Stanek weekend question: What if defunding Planned Parenthood was just a bargaining chip?
A couple weeks ago a Republican congressman described to me what he anticipated the final scenario would look like in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget battle.
He said GOP House leaders would use Planned Parenthood defunding as a bargaining chip to get their way on other budget items. He said there was no chance a Democrat Senate and Democrat president, particularly Obama, would allow PP to be defunded, but Republicans would eek as much from the threat of that budget line item as they could. (I must add there are Republicans, like Mike Pence, who I think were not of this view, who were willing to take the PP defunding all the way to the mat.)
As it turns out, Republicans held on to defunding PP until the literal 11th hour. And they did get other pro-life wins in the process, which likely would not have happened had they not.
I also noticed a couple weeks ago the National Right to Life Committee was not scoring the short-term Continuing Resolutions, as other social and fiscal conservative groups were. It occurred to me NRLC had inside information, or perhaps read the tea leaves, and didn’t want to unnecessarily burn bridges with allies re: an inevitable poor outcome on the PP issue.
I’m relaying these thoughts not as a complaint or accusation, just as observations.
One positive of all this is that Republican leaders have for weeks now helped heighten awareness about this dastardly organization that is willing to cover up child rape, child prostitution, and sex trafficking and is racist to boot, with eugenic roots and a demonstrated willingness to accept donations specifically to abort black babies.
Another positive is that Republicans did indeed make PP their #1 bargaining chip, which is good. They could have made EPA or NPR defunding their apparent #1 priority but chose PP, which I’m happy about.
The negative is wondering what would have happened had Republicans held on, taking PP defunding all the way to a government shutdown. Mike Huckabee said on Fox this morning it would not have gone well. The liberal press would have – and already were – stacked the deck against our side.
So was it best to stop and reload, preparing better arguments and doing more groundwork for the fight to defund PP in the 2012 budget? More groundwork would also include working to elect more pro-lifers to the Senate in 2012, and, of course, ousting Obama.
Or was it throwing babies under the bus to politically compromise on PP defunding? Was it evil? Were pro-lifers suckered – again?
As the dust settles, what are your thoughts on the outcome of the short-term budget battle?
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
How much better can the arguments get? Not only is abortion a crime against a yet-to-be-born human, but PP has now been shown to be a harbor for criminal activity. Unfortunately Huckabee is probably right, holding on would not have gone well.
I think you nailed it, Jill. Hold out for the long term: this has raised awareness among the general public. People who had no idea about what PP really does are starting to ask questions. That can only be a good thing.
This is progress. Not as much as I would have liked, but it is progress. The issues of abortion and PP funding are in the public eye like they have never been up to now. We have an opportunity if we take this little bit of progress and build on it rather than focusing on it not being all we wanted and getting discouraged. As the Bible says, “Do not despise the day of small beginnings.” The big poliitcal wins will come when enough hearts are changed. Changing hearts is our first priority, and we are doing that.
“Another positive is that Republicans did indeed make PP their #1 bargaining chip, which is good. They could have made EPA or NPR defunding their apparent #1 priority but chose PP, which I’m happy about.”
Of course they did. Next year Republican incumbents can pander to social conservatives about how hard they fought Planned Parenthood without actually, you know, winning anything.
From a strategic standpoint, it’s hard to imagine that many Republican elected officials really want to do anything about abortion at all. A wedge issue like that is pretty valuable. If abortion goes away, then where do the socially conservative but fiscally moderate or liberal Republicans go? Would they even bother to vote if their pet issue was no longer an issue?
@Tim- great Bible quote! Zech. 4:10! @Jill- thank you so much for all this great coverage- God bless!
If there had been no pro-life victories in this budget, then I would think that the unborn had been thrown under the bus just for political points. I half expected it after the Obamacare, Stupak, EO fig leaf. But the fact that the House Republicans did hold out long enough to get some real pro-life points into the budget makes me think that the unborn are important to them, and they’ve made the best they could out of a bad situation when faced with intractable Democrats desperate to save their sacred cow. This is not the last chance we’ll have to defund Planned Parenthood. Hopefully, we’ll have more and better pieces in play when our next chance comes around.
Ecstatic cheering can be heard from the pro-life community today, because the Congress has “raised awareness” of the PP issue! So what if PP continues to aid and abet adult men who rape 13 year old girls. So what if PP continues to give advice and cover to pimps who kidnap girls just like our daughters and sell their undeveloped bodies for the sexual pleasures of violent, disease-ridden men. So what if PP rips babies to shreds inside their mother’s wombs. So what. This is a good day for the Pro-Life movement, because we’ve raised awareness! And, after all, we just don’t have the firepower to out-shout the lies spewn from the Barbara Mikulskis of the world. So, rejoice! It’s a good day!
But I wonder, if your doctor had just “raised your awareness” that you have a deadly illness and then refused to treat you, I wonder – would that be a good day, too?
If we had held out for the shutdown it would have caused harm to military men and women and their families and if that had happened it would have been a huge hit against prolifers…my brother in-law is in the army and my sister is not actually for pro life causes so the other day she called me up worried that Republicans were going to cause the Government shutdown and that it would be the fault of pro life causes. Besides the fact that would be bad for them, it would have been bad for is in the long term, I think it ended better this way when all the PR hits are against Planned Parenthood!
It raised awareness for the pro-choice crowd as well that our rights are in danger, and we’ll fight like hell to preserve them.
Planned Parenthood is a good, necessary organization! May it always have its doors open.
Interesting article from the left on it – just for further perspective:
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/86474/democrats-republicans-shutdown-planned-parenthood
On the one hand that we even got the Planned Parenthood funding issue as far as we did is momentous. It was not on the table for the previous continuing resolution, but I suspect it had to be this time due to tremendous pressure and push back from pro-lifers and conservatives wanting the funding stopped. Conventional wisdom–whatever that is–said that this result is as best we could hope for. I would have preferred them sticking to their guns.
On the other hand we can look at it from the side of the rabid pro-aborts who now think that the sky has fallen due to the president giving in on DC abortions–this is unforgiveable in their eyes. I am quite certain that many pro-aborts feel deeply betrayed.
Don’t you all see how terrible this is? Yes, the babies have been thrown under the bus!
The fact that the Republican leadership is aware of just how bad PP is and then does not stick with the purpose of defunding PP shows the Republican leadership’s “moral flexibility.” This is not what we want, although we’ve seen enough of this from NRLC, Huckabee, etc.
Real pro-life leaders would not have caved on this one.
Obama’s weakness in Libya, etc. now looks strong by comparison to Boehner’s weakness in representing the pro-life cause.
But, perhaps there is still time to follow through on defunding PP; perhaps Monday we should call our senators and representatives and remind them of how strongly pro-life we are–and of what long memories we have. For example, we can inform them that Jeb Bush has no chance with us in the primaries because he failed to save even one life–that of Terri Schindler Schiavo. Do Boehner and the rest want to be remembered the same way?
Jeb Bush has no place in the primaries because he’s an incompetent goon, let alone the fact that he had no place in Terri Schiavo’s family’s very personal decision regarding their loved one.
Terri Schiavo’s family was more than happy to bring every possible third party into their “very personal decision”. They were, and continue to be, totally shameless self-promoters that will take every opportunity to put themselves back into the spotlight. Jeb Bush was just following his political instincts in getting involved: pander to the lowest common denominator whenever possible.
Am I satisfied with this outcome? No. Does it go as far toward affirming life as I wish it would have? No. Is that a signal for me to get discouraged? No. Is it a reason to keep working? Yes.
When I used to backpack parts of the AT, I would many times find myself hiking up a mountain for hours at a time. Sometimes I’d get tired and feel like I couldn’t keep climbing. Did I wish the next step would get me to the top? Absolutely. Would it do that? Generally not. I had a choice to make. I could get discouraged, give up and sit and wait to die, or I could take the next step. Then the next. Then the next. If I kept doing that, one step at a time, I would inevitably reach the top.
That’s what pro-life people need to keep doing.
So, here it is Saturday morning, and more news is forthcoming. What we’ve heard is that the defunding of Planned Parenthood will now have to go to the Senate for a stand alone up or down vote. If this is what has truly been negotiated, I consider that a BIG win for our side. Think about it. Now the Senators will have to go on record of their support or opposition to funding Planned Parenthood. America is becoming pro-life, and there is nothing like this issue to energize conservative voters. What’s more, the American people are overwhelmingly against funding abortions, even if they are “pro-choice”. Today, we have more pro-life leaders than ever before. One of the last bastions of support to the abortion industry is in the Senate. Unfortunately, two of the biggest supporters are right here in my state, Maryland.
So, I believe this is a great victory, combined with two other major social issues; restricting abortions in D.C. and also allowing school vouchers in D.C. Those are HUGE!
Many of you herein are disappointed with this outcome. I agree with the disappointment, irrespective of what I just wrote above. But really, for a political battle of this magnitude, with truly, “the powers and principalities” aligned to maintain the death culture of abortion, our political allies did a GREAT job. There first and foremost goal was to reduce spending. The overall goal of $100 billion pro-rated has been accomplished. Don’t let all the numbers the media is throwing around fool you. Those are program terminations, and truly sets the budget platform down $100 billion for the next battle which is 2012.
Having said that, I join the disappointment because I want abortions to be eliminated from our culture. YET, this battle ultimately is beyond flesh and blood. It is spiritual. I urge everyone reading this to DO two things: Continue to pray!. and secondly, join up with a 40 Days for Life prayer ministry. This ministry movement is amazing. Jesus is working mightily through the fervent prayers of those who daily, diligently pray in front of the killing factories. Clinics are shutting down, people’s consciences are being raised, and lives are being saved. THE ONLY WAY that abortion will ever be truly eliminated is through the power of God who answers the prayers of his forever family.
Let’s put our hopes there 3 times more than putting our hope in elected representatives.
The amount of time spent in discussion in the media regarding Planned Parenthood has been more in the last week than the last ten years. This was an amazing feat that wouldn’t have been accomplished if our politicians hadn’t acted as they did (and perhaps by the grace of God as well). The fact that the conversation will not die but will continue in the Senate is close to a miracle. With nearly one million dollars per day moving from the government coffers to PP, even if government money didn’t pay for abortions (it DOES), we would do better to allocate that million dollars/day elsewhere. We have an excellent healthcare system in the U.S. which is not dependent on PP for its survival.
The negative is wondering what would have happened had Republicans held on, taking PP defunding all the way to a government shutdown. Mike Huckabee said on Fox this morning it would not have gone well. The liberal press would have – and already were – stacked the deck against our side.
Yep, agreed. This is what I said on the other thread last night.
So was it best to stop and reload, preparing better arguments and doing more groundwork for the fight to defund PP in the 2012 budget?
Yes.
They were, and continue to be, totally shameless self-promoters that will take every opportunity to put themselves back into the spotlight.
You know, their daughter was dehydrated to death. You really are warped.
Leaving Planned Parenthood funding in place is no less than making a deal with the devil. Maybe while you are praying you should ask the Lord if he is ok that you are ok with your tax money (the work of your hands) funding the murder of His children and desecrating the mother’s womb. Tell Him how you feel as though it is right for you to compromise on this listen for His reply. What does the Lord say to you when you pray to him about compromising on this? The devil is a busy man.
terri’s parents and siblings wanted to care for her (Her REAL FAMILY), Her adulterous ex husband (he was living with another woman with whom he had children with) got HIS way and starved and dehydrated her to death. She was NOT dying….she merely took food and water in through another way.
Planned Parenthood needs to be shut down. There are federally qualified health centers that can provide real health care (pap smears and mammograms). Abortion IS NOT necessary….it kills an innocent pre born child that did NOTHING wrong. Abortion doesn’t make a woman equal. I’m not a mother, but I feel that Motherhood is a rewarding career…..I see it in the smiles of my nieces and nephews.
Planned parenthood was founded by a racist (and don’t give me the baloney about everyone being racist back then!) eugenicist that wanted to eliminate the negro population and wanted to make women get permits to give birth (hmm, I have to wonder where China got THAT idea) and wanted to eliminate those who are disabled.
Not a good organization…one that promotes promiscuity and encourages multiple partners. Not to mention the lies about prental development and blocking the screen from women so they DO NOT see their baby on the screen.
I was extremely disappointed to find that Planned Parenthood would still be funded. I can see giving way on Obamacare temporarily, as it doesn’t take effect for years and government shut-down looms immediately. But babies are being killed as I write this–WITH MY TAX DOLLARS!
Here’s what’s at stake as I see it:
Scenario 1–PP wins now, is emboldened by its victory, frightened by how close it came to losing, dumps more money than ever into the 2012 elections to ensure the (re)election of pro-aborts. Pro-aborts get gobs of free media time to proclaim, “We the Democrats have saved countless women’s lives! Hooray! Only WE care. See how much you need us? Don’t risk your lives again by voting for a Republican.”
Scenario 2–Republicans hold their ground over defunding PP, government shuts down. Then what? Do you honestly think the Dems will let that go for long, as their huge constituent base of government workers and entitlement receivers go unpaid? Let the Republicans , every one of them, say to the media only, “Tax dollars to the people or PP? Let the Dems decide. We need to cut spending somewhere before our country collapses. WE DO NOT NEED TO FUND THE ABORTION GIANT.” No other comments, lest the media selectively quote. Let the people see the Dems as unreasonable and heartless.
The fact is, PP is bankrolling the Democratic Party. Republicans may ask, “But won’t PP be even madder if it loses now and work even harder than it would otherwise to oust Republicans in 2012?”
C’mon, they’ve already woken the sleeping giant. War has been declared. PP is already guaranteed to go all-out next election. To think otherwise is sheer stupidity.
I believe we are at a crossroads. It’s time for the Republican pro-life House majority to dig in its heels. We may never get another chance. Human lives are at stake–at the cost of 1 million dollars a day. There is no way PP will be the center of attention next time around for the 2012 budget. It’s too close to election time. Now people have 6 months to see that life goes on without PP (and especially without PP).
In the end, it all boils down to: Are babies’ lives worth fighting for? I say, vote NO to this budget when it comes up this week.
I really wish PP had been defunded, but I didn’t realistically see it happening. If the Republicans had held out, I agree with Huckabee, the liberal press would have used all that time to spin their yarn about poor victimized PP – making them a martyr. We may achieve more for the unborn in this way b/c ultimately it keeps PP in the public eye longer, allows the arguments to be made in an environment that’s separate from people’s frustrations about the budget (so that those frustrations aren’t erroneously misdirected), and forces all our politicians to vote on that issue – to make their stand public. The Republicans persistence on those fronts will let me know whether they threw babies under the bus or not.
We have come a long way from being at the back of the bus politically speaking to actually sitting behind the driver and for that much I rejoice…There will be a day soon in our country, as a nation before God, that we will protect all life…It may take another war to get there, so be it…The momentum is on our side and we all need to remain vigilant and do our part, no matter how small we think it is, to be a voice for those who can never have a voice…I would want someone to speak for me…
Joan, sadly, is right.
“Pro-Life is big business” – spoken directly in my ear by a prominent ‘pro-life’ activist.
’nuff said.
@Janet-I’m interested in your statistic of $1 million/day spent. Can you direct me to that? Thanks.
CT,
You are overthinking this. People must their conscience and put our trust in the Lord. If you get persecuted for your decisions not to participate in the abortion and if you find it morally vile then fon not be afraid to vote no and to your burdens down on Jesus and he will give you strength. “Be not afraid”
@Janet-I’m interested in your statistic of $1 million/day spent. Can you direct me to that? Thanks.
Linda, That’s what Planned Parenthood receives from the federal government this year. It’s all over the news. Here’s a link though
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood
Quit acting like deer in the headlights. Obama and the Dems openly violate the current law (the Hyde amnedment) outlawing taxpayer funding of abortion. We cannot be afraid/unwilling to cast a vote that would really only stop them from openly skirting the current law. Ugh!!!
Apparently there were editing problems on the post above. It should have said:
CT, You are overthinking this. People must vote their conscience and put our trust in the Lord. If you get persecuted for your decisions not to participate in abortion and if you find it morally vile then be not be afraid to vote no and to place your burdens down upon Jesus and he will give you strength. “Be not afraid”
Yipee, the GOP cut a deal with the Democrats that left federal funding of abortion in place, but it averted an interruption in the pay of our military!
With all due respect for our military, especially the forward deployed who are fighting against our enemies overseas (and for whom non-interruption of pay riders were made in previous shutdowns, including the Clinton one in 1994), what would the headline have read 150 years ago?
“Yipee, the GOP cut a deal with Democrats that leaves slavery in place, but it averted the risk of the Union troops’ lives!” For 80 years, the Democrats and Whigs kept selling out the slave in deference to preserving the Union, which was in danger of fracture over slavery since 1787.
@truthseeker: My suspicion is that Janet is just breaking down the yearly PP allocation ($335-350 mil) across the year, which would come out to just shy of a million a day.
From actual military person to my ear. [in the event of gov’t shutdown] ”There were not going to be any interruptions or delays in our pay whatsoever”.
more than ’nuff said.
Joan,
Shame on you for such a gross and callous mischaracterization of Terri’s family. Her parents enlisted the aid of anyone willing to help them save their daughter from being starved to death. I would have taken the fight all the way to Congress, too, if it had been my child. I would have done whatever it took, just as they did. Now they continue to fight for the dignity and humanity of those who can’t speak for themselves; those who are devalued by the medical community and society at large.
Regarding Jill’s question and this budget deal, I don’t see this as anything but a deal with the devil. They caved when it mattered most. I had dared to hope that they might have the courage and fortitude to actually defund Planned Parenthood, but alas, they caved. I no longer believe PP will ever be defunded. It is astonishing that our government turns a blind eye to all of PP’s criminal activity, and keeps sending them loads of taxpayer cash. Congress is bought and paid for with blood money. They are cowards of the worst kind.
@Janet-I’m interested in your statistic of $1 million/day spent. Can you direct me to that? Thanks.
Linda,
Truthseeker and Alice were both correct. (Thanks to both of you.) I have seen the figure $950,000 per day as the most commonly used estimate for the amount of government funds directed to Planned Parenthood. I wrote nearly 1 million dollars per day because that number hits home with most people. If you are inclined to look at PPFA’s 2008 Tax From 990, it’s pretty dry reading but here’s a link:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/PPFA_FY09_Form_990_Copy_for_Public_Inspection.PDF
I hope that helps.
I fail to see how the arguments could get any better. If what we have seen in the last few weeks concerning PP isn’t enough to convince our congress to defund them I tremble to think what it will take. May God have mercy on our nation.
As much as I want PP totally closed down so their appalling killing and sex-trafficking views will stop, I agree with Huck. Unfortunately I think we have to wear this one and try to be stronger when the next opportunity comes up.
Larry, I’m deeply sorry for what has driven your soul to such a sad place.
I’ll pray for you.
Fetus fondlers? LOL, that’s a new one!
Following your logic, Larry, we seriously need to address funding public schools, too, since teachers and coaches involved in sexual abuse of minors is in the neighborhood of 100 times more frequent than priests. But way to deflect from the issue at hand: why you support dismemberment of vulnerable human beings.
Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but I’m pro-life and not a Roman Catholic, as are many who comment here. Your ignorance is showing.
Larry, you seem confused in your comparisons and metaphors.
1) Fetuses can’t be fondled, except by your pals who kill them and remove them from their mothers.
2) The Catholic Church (and other churches and youth organizations) have apologized and are attempting to correct such awful problems by putting policies and programs in place. PP has fired one individual, but not gone on the record as changing their practices. Their leadership has not made any apology attempt.
Frankly, PP comes off as a whole lot more vile. Especially when you add the carnage of hundreds of thousands of abortions a year.
When you’re ready to consider ALL child victims of pedophilles, then you might be taken seriously. Until then, happy PP defending- keep the pro-abortion faith.
Sadly, EVEN if PP gets defunded, they will still be able to operate. They are a billion dollar a year enterprise, hiding under the non-profit status in order to make more money.
I spoke to a lovely young woman yesterday who is a supporter of PP. She was against the military, against corporations and had bought hook, line and sinker into necessity of PP.
Among my talking points with her was 1) not all military kill 2) corporations provide jobs 3) Cecile Richards makes $600,000.00 as a salary. The last caught her attention! And she was not pleased with it (thank goodness!) I told her not to take my word for anything that I was telling her, but to verify.
We had a great conversation for about ninety minutes. I thank God for the opportunity to have conversed with her. I believe she may be able to see PP for what it is down the road…remembering MY own thoughts in my youth – we must not despair and we must always have HOPE!
klynn73,
Thanks for the link. I’ll be bookmarking it for future anti-church rants.
@Janet, thanks for the link. I’m not sure where the million a day is found in that doc, but I will try to find it, unless you have a page number offhand.
Linda,
Sorry, I’m in and out today so I can’t spend much time here. I don’t recall the page number off the top of my head. (That link isn’t working for me now (?) but you should be able to google it and find the PPFA source if it’s not working for you either.) As truthseeker mentioned, that figure is in the news everywhere (at approx. $950,000 per day.) A little bit of searching should work for you.
Check the revenue/grants/government areas of the report – I think it’s relatively close to the beginning of the Tax form 990.
Janet- Thanks for all your help so far. I have had fun looking at the top salaries- I already used the doc in my FB debate!
They threw prolife a few bones and now it’s back to business as usual. ‘Maybe in 2012.’ The government shutdown that will end abortion is coming, aka the return of Christ. There won’t be anymore pandering to proaborts then. BRING IT.
Jill – As much as I was praying that Obama would blink and give in to defunding PP, I realized at the last minute that it probably would not have been good to take them out this time around. The liberal media would have crucified the GOP as bullies. Too many people still believe that Planned Parenthood is necessary to provide women with birth control (and serves as a safety net to abort “accidental products of conception”). Thanks to people like Lila Rose, we have come a long way in a very short time to bring PP to the forefront of discussions. (Think back to a short time ago when none of this stuff was even discussed in the MSM!) We need more time to educate the public about the eugenic motives of PP. I have always said that when we can convince the Black Community to stop aborting their babies, the tide will turn politically. We need more Conservative Pro-life Blacks elected (and by the way, I am White.)
ACOG is supporting Planned Parenthood today because doctors need a place to refer for abortions so they don’t have to deal with “high risk” pregnancies which could potentially raise their malpractice insurance rates.
The Japanese are sure going to be relying on abortion to deal with all the genetic damage from Fukushima. They give us a glimpse into our own future of increasing autism rates and how people are going to deal with them if a genetic link is found. We already kill 80% of Down’s Syndrome babies before they’re born.
The train of the Brave New World is barreling down the tracks with Planned Parenthood in front pulling the demonic cars of ESCR, IVF, abortifacient “contraception”, genetic counseling, pre-natal diagnosis and other of Mengele’s spawn. In order to stop it, you have to be willing to cause a train wreck. It’s too late for incrementalism to work. We’ve focused on the engine for 40 years and now it’s it’s picked up momentum and taken on freight.
The independants are manning the switches and even a “pro-life” Senate and President will look towards the next election and pull back when they think they might be sidelined in the next election. I’m mixing my metaphors, but mean to say that those stopping the train must be willing to be hurt – In other words, brave, and leaders. Not politicians.
Boehner had his chance and he blinked. He had a country desiring to stop economic collapse, He had Tea Party Republicans willing to be leaders. He had the stakes not as high as they soon will be. You can’t count on that chance coming in the way it did again. It was providential. He was tempted like Christ in the desert and he caved.
If you think this chance will come again, give me a scenario.
Don’t be foolish here, people. Remember that the pro-aborts are the ones who need to be fought, not our pro-life allies. The pro-lifers in Congress went through hell in trying to defund Planned Parenthood, and it still could happen. The pro-aborts made sure that the only way a government shutdown could be averted was by separating the Planned Parenthood vote from the budget. And don’t fall for that Democrat garbage that the Republicans “haven’t done anything” on abortion. If the Republicans really hadn’t done anything, Planned Parenthood wouldn’t hate them so much.
If the pro-lifers in Congress eventually do fail to defund Planned Parenthood, then the solution to that is that we need MORE pro-lifers in Congress, not fewer. Fight the pro-aborts, not the pro-lifers.
“Terri Schiavo’s family was more than happy to bring every possible third party into their “very personal decision”. They were, and continue to be, totally shameless self-promoters that will take every opportunity to put themselves back into the spotlight.”
That’s pretty much the most hateful comment I’ve heard/read all week, if not all month. Congratulations.
I left out a some things in my posting above:
….He was tempted like Christ in the desert and he caved.
Add: HE WAS GIVEN THE CHOICE – YOU CAN GET $39 BILLION IN CUTS AND NOT BE BLAMED FOR SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP ME BY DUMPING THE DEFUNDING OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
He could have turned it right around and said something like: THE DEMOCRATS ARE SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE MADE A BARGAIN WITH A GROUP THAT DEFRAUDS THE GOVERNMENT, LIES ABOUT PROVIDING MAMMOGRAMS, COVERS FOR CHILD SEX-TRAFFICKING AND DE-PERSONALIZES THE UNBORN.
‘the liberal media might have crucified the GOP’ is a far better fate than the unborn face. But no, it’s far more important to play nicey with the ‘borts and look PC as always. This is why nothing ever changes. So disgsted right now.
Michaela-AMEN
John L is right. We have fired a shot across the bow. This is not the end—it is the beginning. If anyone had told us a year ago we would have been in this fight we would have wondered what they were smoking.
Yes, I would have liked to see us hold out, but I also know that the enthusiasm wanes among many supporters for that kind of action the longer and harder it gets.
Congressional hearings are forthcoming on the systemic cover-ups of child exploitation and rape that Planned Parenthood has been involved with for years. We will expose them for the monster that they are. And we will press our case with the American public again and again. The lies of the morally bankrupt old line liberal ruling class are losing power. The rallies staged by the pro-aborts look like a freak show of kids with piercings and wrinkled up 1960’s bra burners.
We are the ones that swept our country from coast to coast last November with energy and fresh ideas. We are the ones who show up 300 and 400 thousand strong every January to speak for life—and we have to keep pressing forward. Political change is never easy and the victory goes to those who will not falter.
Please continue to pray Christian prolifers do not give up hope. I think John and Jerry have some excellent points that the fight is just beginning and public congressional hearings are coming to uncover the “Dead Babies R Us” crew at least that is what I am praying and by faith believing for. If we are being used in this fight I believe we will soon find this out. Pray for Sen. John Boehner, Pence and the others for them to not bend to the tremendous pressure they are under. “Let us not be weary in welldoing for afterwhile we wil reap a harvest of blessing”. Saving innocent unborn babies is welldoing in it’s purest form. God bless you prolifers and good night.
“covers for sex-trafficking”
Where are the sex traffickers, Michaela?
Love the website Jill.
This battle with PP and abortion will not be won through “sword, spear or javelin” … but belongs in the hands of the Lord God Almighty.
While disappointed that PP was not completely unfunded … last night really was a victory for the pro-life community. This issue will have to be fought long term, and the tide is turning against PP and in more support for the unborn. Yesterday, because the Republicans did stand firm on defending the unborn (albeit not perfectly), tens of thousands of lives were saved.
Keep in mind, my God prefers to use a handful of terrified men with with torches and a little boy with one stone to bring down massive armies. He will do the same here. PP will fall, but not in a manner that we would expect … but in a manner for Him to receive glory. Pray to end abortion. Let Him fight this battle. Ask, and He will.
Megan, Live Action tested Planned Parenthood to see what they would do with admitted sex traffickers (http://liveaction.org/traffick). You didn’t ask about fraud, but a whistleblower in CA (former financial officer) is bringing civil suit for PP charging the government 4 times cost (what had been agreed to) for contraceptives (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO2osGSTxC0).
Once again the pro-life movement was used as a whore by the Republican party and then thrown out into the street once they used us. John Boehner, you are out in 2012!
To folks like David: OK, we didn’t get everything we wanted. Yes, that is frustrating when lives are at stake. However, there were some gains made. Let’s keep working to build on that, rather than forming the circular firing squad. It’s no help to turn on each other just because we didn’t score a knockout in the first round.
The Republicans should have pressed the issue all the way. They just don’t know how to make a good case. Imagine, with TRILLIONS of dollars on the table, we were talking about a mere $363 million. So, it’s not like PP was a significant financial issue in the overall expenditure picture.
The Republicans could have called attention to the criminality of PP, the fact that they were caught repeatedly telling clients on tape that if they lacked insurance or cash, they could get services for free at the county health department, which is the biggest case against funding them (they don’t use the money for the purpose it is awarded).
The Republicans could have pointed out that PP:
-doesn’t do mammograms, they merely squeeze breasts and refer for mammograms.
-doesn’t treat patients lacking insurance or cash.
-covers for rapists.
-admitted at the NYC Council that they don’t do prenatal care.
-lies about what abortion is, and about embryological and fetal developmental stages.
-opposes parental notification and consent laws in every state that proposes them.
-fraudulently obtains judicial bypasses to get around parental notification and consent laws.
They could have done this and so much more and then juxtaposed defending all of this while denying pay to our military to show what animals the Dems truly are. This was a missed opportunity to make the Dems look like the rabid hacks they truly are.
Gerard,
They also could have pointed out that PP should not be funded anyway because current law prohibits it. They are skirting the Hyde law by playing shell games with the money. What kind of logic looks at the Hyde amendment and then turns around and provides government funding to the largest abortion provider in our nation? It must be some kind of voodoo or spell they cast as part of their unholy sacrament and it is blinding people. I have no other explanation.
Gerard and Truthseeker, I actually agree with a lot of what you said. However, there will still be a chance to debate and vote on the defunding of PP, as that was part of the deal. My main point is that that’s now water under the bridge, and I don’t want to see us waste a lot of energy on finger pointing, infighting and “coulda shoulda woulda” stuff. We need to focus on how we deal with the situation as it is, not how we wish it was. We still do have an opportunity here. Let’s talk about how we make the most of it.
I should clarify that by “water under the bridge” I was referring to the deal the other night, not the opportunity to debate and vote on PP defunding. When that debate happens, I do hope they bring out the things you mentioned.
Dr. Nada, Timl and Truthseeker – agreement on all parts. I wonder if Silent Scream or a similar movie about abortion was played in front of our esteemed elected officials and the question was posed “Do you want to pay for this?” the outcome would have been different.
I kept hearing people who did not want PP defunded say that it was an ideological issue – when in fact, it is the death of a human being.
I still think the Republicans were wimps.
Ok Tim. The first and most important step in making the most of this is admitting our mistake and convincing our representatives (and the rest of the pro-life people) it was wrong to back down in the first place or else we will make the same mistake again and again and again.
OK, so let’s talk about how we do that. Of course there are always the obvious things like keeping their phone, e-mail, fax, social network and regular mail lines hot with incoming messages telling them to stand strong or we will find others who will. How many other ideas can we generate?
Oh my…..when I said “sadly, Joan is right”, I meant about the politicos not wanting to lose their pet “wedge issue”…….not about Teri Schiavo’s family….Sorry. I need to be more careful.
David says fire Boehner. I am not sure I agree but that is one idea if we could put a pro-life stalwart like Pence as speaker.
Another idea would be to grow a pair. But since the ladies in the Republican party seem to have the largest already I am not sure what pair we need to grow. lol Maybe we could get Boehner on estrogen therapy?
justlookingon – Thanks for clarifying that.
truthseeker (and all) - It seems to me that we need to get this information in front of the general public, which is made difficult by the MSM burying it. How do we get around that? A lot of our usual communication channels end up being “preaching to the choir.” For instance, this blog is probably primarily seen by people already active on one side or the other of the issue. Facebook messages are seen only by FB friends, though it’s likely some of them disagree with us but could be persuaded. Conservative talk radio mostly reaches people who already agree. How do we get the information you mentioned in front of the people on Main Street who haven’t had this issue on their radar? LiveAction is having some success at this. Are there other ways as well?
@Tim- I agree with you; we need to get the word out to the general public. That’s why I was asking for good sources for the PP income statistics. I write for an online magazine, Examiner.com, and I’d like to gather as many neutral sources as I can, so my liberal readers won’t accuse me of partiality.
If anyone has links to these sources, please, just throw them at me!
People of faith could pray to the Lord and ask Him what they should do and the Lord with give them strength to live our faith.
@Linda, this might be helpful for starters http://www.sba-list.org/suzy-b-blog/top-12-reasons-defund-planned-parenthood-now
I know there are a number of others as well. One really good source person would be Abby Johnson, who is a former PP clinic director and now actively pro-life
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Abby-Johnson-Pro-life-advocate/114382035238545
http://twitter.com/#!/AbbyJohnson
Tim- Yes! Perfect! Keep throwing them my way, if you have the time. If you go to my link, you can email or message me. I am so grateful! Thank you.
I admit, I should have been following this issue more closely. Now it really matters, because it is certainly in the forefront. Now is the time!
Interestingly … the media is stating that PP won, and to a degree they did. But what Boehner did was actually brilliant. He won a couple of medium size battles both on the fiscal and social side. The end result is that we are back to pre-Obama time regarding the pro-life issues (at least with many items; embryo stem cell research is a battle that still needs to be fought). We didn’t get everything we want … but tens of thousands of innocent lives have probably been saved (along with tens of billions of dollars). There are many Republicans who would have abandoned the pro-life issue and compromised. Boehner didn’t, he carried most of our hopes through to the end … and some children have been saved. Praise God !!
Now the next set of battles. The first step though … is to pray for the unborn. The battles will be won, not through us and not in the ways we expect.
In the last chapter of Jonah, God explains why he was compassionate to the wicked Ninevites … it was because of His heart for the children. The unborn and the children belong to Him, He is just waiting for us to ask.
I take back what I said about Boehner and estrogen therapy. He crys enough already.
LOL Truthseeker – I was taken aback when I watched Boehner crying several times when he first came into public view – now it is old hat! He has, though, proved himself not to be too wimpy on the issue of life…
How do you figure he is not too wimpy. It looked like he folded to me. I hope they use the vote in the Senate as an opportunity to make it clear that we will NOT allow them to continue to force tax conscienscious people to participate in funding of the abortion industry. We need to set precedence that they are in violation of the Hyde amendment. Stopping them from weaseling their way around the Hyde amendment is not that much to ask for but it must not be allowed to continue. Our president stands at the podium and says he will not break the Hyde amendment with Obamacare funds but that is exactly what he would do. Fund Planned Parenthood with Obamacare funds but he will. I am certain he would play the same kind of shell games they play to fund Planned Parenthood now. That is why they would not put Hyde like language directly into Obamacare? Why was that such a big deal to them? Cause they think they can skirt around the Hyde amendment just like they do now by funding Planneda Parenthood through shell games. That is what they are already doing with Obamacare. The time has come to say no more. Never again. No more precedent. Not one more time. Arghhh!!
They are ALL wimps – and I am surprised that he did not wimp out earlier, given his propensity for tears – but he did stand his ground until … well, let us wait for the next round, next week. PP will survive without government funding – sadly.
I agree – I am in total agreement that we need to strip PP and other nonsense from the budget.
Degrees of wimpiness…
We need a better game plan for September’s buget battle. I don’t thin that this was entirely ideological on the Dem’s part. It involved shrewd political calculation. If they can force Republicans to capitulate repeatedly, as they did here, they raise a good chance of a third party (Tea Party) candidate.
That’s Obama’s best shot at reelection.
Obama would just veto any attempt to defund PP anyway. The sooner he’s out, the better.
Linda,
American Life League has had a “Stopp Planned Parenthood” project for many years. Much of the data distributed by pro-life groups comes from their research. http://www.stopp.org/stats/
I think that the republicans knew that there wasn’t a snowballs chance of getting Planned Parenthood defunded with Obama being president short of riots in the streets. It is very obvious that this organization is his pet project and a favorite of his wife’s as well. Only a few days before this stand off the head of PP was at The White House for a fancy dinner and she has been there multiple times. The head of PP called Obama her best weapon in political ads and he spoke at some of their functions. There is no way to know how deep those ties go but at any rate there is a “relationship” there. So, as bad as it infuriates me to know that Obama will never give on PP and that he uses our tax dollars to fund this pet project, I do think that Boehner made the only deal he could at the time. I can’t wait until he’s out of office and PP funding goes down the toilet. Counting the days!
“Once again the pro-life movement was used as a whore by the Republican party and then thrown out into the street once they used us.”
And that kind of knee-jerk reaction is the reason why abortion will remain legal, since as soon as the pro-life Republicans do ONE THING that we don’t like, we turn on them and help the pro-abortion Democrats win in the next election.
Linda,http://www.childpredators.com/CoverUp.cfm
Mark Krutcher’s Life Dynamics did a sting of all PP clinincs several years back. Actress posed as underage girl admittiing to being in a statutory rape situation.
Perhaps in the meantime, before the 2012 budget battle begins and we have this PP face off again Congress will be smart enough to get a bill passed that pays the military even during a government shutdown. I think that the way the liberal media was spinning this aspect and making it look as if it was Congress causing the soldiers to go unpaid if Congress had pushed past what they did the entire country would have turned against them and then we wouldn’t have a chance in the next election to get anything done because the dems would win again. Obama himself said on National Television that the military wouldn’t get paid. He was trying to turn the country against us and our “extreme agenda” (those words were used many times in the media last week) and making it look like Congress didnt care for the military. If Congress had held out and let the gov shut down it would have hurt our cause tremendously because it was a battle we couldn’t win. He would have never given on it and he would have turned the country against us and the pro-life legislators. It is very upsetting that our government leaders play these games and even more so that PP gets any money at all much less my tax money but at this point I don’t know what else could have been done. It was either loose this scrimmage or loose the war for at least another 4 years. Bad thing to have to choose between but it had to be done.
And that kind of knee-jerk reaction is the reason why abortion will remain legal, since as soon as the pro-life Republicans do ONE THING that we don’t like, we turn on them and help the pro-abortion Democrats win in the next election.
I agree John.
The media control the country. Like Gerard pointed out, there are vast amounts of talking points against PP. But the media won’t repeat them. If they can ignore 400,000 pro-lifers in D.C., they can certainly ignore a list spoken by a politician. For all we know, the Republicans may be pointing out PP’s evilness, but my cynical side says they are weak, incompetent politicians who don’t know how to capitalize on opportunities.
There’s one more point Republicans can make but you’ll never see in the mainstream media: Democrats get a kickback from PP in the form of millions of dollars in campaign contributions! Give billions to PP, get millions back for personal gain. Our tax dollars at work.
So the democrats had to accede much larger budget cuts to the republicans than they wanted to but didn’t give up the funding for PP.
Reminds me of when the intelligent and industrious kid has most of his lunch purloined by the big dumb bully but manages to keep something back.
“Perhaps in the meantime, before the 2012 budget battle begins and we have this PP face off again Congress will be smart enough to get a bill passed that pays the military even during a government shutdown.”
Deanna, You are correct about Obama trying to score political points by playing games about with-holdingwith the paychecks of our military personel. Obama does not need Congress to authorize military pay. Reagan and Clinton both authorized military pay during the most recent shutdowns. Obama’s dirty plan was to use the threat of cutoff as leverage and cause a shutdown so that he could look good authorizing the pay after it got cut off. There is no other explanation. Why else would he come out publicly and threaten to withhold it?
But I would not have let that stop me from shutting down the government. Boehner could have immediately passed a resolution to pay them and made the Senate or Obama veto it. I think a lot of pro-life people are over-thinking this. There is no way we should have let them get away with this. We are breaking/skirting the “Hyde” amendment (named after the author of the law) each time we authorize funds to Planned Parenthood. I think I’ll start calling it the ‘Hide’ amendment instead (named because Planned Parenthood uses it to ‘hide’ the million dollars fund transfer that we we give to the abortion industry EACH DAY). It is so wrong. And to keep getting away with it while saying they do not break the Hide Amendment is just Obama’s style. The bigger the lie the better he is at selling it. It hurts to see so many good people who visit this site so willing to let it go on.
What is it that the Senate has to vote on now, is it the Pence bill?
Truthseeker:
I didn’t realize that Obama could pay the military without Congressional input. I see your’re point. I also think you are right about Boehner passing a resolution and letting Obama veto it. I don’t think he would have actually had the guts to do that but who knows what he is capable of doing. I am assuming that the way the media was spinning it Boehner was thinking a shutdown would blow the roof off before the truth got to the public about a Congressional resolution (assuming that the truth ever got out at all) and everything would have backfired. I can’t imagine what his reasoning would have been otherwise. It was definitely a game of high stakes chicken.
Michaela, Thanks for the links. I haven’t checked out Mark Krutcher in a while. Lila Rose has been very well publicized, too. I’m wondering why Life Dynamics did not gain the momentum that Lila Rose has.
Larry,
There are no gratuitous digs at the Catholic Church and the pedophile scandals allowed here. Learn to argue your point on the merits without relying on invidious distinctions.
I think they used the military pay being tied in as a bargaining chip more so than anything else, because that was crucial to ALL America.
They will never allow the military pay to become separate, because it is so effective at bending people’s will to what they want at the eleventh hour. And I am a military wife telling you this.
Obama counted on the Republicans folding because he knew they would not want the military to be twisting in the wind for their checks.
Barack Obama is a man who voted against care for born alive infants in abortions, wanting them thrown in dumpsters rather than receiving medical care and being adopted. Anyone who thinks this man has any kind of conscience is not thinking clearly.
He does not CARE about the poor, the indigent, the MILITARY who are continuously crapped on all the time. He would have allowed the government to shut down, all for Planned Parenthood, and blamed it all on the Republicans without turning a hair, while the military would have been up the creek.
Do not let this ”smoke and mirrors” gambit fool you. This will happen every time he doesn’t like a budget stipulation… the military will be used as the worm on the hook of his evil.
God Bless.
God bless you too Heather
Republicans would have allowed the government to shut down, all over Planned Parenthood, and blamed it all on the Democrats without turning a hair, while the military would have been up the creek.
Republicans would have allowed the government to shut down, all over Planned Parenthood, and blamed it all on the Democrats
I would have. Tell me Reality why the largest abortion provider in the nation should get a million dollars a day in federal funds when the Hyde amendment prohibits federal dollars from funding abortion?
while the military would have been up the creek.
http://tinyurl.com/3sy3npf
As the dust settles, what are your thoughts on the outcome of the short-term budget battle?
(Truthseeker – my co-worker’s son, a sergeant in the Army, was told his paycheck would be half of normal, were there to be a gov’t shutdown.)
“Short-term budget battle.” Good grief…. And talk of “extending the debt ceiling…”
Sigh.
I think the Tea Party has large components of naive people, silly people, even outright clowns, but at least there is a lot of sentiment against “business as usual,” which we’ve had for decade upon decade from the Republicans and Democrats as a whole.
But this is so little, so late. Where were the economic conservatives since World War II? At the ripe old age of 21, in 1980, I figured there was no turning back, that we were beyond the point of no return, so to speak. Okay, so now it’s over 30 years later, and at the threat of shutting down the gov’t, we’ve got what? $38 billion in cuts? Do people know what “a drop in the bucket” means?
What I have seen is the knee-jerk reaction of the electorate from one side to the other, people get fed up with the administration of one party, and the other party gains seats in congress and maybe the President is elected from that. But, for my whole life (born in 1959) it hasn’t really mattered – the government as a whole has just gone nuts with expansion and spending, both major parties are guilty there.
The big money is in the defense budget, Medicare, and Social Security. Any society which spends such a large part of revenue on the military suffers, and we are there, let alone in concert with the overspending from the past, which has given us a significant payment of interest on debts from the past. Should we be “the world’s policeman”? I say no.
Cutting Medicare and Social Security are necessary – if there really is any hope at all – but so many of us have taken them for granted that there will be big political backlashes against those who do cut them. If nothing else, it may be that the “far-right” Tea Party and the very idea of such a thing may take on such a political tarnish that it’s a long time before any similar deal can gain any significant power.
Really, though, I think most of the above is moot. No debt like what we have has ever been paid off. In reality, there are only two things that happen. Either the debt is outright defaulted upon, or the currency is hyper-inflated out of existence, along with debts denominated in that currency. Our government has given no sign that it will accept deflation and default, i.e. it’s full-speed ahead on inflation and the “printing press,” regardless of the “Tea Party,” etc.
Sure truthseeker, poor laws get circumvented, bad laws get broken.
(Truthseeker – my co-worker’s son, a sergeant in the Army, was told his paycheck would be half of normal, were there to be a gov’t shutdown.)
I know. This is really bizarre? Why did Obama come out front and state he would hold back military pay? During the government shutdowns under Clinton and Reagan they came out pro-actively assuring the military that they would be paid. This guy is beyond the pale as Commander n Chief. Just really bizarre.
Doug, if we can elect a president with the fiscal sensibilities of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2012 then we (the US) have a fighting chance.
Doug, if we can elect a president with the fiscal sensibilities of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2012 then we (the US) have a fighting chance.
Truthseeker, I think any such ship sailed 4 or 5 decades ago.