Articles about Politics
Craig James Promises Not to “Let God Down” By Dropping Senate Bid
The Associated Press has a profile of the long shot candidate for Senate. In it, James says he thinks his two college football scandals have plagued his campaign, preventing him from talking about the conservative talking points he’d prefer. Most importantly, though, is this:
James dismisses a suggestion he’s considered a long shot and believes he was called by God to run for office.
“That doesn’t mean God says, ‘You’re going to win, Craig,’” he said. “But I would far rather have done this than let God down and not do what he had called me to do.”
Protest Outside Komen Headquarters
Because nobody involved seems to want this story to stop, today there was a protest outside the local headquarters for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. The DMN’s Bruce Tomaso breaks the news of James Ragland covering the very small protest here. Unfair Park has much more here.
Just as, in the wake of the policy “reversal” and the resignation of Komen vice president Karen Handel, the anti-Planned Parenthood crowd is accusing Komen of bowing to pressure from the left, now the actual left is vowing to make sure Komen doesn’t bow to pressure from the right, asking the foundation to promise it will not cut funding to Planned Parenthood after next year. So much vowing and bowing. Makes me want to watch a Kung Fu movie.
Komen Vice President Karen Handel Quits Over Planned Parenthood Controversy
The AP reports that Karen Handel, a former Republican candidate for governor in Georgia who became vice president of public policy for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and was blamed by many for being heavily involved in the organization’s recent decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, has resigned:
A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen’s headquarters in Dallas said the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria’s impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.
Harry Potter Disgusted by Rick Perry’s ‘Homophobic’ Views, Brokeback Mountain Jacket
Daniel Radcliffe, currently at a theater near you in The Woman in Black but best known as the star of the Harry Potter films, gave an interview to the UK gay magazine Attitude, which the UK newspaper The Guardian recaps.
In it, in addition to declaring that he’s a “militant atheist,” he decries the GOP presidential hopefuls, especially Gov. Rick Perry:
He went on to say that he has been “disgusted, amazed, stunned” by candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination, such as Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann, who have been openly hostile to gay rights.
“But they disgusted me less than candidates like Rick Perry, who made that ridiculous advert wearing ‘the Brokeback jacket’, and I think pretend to be homophobic just to win votes.”
You remember the ad he’s talking about, right?
(H/T: DMN Trail Blazers blog)
Another Stray Dog-Related Problem in Dallas
Yes, South Dallas has a lot of stray dogs. A few months ago, I proposed a potential solution to the problem. (My fingers remain crossed.) This week the Dallas Observer’s Anna Merlan brings attention to another stray dog-related problem: the thin line between animal “rescuers” and animal “hoarders.” I’m generally inclined to say that, barring disastrous circumstances, people should be held to the legal limit of pets. But I’m also not inclined to say people like should be forced to put their dogs back in the streets either.
Ex-Planned Parenthood Clinic Director: PP Doesn’t Need the Komen Money, Anyway
Now that Dallas-based Komen for The Cure’s been beaten down by everyone, left and right, for its clumsy decision-making, a former Employee of the Year at a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic is out with a different view. Abby Johnson, who was the clinic’s director before quitting and becoming a pro-life activist, says Planned Parenthood will use Mafia-style, shakedown tactics against any charity that decides not to fund the group. She also says the Komen dough isn’t really needed for Planned Parenthood’s free breast-cancer screenings, anyway.
Fun With Semantics: Can We Call Komen’s Statement a “Reversal?”
If you look, just about everyone is calling the Komen decision this morning a reversal. And maybe it is, sort of.
But if you look closer, with an eye for semantics, you can zero in one specific phrase, as many did after the news broke: ” … continue to fund existing grants.” The key word, of course, is existing. In the Dallas Morning News story, it says the statement goes on to say that Planned Parenthood would be eligible under the revised criteria to apply for future grants.
But holdonacottonpickinminute. Didn’t just today Komen officials say that Planned Parenthood wasn’t disqualified because of a congressional investigation after all, but because it didn’t offer mammograms in house?
Wouldn’t that mean that Planned Parenthood should still be DQ’d? Or at the very least be ineligible for future grants?
According to Kathleen Parker, who called Nancy Brinker today, Komen is holding fast to its new soon-to-be rule that they fund facilities that offer mammograms on site. Says Parker:
“The news on Komen is that they are only tweaking their new rule about not funding organizations under investigation to mean ‘criminal’ investigation. Otherwise their position is the same. Yes, Planned Parenthood can now apply for funding, but this doesn’t mean they will get it. Those grants already in place will play out on schedule. I spoke to Nancy Brinker this afternoon and her goal remains as announced – to adjust her grant-funding system so that monies go directly to facilities that provide mammograms rather than through third parties, such as Planned Parenthood. Essentially nothing is changed, and certainly this does not constitute a reversal as so many media outlets have so hastily reported.”
The Atlantic: Komen Organization Lied
If you’ve been following the Komen story (or even if you haven’t), you need to read this Jeffrey Goldberg post from The Atlantic. The gist:
Komen … says it cut-off Planned Parenthood because of a newly adopted foundation rule prohibiting it from funding any group that is under formal investigation by a government body. (Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Rep. Cliff Stearns, an anti-abortion Florida Republican, who says he is trying to learn if the group spent public money to provide abortions.) But three sources with direct knowledge of the Komen decision-making process told me that the rule was adopted in order to create an excuse to cut-off Planned Parenthood.
Komen Foundation Website Hacked
Late last night for a brief time, as the Atlantic notes, hackers were able to redirect traffic from the Susan G. Komen Foundation website to a dummy site where this ad:
Was replaced by this ad:
Meanwhile Nancy Brinker posted a YouTube defense of the Komen Foundation’s policy change. Though, of course, she doesn’t say a word about Planned Parenthood:
The Other Dallas Woman at the Center of This Planned Parenthood Debate
As Tim pointed out yesterday, this whole Susan G. Komen for Cure-cutting-ties-to-Planned Parenthood thing has put Nancy Brinker is an awkward situation. But there’s another Dallas woman at the center of this controversy too. That would be Dallas product Cecile Richards, daughter of former Texas governor Ann Richards.
Cecile is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and in this profile in the New Yorker, published in November (after the “investigation” was launched, but before SGKC withdrew funding), she attributes most of her organization’s most recent problems to the Tea Party-dominated mid-term elections in 2010.
Her theory: “when those guys can’t figure out what to do about jobs, and they can’t, their first target is women.” Another quote from the same story sums up how a lot of now former SGKC donors feel: “The fury over Planned Parenthood is two political passions—opposition to abortion and opposition to government programs for the poor—acting as one.”
Log Cabin Republicans Return to Dallas
Last night marked the first meeting of the new Dallas chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans. The Dallas Voice has the story of how the National Log Cabin Republicans de-chartered the group and ousted the former chapter president for engaging “in a consistent pattern of behavior that detracts from the mission of our organization.” That behavior? Inviting members of a competing gay Republican group (GOProud) to speak at the LCR annual dinner and writing an “unsanctioned” column endorsing Rick Perry for president (before he was officially running). The national LCRs started a new chapter despite the fact that former chapter president, Rob Schlein, has since started a third group: Metroplex Republicans of Dallas. (That name should at least make these people happy.)
Obama Wants to See Fort Worth Man’s Resume
During a Google-Plus sponsored video chat yesterday, Jennifer Wedel, of Fort Worth, asked the President about why so many U.S. companies are allowed to use a worker visa program to bring in foreign workers while her husband, an engineer, struggles to find a job. Wedel, who described herself to the Star-Telegram as an “avid Republican,” was pretty stunned by the response she got. “We should get his resume and I’ll forward it to some these companies that are telling me they can’t find enough engineers in this field,” Obama said. He asked what kind of engineer her husband is (semiconductor engineer, it turns out), then reminded her again that he was serious about the resume. Then later, he reminded her yet again that he meant it and would be looking for the resume. You can see the interaction for yourself here. Wedel’s question starts at the 5:50 mark.
Rawlings Eyes ‘Accomplishing LGBT Objectives Long-term’
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says he isn’t surprised that gay-rights activists are upset with him for declining to sign a pledge supporting same-sex marriage. But he hopes Saturday’s closed-door meeting with about two dozen LGBT leaders will lead to more understanding, at least.
Asked before a North Texas Commission luncheon today whether he expected such an uproar from the LGBT community over his stance, Rawlings replied, “I was not surprised. They are an important constituency and passionate about their concerns. I wouldn’t expect anything less of them.”
So, what will he tell them tomorrow? “We’ll be talking about how we accomplish their objectives long-term, and how we understand the different players.” Also on the agenda: “How they can leverage me as a mayor, and how I can best represent their concerns. … That can only be accomplished through good conversations, and that’s what we’re going to have.”
Sue Ellen To Run for Governor of Texas
A spy sends along this photo taken on the steps of SMU’s Dallas Hall. It’s a set for TNT’s Dallas relaunch. Zac, time for your Rick Perry series to get fired up again?
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