Tomorrow The Senate Votes On Pence's Amendment To Defund Planned Parenthood

One of the less loathsome aspects of the deal Obama and the Democrats cut with the GOP was to allow an open vote on one of the less rational strategies in the Republican Party war against women: defunding Planned Parenthood. Pence's amendment passed 240-185 on February 18. Right wing Michigan freshman Justin Amash voted "Present," 7 Republicans-- Charlie Bass (NH), Judy Biggert (IL), Mary Bono Mack (CA), Charlie Dent (PA), Bob Dold (IL), Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ) and Richard Hanna (NY)-- voted with the Democrats, and 10 anti-Choice fanatics on the Democratic side voted with the GOP:

Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK)
Jerry Costello (IL)
Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN)
Dan Lipinski (IL)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Nick Rahall (WV)
Silvestre Reyes (TX)
Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR)
Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC)

Can the Senate Democrats stop the anti-woman jihad from the right? Probably-- and President Obama, for all his Conservative Consensus pandering on the economy, would veto it if it passed. The DSCC is begging for money from women and from men who like and respect women to save Planned Parenthood. What will they use that money for? They want to run Congressman Joe Donnelly for the Indiana Senate seat next year. Does that name sound familiar? Look at that short list directly above. THAT Joe Donnelly-- one f the most conservative, aisle-crossing Democrats in Congress. Right now his ProgressivePunch score on crucial votes for the current Congress is an abysmal 37.29, making him one of the dozen most aisle-crossing Democrats in the House. He has next to no chance of winning a Senate seat; conservatives prefer Republicans and not every progressive in Indiana is stupid enough to vote for a reactionary-in-a-blue-tee-shirt. But he's hardly the only anti-woman conservative the DSCC wants to get your woman for.

I'm guessing Ben Nelson (NE) and Joe Manchin (WV), each an inveterate aisle-crosser, each up for reelection in 2012, will vote to defund Planned Parenthood tomorrow. If you give the DSCC a dime, you are paying for reelection campaigns for these two clowns... and for Donnelly's hopeless-- and expensive-- race. Instead, directly support candidates who are contesting elections who actually fight for women's rights; you can do that on Act Blue. (I'd suggest Bernie Sanders as a good example.) The last time the GOP tried to defund Planned Parenthood-- via a failed amendment by Republican whoremonger and hypocrite David Diapers Vitter in 2007-- Nelson voted with the Democrats. And so did Susan Collins, Dick Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, and Olympia Snowe. Snowe and Lugar are petrified of "teabagger" (i.e., ultra right wing) primaries so it will be interesting to see if they flip-flop. I expect at least Lugar to-- not to mention Nelson.

Republican Party extremist front groups like CatholicVote are on the warpath this week. That group's president, Brian Burch bragged to LiefNews.com that "Any Senator who votes to continue taxpayer support for scandal-ridden Planned Parenthood will be a prime target of our election efforts in 2012. These votes will have consequences. If Senators want our support, they must earn it. And if they fail us, we will do everything possible to defeat them." Same kind of crap from Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America: “Our efforts were so effective that the disagreements over Planned Parenthood funding between the pro-life House and pro-abortion Senate leadership almost caused a government shutdown.”

Colbert has some fun at Jon Kyl's expense:

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UPDATE: Lipinksi

Fortunately, Illinois Democrats don't turn to reactionaries like Lipinski to run for higher office. His virulent conservatism-- including his jihad against women-- makes his career a dead end. And fortunately, he has a plausible and progressive opponent this cycle, John Atkinson. We asked John if he could fathom why Lipinski is again making common cause with the extremist Republicans in the House against women's rights.

"When millions of Americans continue to suffer the ravaging effect of the Great Recession, and thousands of small businesses are trying to create jobs I find it inconceivable that Dan Lipinski and the Republicans in Congress insist on pursuing a radical social agenda and a sustained attack on women's healthcare. It appears that de-funding Title X, attempting to change the definition of Rape, as well as the other anti- women, anti- choice priorities of these extreme legislators have displaced educating our citizens, innovating our way into prosperity and bringing jobs back to America as the urgent national imperatives. Rather than attacking women's health, and appointing another commission, Congressman Lipinski should be in the district working with businesses and constituents to create and find jobs."