A proposal to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst failed to advance this afternoon, falling just seven votes short of the 60 needed to move the legislation forward.
The effort was inspired by a series of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood doctors and executives discussing the best way to harvest organs from aborted babies and haggling over prices for particular body parts. White House press secretary Josh Earnest already has called the videos fraudulent, relying on statements issued by Planned Parenthood themselves for his proof.
Today, before the vote, Rep. Alan Grayson called the video[s] doctored.
Tonight, a bunch of men will vote against women seeing doctors, because they saw a doctored video. That's the GOP for you. #StandwithPP
— Rep. Alan Grayson (@AlanGrayson) August 3, 2015
https://twitter.com/Julian_Says_/status/628308480441630720
Legislators are very busy people, you understand. They can’t waste time watching doctored videos.
Sen. Al Franken, who recently spoke at #PPGeneration, a nationwide gathering of Millennials eager to serve as Planned Parenthood’s next generation of activists, may very well have watched at least part of a video, or at least Cecile Richards’ first video response.
Franken: Videos show some PP staff "did not treat the issue of reproductive health services with the appropriate level of sensitivity."
— Irin Carmon (@irin) August 3, 2015
Recommended
And the appropriate level would be …
Democrats Who Blocked Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Admit They Haven't Watched Undercover Videos http://t.co/47POtcvzEA
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) August 4, 2015
So who among the Democrat opposition has actually bothered to watch the videos? The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack says it’s probably about as many as you think:
“I have not seen them,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire told me after the vote.
“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” asked Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii in response to a simple yes-or-no question. “Can you call my comms director?”
“I have not seen them, no,” Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania told me last week.
As New York senator Chuck Schumer stepped into a senators-only elevator, I asked him the same yes-or-no question. “Shut the door,” Schumer told an aide.
Only one Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, told me that she had seen any of the videos. McCaskill agreed that the videos were disturbing, but she added that “that’s not the point. The point is to prevent abortions by making sure that women can get birth control.”
Birth control usually comes before scraping around a metal dish fishing for salable body parts.
https://twitter.com/skatblueeyes/status/628401678060929024
@McCormackJohn come on they can't be expected to actually be informed on what they are voting on. The unmitigated gall!
— Justin Waring (@JustWaring) August 4, 2015
@McCormackJohn Show them in the Senate, then take another vote.
— Arthur Hill (@ArthurHill9) August 4, 2015
@McCormackJohn: Not such a surprise. They don't read the bills they pass either!
— FREEDOM❌Flygirl✈ (@jeriallen15) August 4, 2015
https://twitter.com/hans_hunter/status/628397004633149444
@McCormackJohn Absolutely disgusting and incomprehensible!!
— MayaHockey (@MNHockey17) August 4, 2015
@McCormackJohn @redsteeze ignorance is bliss
— Kristin (@GingerKristin78) August 4, 2015
The ignorance, it blisters.
Today we fought to protect women's access to critical health services—and we won. #StandwithPP pic.twitter.com/wCG2ULvhTw
— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) August 3, 2015
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