During an interview on CBS’s Face The Nation Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton didn’t mention Carly Fiorina’s name, but it was clear who she was talking about when she called the misleading and inaccurate statements made about Planned Parenthood at the Republican debate.
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Transcript via Face The Nation:
DICKERSON: Let me ask you about those Planned Parenthood videos. Have you watched them?
CLINTON: I have seen excerpts from them. And I have certainly read about them.
And what I am troubled by are the misleading, inaccurate allegations about them that we heard from Republicans at their debate. This is really an attack on Planned Parenthood, which provides a lot of health services, from cancer screenings , to contraceptive services, to so many other of the needs women have.
And to shut down the government, which some Republicans are advocating, over funding for Planned Parenthood, which takes care of millions of women’s health needs, is just the height of irresponsibility.
DICKERSON: That’s the policy debate this has turned into. But what was your reaction just when you watched them?
CLINTON: Well, look, as Planned Parenthood has said, these were misleadingly edited. They were intentionally taken out of context.
The fact is that, if we want to have a debate in this country about whether we should continue using — or doing fetal research, then it’s not only Planned Parenthood that should be involved in that debate. All of the experts, all of the scientists, all of the research institutions, everybody who is looking for cures to Parkinson’s, for example, should be asked, should we continue this?
But so far as I am aware, what they did, despite the way it was portrayed, is within the laws that were set up for this.
Clinton didn’t mention Fiorina by name, but she didn’t have to. The Republican has risen in the polls after her fact-free attack on Planned Parenthood during the Republican debate. Fiorina was asked provide proof of her bogus claims made during the debate about Planned Parenthood, but her campaign could provide nothing related to her statements.
Republicans continue to cater to a small fringe of anti-choice activist within their party by attacking Planned Parenthood, but Clinton made it clear in her interview why pursuing this issue against her is a terrible idea.
Former Sec. Clinton brought up a great point. If Republicans are so interested in banning fetal tissue research, why are they only targeting Planned Parenthood? The answer is that the Republican attack isn’t really about fetal tissue research. Republicans are on a mission to take healthcare options away from women.
Carly Fiorina is enjoying her moment in the sun by lying about Planned Parenthood. In the coming days, Fiorina will continue to press the issue until Republicans in Congress cave and Planned Parenthood is not defunded. Hillary Clinton is going to give Fiorina any free publicity by calling out her name, but the Republican Party and Fiorina are tap dancing on a landmine if they plan to use Planned Parenthood to attack Hillary Clinton.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
