A blog by the magazine's editors and contributors   Democrats
and the Pro-Life Movement  Ross Douthat has written an honest,
charitable post that is the most thoughtful contribution I've so
far seen a conservative commentator make to the debate over Bart
Stupak's stance on health care reform. Ross takes issue with
certain of Stupak's critics from the left and remains skeptical
about the compromise he ended up striking, but he goes on to
articulate many things that pro-life critics of the reform bill
have been unwilling to acknowledge: that there is a reason why
there are pro-life liberals; that Stupak's failure to pass his
amendment does not mean the end of such a bloc; that many of the
pro-life conservatives who cheered Stupak on were secretly
hoping that he'd fail in his efforts and drag the bill down with
him; and that those very same conservatives have failed
miserably in the task of proposing constructive alternatives to
solve the very real problems that motivated the reform agenda
they so enthusiastical