Scott Brown (Betty Copeland/Dreamstime.com)
When Scott Brown came out against eliminating family planning funding earlier this week, it seemed like a clear sign that he opposed eliminating funds for Planned Parenthood, even though he'd already voted to eliminate those funds.
But as Greg Sargent writes, the real story is actually a bit murkier.
Brown’s initial statement actually doesn’t come out and say he’s against the defunding. It’s not quite clear whether he merely opposes defunding “Title X,” which provides family planning for low income Americans and gives a lot of money to Planned Parenthood, or whether he supports the more aggressive proposal to defund Planned Parenthood completely.
It’s an important distinction, and the Senator may have good reason for fudging his position. If he supports defunding Planned Parenthood completely, it could come across as extreme in Massachusetts. But if he doesn’t support it, he will anger conservatives.
According to Greg, Brown's office is being less-than-forthcoming about what his real position is, simply saying that Brown's statement speaks for itself without taking a position on defunding Planned Parenthood. This, of course, underscores the impression that Brown's statement was really just a calculated attempt to speak out of both sides of his mouth, reassuring moderates in his state that he's not against family planning without alienating conservatives who hate Planned Parenthood. But, as they say, you can't be half-pregnant, and Scott Brown isn't an exception.