Planned Parenthood tells First Read it will begin running a new ad on Thursday that brings up the fact that Wasilla, while Palin was mayor there, charged rape victims or their insurers for emergency-room rape kits.
msnbc.com, First Read
More, including the script of the ad, after the fold.
This is a great ad and I think a lot of folks will understand it.
Planned Parenthood says the ad will run in the markets of St. Louis (MO), Madison (WI), and DC/Northern Virginia (VA).
Here's the script:
Gretchen: I just didn’t think it would happen to me. I was drugged and raped.
Announcer: Under Mayor Sarah Palin, women like Gretchen were forced to pay up to $1,200 for the emergency exams used to prosecute their attackers.
In the Senate, John McCain voted against legislation to protect women from these same heartless policies.
Gretchen: That is something to me that’s unthinkable. It scares me to death.
VO: Planned Parenthood Action Fund is responsible for the content of this advertising and urges you to get the facts.
Script, quoted by msnbc.com, First Read
Hat tip and thanks to Democratic Luntz, who has done great research on this issue. See, e.g.,
Sarah Palin Knew About Rape Kit Billing Policy
At the end of the letter, under the words "Respectfully submitted," is the signature of Sarah Palin. Unless she made a false claim about the data being accurate to the best of her knowledge, she was aware of the change in billing policy orchestrated by Police Chief Fannon. The McCain/Palin campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
I think this ad will hit home with many folks. Palin is toast-to-be, if she's not already. Looking forward to the debate on Thursday in St. Louis. This seems like a fair question to bring up, considering that Biden wrote the act requiring rape kits to be free if you took federal money.
Palin deserves this karmic justice. Not only is she intellectually uncurous and unintelligent, but she promotes policies that harm people. She IS the face of modern Republicanism, the new "Know Nothing" party. Not. A. Good Person.
No mercy. Kick them while they are down. It's the only way to save America.
Update I: Go here to donate to keep the ad up!
Also, sign the letter:"I am Planned Parenthood, and Sarah Palin is not my candidate."
Please join us meeting Sarah Palin in St. Louis by signing our open letter stating clearly why she is not your candidate. We need millions of people to sign this open letter — and we'll display signs with the open letter all over the city, representing to John McCain, to Sarah Palin, and to every voter before Election Day the sheer diversity and the enormous number of people who cannot and will not support McCain and Palin and why. It starts with you.
Here's the letter:
Dear Sarah Palin,
You are not our candidate.
You are not our candidate because you required women in Wasilla to pay for their own medical examinations after being raped.
You are not our candidate because you do not support a woman's right to choose, even in the case of rape or incest.
You are not our candidate because you've cut funding for teen moms, and for comprehensive sex education.
You are not our candidate because as vice president -- a heartbeat away from the presidency -- you would jeopardize health care for women everywhere.
We are teachers, doctors, athletes, programmers, artists, lawyers, secretaries, CEOs, students, designers, nurses, factory workers, mothers, and fathers. We are conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, country and city people. We are women and men. We are voters. We are the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
We believe in a woman's right to choose and the right of every person to have access to complete reproductive health care. We are hundreds of thousands strong, and we are doing everything we can to make sure you are not elected.
You are not our candidate.
Signed by:
[Your name]
[Your address]
"I am Planned Parenthood, and Sarah Palin is not my candidate."