Did Bart Stupak Quit Congress Out of Fear of C Street Disclosures?
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U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak
Did U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak decline to seek re-election in fear of further disclosures about his involvement in the C Street "Family?"
Stupak lived in the notorious house, a former convent at 133 C Street SE, Washington, with several solons who have been implicated in shady, or borderline illegal dealings.
His residence at the infamous house seemed to belie a squeaky-clean reputation carefully built over nine terms in Congress by the former state trooper.
Stupak recently took a job with a Washington legal and lobbying firm, Venable LLP, as a lateral partner in legislative and government affairs. Venable Managing Partner Karl Racine said: "Bart is known as a truly bipartisan leader who not only knows the legislative process, but who took the time to understand critical issues that affect all of us, including affordable health care, energy safety, natural resource management, law enforcement, telecommunications, the integrity of our financial markets, the safety of our food supply and other areas."
Mr. Stupak also is a Fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, leading a study group on government investigations at the Kennedy School of Government entitled "Investigate or Irritate: Changing Corporate and Government Behavior."
"After 36 years of public service, I'm very happy to be starting this new chapter in my life," Mr. Stupak said. "Venable is one of the most respected names in Washington, and the firm has an especially strong record of leadership in government affairs. I've had numerous contacts with Venable partners over the years and am excited about helping my new colleagues and the firm's clients navigate choppy congressional waters."
Mr. Stupak received his Bachelor of Science degree from Saginaw Valley State University in 1977 and his Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1981.
Stupak said he moved out of the C Street house because of the controversy. Stupak denied belonging to the "Family" and he had never been asked to sign an oath of secrecy concerning C Street or its residents.
"At no point did renting a room at C Street influence any of my votes" or his ability to serve in Congress, Menominee Democrat Stupak wrote.
Last fall, after a blundering attempt to insert an anti-abortion clause and justify his support of the initially highly controversial health care legislation, Stupak quit his Congressional seat and refused to seek re-election.
Upshot of the debacle has been that a Tea Party backed ultra-conservative, Dr. Dan Benishek, now represents Stupak's former district that includes part of Bay County.
Benishek's major campaign appearance in the county was a campaign rally last fall with "Joe the Plumber" in Pinconning. The Member of Congress has been almost invisible in this part of his district since then.
Even as one of the C Street house residents, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, has faced Senate ethics charges, startling alleged disclosures about Stupak have been revealed.
The Michigan Messenger reported that the C Street House was part of the Fellowship Foundation, dubbed "The Christian Mafia" by some writers. The Messenger quoted Jeff Sharlet, contributing editor at Harper's magazine and the author of "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power," who contested Stupak's denial of any knowledge of The Family. "When I lived with The Family at Ivanwald, a house for younger men being groomed for leadership, I was told that Stupak was a regular visitor to the Cedars," Sharlet said. The Cedars is yet another compound owned by The Family, one that hosts weekly prayer events led by former Reagan-era Attorney General Ed Meese.
Sharlet said that Stupak had much greater involvement with the group than he is admitting, according to the Messenger, noting that the congressman was "a Family-assigned mentor to one of my brothers at Ivanwald." That Ivanwald resident, Sharlet said, "regularly left for what he and others described as mentoring sessions."
A blogger on the national opinion site Talking Points Memo (TPM), asserts that a steamer trunk supposedly belonging to Stupak was found outside the C Street house. The blogger is Paul Rest, who writes for international sites from Northern California.
Part of the blog's (Paul Rest's) allegations follow:
"This columnist has been alerted that Rep. Bart Stupaks' steamer trunk was apparently left at the notorious "C" Street boarding house owned by "The Fellowship." In his haste to create distance between himself and this much publicized address, Stupak left the trunk behind. The trunk was set out back of the house, to be included with the trash.
"An un-named source who is an admirer of this columnist discovered the abandoned trunk and has emailed the list of the trunk's contents. Those on the religious right, Tea Bag Party members and other moral conservatives are advised that they may wish to not read beyond this!
"Items:
-2 Farrah Fawcett posters (edges taped with Scotch tape...)
-1 bound manuscript titled, "My Incredible Life in Congress--How I Stopped Abortion in America," by Bart Stupak
-13 Snicker Doodle wrappers
-1 one-half eaten bag of corn nuts (now stale)
-2 cans of Orange Crush
-1 can Ensure
-4 "Twinkies" wrappers
-1 can hair spray
-6 bottles "Grecian Formula"
-1 packet baseball cards: Jose Canseco, Mark McQuire and Pete Rose cards featured
-18 "Gidion" Bibles
-6 jars of "Postum"
-1 birthday card from Newt Gingrich
-36 State of Michigan License Plates of various years and conditions
-1 packet of "fan" letters from a "Miss Ruby from Siganow"
-1 packet of "The Fellowship" bumper stickers
-3 packages of unopened Calvin Klein men's brief, black, size large
-2 packages of black undershirts from "Dave's Place," Muscle Beach, CA
-1 autographed photograph of Sen. Barry Goldwater
-1 autographed photograph of President Ronald Reagan
-1 autographed photograph of President Obama with a red "X" drawn through it with "AntiChrist" written over said "X"
-6 "church keys" (bottle openers) from the "Iron Mountain (Michigan) Men's Christian Club"
-1 utility knife from "Dave's Place"
-3 pair Bermuda shorts with matching shirts
-2 neatly folded leisure suits, colors maroon and taupe
-1 copy "Rules of the House - Our Wonderful Fellowship-Bozs Living with Bozs" with "Copy No. 66" written in upper right hand corner
-1 photo album showing 40 pages of photographs of men praying together in various locations and positions
-3 "I love Newt" badges
-1 box containing various napkins, salt & pepper shakers, hand towels, small bowls and silverware marked "The White House," all found in said (shoe) box at the very bottom of said trunk
-8 hand held mirrors of various sizes and powers of magnification
-1 home manicure set
-1 pocket New Testament with John 3:16 marked with a paper napkin from (the now closed) Detroit's infamous Playboy Club"
MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow last fall questioned Stupak's payment of $600 a month rent in the C Street House, noting that amount was far below market and could subject the Michigan Congressman to scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Huffington Post and other media have consistently been active in revealing details about the C Street house and its residents, including Stupak.
A book recently has been published revealing more allegations about the house's connection to a religious group wielding great power in the capital and across the nation.
Besides Ensign, who has resigned his seat in wake of disclosures of an affair with a staffer in his office and subsequent cover-up, other residents of the house included former Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Sanford quit his post in another celebrated scandal.
Political observers theorize that Stupak saw the national media spotlighting his residence in the house as extremely damaging to his reputation and preferred to step aside rather than be subjected to it.
Although the steamer trunk story seems almost too quirky to believe, and could well be contrived by a clever opponent, there appears to be plenty of substantial circumstantial evidence to back up that theory.
Stupak has stayed in the shadows since leaving Congress and has not issued any further public denials as to the allegations running rampant in the national news media. ###
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jsmarty Says:
On May 18, 2011
at 02:21 PM
This is terrible. The next thing you'll be telling us is that "knife wielding assailants" will be hunting him down because of a witnesses drug deal.
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