"Baby Killer" Neugebauer Mars Congressional Prayer Breakfast, page 1

Health care politics mar Congressional Prayer Breakfast. Democrats were insulted Thursday morning after finding out Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) had been invited to speak at the Congressional Prayer Breakfast. Neugebauer is the congressional representative who screamed “baby killer” at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on the floor of the House.

From Roll Call via The Raw Story:

Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio), who is co-chairman of the bipartisan breakfast, and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), who co-chaired the breakfast last year, ripped Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) for inviting Neugebauer to speak at the breakfast.

"Your last minute invitation to Rep. Randy Neugebauer to address our group at this morning's breakfast was not only irresponsible, but politically tone-deaf" they wrote in a letter to Akin. "The weekly breakfast should lift us all up, rather than purposefully tear some of us down."

The invitation to Neugebauer does seem like rubbing salt in the wound. One wonders what the thinking was behind the invitation? Was this a deliberate slap in the face of Democrats? Or was this just uninformed political and social incompetence?

Regardless of the political and social incompetence of Rep. Todd Akin, the particular utterance of Rep. Neugebauer is deplorable. To scream such an outrageous insult at anyone, anywhere, is unacceptable incivility. For a Congressman to insult a fellow Congressman on the floor of the House of Representatives in such a manner is outrageous conduct, and an insult to every single American.

In spite of his grave disrespect, Neugebauer is refusing calls to apologize on the House floor for his "baby killer" remark.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

For those of you not following the arcane ins and outs of the recent legislative battle in the House, Mr. Neugebauer became incensed when Bart Stupak, a Democrat who had been holding out on voting "aye" for health care reform because he believed the anti-abortion language in the bill was not strong enough, relented and voted yes. Subsequently, when Mr. Stupak got up to speak on the House floor, Mr. Neugebauer became incensed and shouted "baby killer" at him.

IMO the Republicans were not really calling him a pro-abortionist (everybody knows he's not) as much as they were just angry that Stupak didn't vote with them to kill the bill.

In the process of all this, it seems Mr. Neugebauer, a relative unknown on the Hill, became something of an instant celebrity, especially among pro-life Republicans. He seems to be reveling in it.

The annual Congressional prayer breakfast is supposed to be a coming-together of both sides in at least a few moments of brotherhood and sisterhood.

IMO it was definitely poor taste to have a divider such as Mr. Neugebauer speak at the breakfast.