Proving that she’s become part of the problem, Kay Bailey Hutchison took Planned Parenthood’s side in the current funding dispute. It’s an object lesson in why, even if she hadn’t retired, Hutchison was no longer going to be a Senator after January 3, 2013. As Texas has gotten more conservative, Hutchison has gotten more liberal. And her argument that Planned Parenthood is vital to the Texas’ Women’s Health Program is bunk.
Not only should the U.S. government not be providing taxpayer funded abortions, they shouldn’t be subsidizing family planning services period, because it’s not the proper function of the federal government. The idea that Uncle Sam should dispense abortions and condoms is a recent one, and panders not only to big government feminism, but also (speaking of debunked) neo-Malthusian thinking and religious environmentalism. Defunding Planned Parenthood and its ilk should be an easy decision for both economic and religious conservatives. The fact that Hutchison is far more concerned with hoovering up federal dollars just goes to prove Rick Perry’s assertion in the 2010 gubernatorial race that “Washington changed Kay.”
There has long been grumbling about Hutchison not being conservative enough, but only in her last term did it become loud enough to ensure that somebody would launch a primary challenge against her; her suicidal attempt to bring down Perry in 2010 just hastened the process. (Why both she and another moderate Republican woman, Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn, both felt such burning animus toward Perry that each destroyed their careers in futile attempts to take him out is an interesting topic I don’t have enough insight on to address.)
Both Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann have proven that it’s possible to be elected as a strong conservative woman. It’s just a shame that Texas doesn’t have one as a U.S. senator.
Tags: abortion, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Michelle Bachmann, Planned Parenthood, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Gubernatorial Race
Sad. I really like Hutchison personally and I think she’s done some really great work, but I vehemently disagree with her on this issue. I wish the Senator and some of the other women would really take a look at what is best for women’s health. Planned Parenthood only operates 44 of the 4,600 clinics in the WHP, each PP facility is thoroughly surrounded by more comprehensive clinics, and PP facilities do not provide doctors for anything other than abortion. From the fiscal standpoint, it’s also significant that PP charges as much as 43% more than most other providers. Planned Parenthood is not what it pretends to be. We can be all in for providing health services for low-income women without the Planned Parenthood agenda.