First, remember that I don't think there is a single candidate, Democrat or Republican, in the running that makes a realistic choice for a presidential candidate. These are unimaginable times, nationally & internationally, & I haven't seen a single one of the folks running who seem up to handling what would come roaring at them once seated in the Oval Office.
Second, remember that I believe something worth our protection starts with conception.
Now, to last night's debate...
Up until last night, I had high hopes for Carly Fiorina, in spite of her lack of governing experience. (No, being a CEO is not the same as governing a city, state or nation.) But she lied last night. Boldly, brazenly, effectively.
Ms. Fiorina clearly dear a line in the sand when it comes to funding Planned Parenthood. "I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, watch to these tapes. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' This is about the character of our nation. If we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us!" She drew wild applause.
In that statement, Ms. Fiorina showed her full GOP credentials - no interest whatsoever in facts, only in what advances her argument. Trust me - if the tapes had shown a fully-formed fetus with a beating heart, DOJ would have shut down Planned Parenthood immediately. But they didn't.
FACT: Many Republicans have long resisted abortion, many forms of birth control & some even feel strongly about any form of family planning.
FACT: Planned Parenthood has been investigated by quite a few state governments, particularly after the tapes, produced to create a tsunami of outrage - not a single one of the states found anything illegal.
FACT: Moral outrage does not a crime make. And that is what the tapes were created to do. Create such a profound sense of moral outrage, the nation insists the government pay no attention to the fact that nothing was done illegally & act as if one was. That is a form of lynching an innocent. We are naturally repulsed at seeing video of an aborted fetus being prepared to send to research facilities, but it is not illegal.
FACT: No, Ms. Fiorina - not a single one of those state government investigations showed Planned Parenthood as harvesting body parts in order to produce a profit.
FACT: In making her statement, Ms. Fiorina lost my potential support. (And you can ask any number of my Republican friends if I have been vocally supportive of her). She lied, she lied boldly & brazenly, she lied in a way calculated to stir anger & unreasoned response. You want to put Planned Parenthood out of business? Change the laws. But until you do, they aren't doing anything illegal. Unethical - to many people. Immoral - to many people. But illegal? No.
One more potential presidential candidates to cross off my MAYBE list.
09/16/15 - Excellent comment from Daily Kos: Carly Fiorina wasn't just describing a fake, edited tape doctored to invent a case against Planned Parenthood—she invented imaginary footage in that tape.
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