Planned Parenthood stated Thursday that it would endorse Hillary Clinton, the first endorsement in a presidential primary in Planned Parenthood's 100 year existence.
Clinton will accept the group's support Sunday at a campaign rally in New Hampshire.
The decision to break with tradition and endorse Clinton comes at the same time that the House had approved a measure. The measure would repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act and strip away federal financing for Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive and health care services.
Clinton stated she was "honored" by the endorsement and added that as president she would "defend against attacks on reproductive health care, and protect access to affordable contraception and safe and legal abortion across the country."
The endorsement adds $20 million to spend on presidential and Senate races in crucial battleground states, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Clinton hopes that abortion rights and the Republican candidates' positions will motivate female voters to support her. Polls show that access to legal abortion is one of the most motivating issues for female voters, particularly in critical swing states. Half of male voters and 60 percent of female voters said Planned Parenthood should receive money from the federal government, according to a New York Times-CBS News poll.
The Clinton campaign has functioned as a marketing arm for Planned Parenthood featuring a section on its official website, "17 times Hillary Clinton stood with Planned Parenthood". In addition there are Facebook messages and Instagram posts with the hashtag #StandwithPP.
However, the endorsement does not come without risks for Clinton. Planned Parenthood is a polarizing topic and the group suffered setbacks this summer when anti-abortion rights activists released a video of an official from the group talking about the price of private parts.
Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, sent endorsement surveys out to all the presidential candidates on both sides, but only heard back from Democrats. She said Clinton's record on women's issues and health care gave her an edge against her Democratic rivals.
Do you agree with Richards and her opinion on Clinton's position against the other Democratic candidates?
To what extent is this helping or hurting Hillary and her campaign to become president?
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/07/planned-parenthood-in-its-first-primary-endorsement-backs-hillary-clinton/?ref=politics
4 comments:
Planned Parenthood has come under a lot of fire recently from the more conservative citizens who are very much against abortion rights for all. This has become a hot topic for politicians across the country, and will continue to be so. This recent heat has left Planned Parenthood with only one option; to publicly support a candidate. Right now, Hillary is the dark horse for the democratic nomination and she has in the past supported planned parenthood and abortion rights. If Hillary wins with their help, they are basically cementing themselves into American culture free from the recent talked of defending their project.
For Hillary, this is a risky move. Sure, it will cement more democratic voters for her cause, but she already is leading in the democratic women's votes and may just turn away some in the middle voters who do not support abortion rights. In my opinion, I believe it was a good move on Hillary's part as it could draw voters away from her main competition: Bernie Sanders. But, Bernie also heavily supports abortion rights and planned parenthood so this may be a futile endeavor, only losing the more moderate voters who are against these policies that she has made a lot more clear with this act. It could go either way, and we will have to just wait and see.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/planned-parenthood-will-make-unprecedented-primary-endorsement-of-hillary-clinton/
This only helps Hillary, especially in the primary. The strongest of pro-life supporters were probably never going to vote for Hillary in the first place. Only 31% of self-identifying Republicans proclaim they are pro-choice while 68% of Democrats and rising are pro-choice. In addition, 53% of all people ages 18-34 stated they were pro-choice, meaning that Hillary Clinton will have further support within her party and within her electorate. While I don't think this will help in the General Election, this will definitely differentiate Clinton from Bernie Sanders, who is not as large a proponent of women's rights. This is pretty much the icing on the cake for Hillary. Her support from women is not really an "edge" but more of a complete domination. Hillary's campaign looks better every day.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/183434/americans-choose-pro-choice-first-time-seven-years.aspx
This endorsement is crucial for of both Planned Parenthood and Hillary Clinton. As "Your Pal" stated, Planned Parenthood has been under consistent attack by the Republican Party. The latest hit that Planned Parenthood took, as mentioned by Margot, was the defunding of the organization by the government. Clinton, in one of her newest campaign commercials clarified to the public that when politicians speak of defunding Planned Parenthood they are “Blocking millions of women, men and young people from life saving preventive care, cancer screening, breast exams, and birth control. They’re talking about cutting people off from the health care provider they know and trust.” It was very smart for Clinton to support the organization because it will give her a leg up in the primaries against her opponent Bernie Sanders. It was a good move by Planned Parenthood, as well, because of all the elections to choose to endorse a candidate, this is the one to do it. They saw the potential of Clinton winning and acted on it to save their company and the health of millions of women.
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/womens-rights-and-opportunity/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq1_WjeNOCM
I believe that this is perfectly in line with Hillary's platform. As you stated, more women support federal funding for Planned Parenthood than men: 60%, to be precise. And that 60% number means that Democrats, Independents, and some Republicans support Planned Parenthood. Hillary has a broad appeal among women and this will only help that.
It also solidifies the theory that Hillary is gunning for the general election. The runner-up in the Democratic polls, Bernie Sanders, surely also supports Planned Parenthood, but their decision to endorse Hillary both gives her wide appeal as well as further positions her as opposed to Republican ideology. With such an ideologically radical second-place candidate, Clinton can already start moving towards the center of the political spectrum, just as Anthony Downs predicted.
Post a Comment