I love this woman and all she does for the women of the country. A big cheer for her and what she was doing behind the scenes for us.
Planned Bullyhood is a book coming out shortly written by former Susan G. Komen executive Karen Handel wherein she tries to paint Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida as an intimidating "schoolyard thugs". She also claims that it was Debbie who was instrumental in forcing Komen to reverse its decision to pull grants from Planned Parenthood. If that is the truth then I say Hip Hip Hooray for Ms. Wasserman Schultz.
Handel accuses Wasserman Schultz of phoning Komen founder Nancy Brinker and that her call was "extremely ugly in its tone". Handel alleges the phone call happened the night before news broke that Komen would block grants for cancer screening to Planned Parenthood. Handel writes that Wasserman Schultz was also upset that Handel had been hired and claims a direct quote from Wasserman Schultz "'How dare you hire someone who was diametrically opposed to Planned Parenthood."
Handel writes:
"Was it appropriate for a sitting member of Congress and the head of the DNC to browbeat a private organization about its grants and who would get them? The timing of the call seemed to suggest that if Komen would just continue the Planned Parenthood grants, all would be forgiven -- that if Komen got back in line, the bullies would back off."
Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic National Committee:
said Handel completely mischaracterized the tone of the phone call.
"As a cancer survivor, and as a strong advocate for women’s reproductive health, the Chair has been a strong supporter of both Komen and Planned Parenthood," "In her call with Nancy Brinker, with whom she has had a long and friendly relationship, the Chair expressed her concern that the controversy surrounding Komen’s decision to drop its support for Planned Parenthood would do harm to both organizations and their respective causes. The characterization of the call as threatening could not be further from the truth."
A full transcript of her speech from the 2012 DNC is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
As for the author Karen Handel she has a very interesting career history, but I found this most interesting:
Handel received the endorsement of former Republican 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Handel also received the endorsements of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.
The primary campaign was particularly heated, and Handel's past membership in the gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans became an issue.When Deal used her membership against her, Handel denied that she had ever been a member of the group, which was an important and influential constituency when she was a commissioner. An investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed that she was on the Log Cabin Republican's membership rolls in 2003 and 2004, and that she had signed a questionnaire affirming her support for domestic partnership benefits. Politifact rated her denial a "Pants on Fire" lie. When asked by Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV about her stance on gay rights, she said that she was against marriage and adoption for gays, and that gay people are not legitimate parents
So I, as Wasserman Schultz did, would question why this person was chosen to represent the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...