Oh, good. Just what the world of women's health needed: Presidential candidate and cyborg Mittens Romney has inserted his large, square head into the middle of the Planned Parenthood/Susan G.Komen debate. And, of course, he thinks Komen did the right thing.
The biggest public relations disaster in Komen history was a good move, argued the former governor of Massachusetts on a Minnesota radio show. And if he were elected, he'd defund Planned Parenthood himself, because the organization supports abortions with taxpayer money.
There are many flavors of wrong in Romney's statements, but let's start with the most obvious: Susan G. Komen for the Cure is incredibly unpopular right now. According to a recently conducted poll, 53% of respondents disagreed with Komen's decision, and 49% of participants said the move would make them less likely to contribute to Komen in the future. In contrast, only 39% of participants said they agreed with Komen's decision, and only 29% said the decision made them more likely to contribute. Centrism!
As the Huffington Post notes, Romney sought the endorsement of Planned Parenthood back when he needed to pretend to be pro-choice in order to win an election. He even told a Planned Parenthood survey that if elected, he'd use Massachusetts taxpayer money to fund abortions for low income women. Now, obviously, he's overcompensating in the other direction, acting so nuttily right wing that he's alienating an entirely new audience.
Mitt Romney wants to be President so bad that it hurts a little to watch. It's like watching Christina Aguilera try to sing "At Last" at Etta James's funeral, or watching any American Idol contestant ever try to sing a Christmas song.
It's one thing to be on the wrong side of history, but it's another thing entirely to declare, after history has already happened, you'd choose to be on the wrong side, even with the advantage of hindsight. Did Mitt Romney also place a large bet on the New England Patriots to win it all on Monday morning?
Mitt Romney: Susan G. Komen was right to cut Planned Parenthood [HuffPo]