ultimately backed the overhaul after objecting to abortion language in the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., became the Tea Party Express’ primary target when the grassroots group launched its bus tour two weeks ago from Reid’s hometown of Searchlight. Organizers say Stupak ranks a close second on their list of incumbent lawmakers whom they’d like to see leave office.
“Congressman Bart Stupak, you betrayed our Constitution,” reads the announcer in the group’s 30-second television ad. “You sold us out on the health-care vote. And now it’s time for you to pay the political price. Join the Tea Party Express as we send Bart Stupak packing for early retirement.”
The Tea Party Express, which claims it does not campaign on “social issues,” said its opposition to Stupak is based more on his “failure to uphold principle” than on policy.
“He said he was going to stand on his principles and then he caved in,” said Sal Russo, chief strategist of the Tea Party Express. “This isn’t so much about abortion than it is about breaking faith with what he promised.”
Stupak voted for the health care legislation after Obama pledged to sign an executive order upholding the ban on federal funding of abortions. Obama signed the order March 24, but some conservative groups, like the Tea Party Express, say they are skeptical of its effectiveness.
The bus caravan rolled into Bessemer for a rally late Thursday, greeting a crowd of 350 activists gathered outside a Veterans of Foreign War post – one holding a sign reading “Let’s Stick it to Stupak.”
About 20 Stupak supporters, meanwhile, staged a counter protest across the street from the rally, carrying signs like “Bart, You Betcha” and “Progressives for Stupak” and chanting “We love Bart!”
“He’s been a good representative for us and he’s stood by his constituents,” Dan Obradovich of Wakefield, Mich., a Stupak supporter, told FoxNews.com. “If the Republicans don’t like moderate Democrats than where are they? Where is their alternative plan for health care?”
The Tea Party Express is expected to hold 11 rallies in Michigan over the next few days – more than any other state in its cross-country tour — and concludes in Washington, D.C., on April 15, Tax Day.