The latest chapter in the fight to defund Planned Parenthood is one Republicans might not like.
During an interview at a gathering of Southern Baptists, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush not only called to an end for Planned Parenthood's federal payments, but he also suggested in a brief aside that women's health issues were overfunded.
"I'm not sure we need a half-billion dollars for women's health issues," Bush said Tuesday.
The aside was part of Bush's broader critique of Planned Parenthood, which has been in the sights of conservatives after anti-abortion activists released secretly recorded videos showing officials for the group in an unflattering light.
The series of videos, which show Planned Parenthood officials discussing fees for tissue from aborted fetuses, have enraged conservatives who say Planned Parenthood is illegally selling those organs for profit. Planned Parenthood officials have denied the charge. Nevertheless, it's catapulted both the group and the issues of abortion and women's health into the political debate.
Bush said that as Florida's governor, he had defunded Planned Parenthood. Then, he segued into discussing what could be done with the more than $500 million yearly in government funds that Planned Parenthood receives.
"The argument against this is 'Well, women's health issues are gonna be, you're attacking, it's a war on women... You could take dollar for dollar -- although I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues -- but if you took dollar for dollar there are many extraordinarily fine organizations, community health organizations, that exist, federally sponsored community health organizations, to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues," Bush said.
His aside didn't go unnoticed. Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign scolded Bush online:
.@JebBush: You are absolutely, unequivocally wrong. https://t.co/a6O17dlEh4
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 4, 2015
Clinton's tweet earned a response from the Bush camp:
.@HillaryClinton what’s absolutely, unequivocally wrong is giving taxpayer $ to an org whose practices show no regard for lives of unborn — Jeb Bush (@JebBush) August 4, 2015
Vermont's Bernie Sanders also got into the mix, tweeting that women need more -- not less -- health funding.
We actually need a heck of a lot more than $3 per person for women's health care, @JebBush. https://t.co/zz5Z3YJ18D — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 4, 2015
Other Democrats quickly pounced, including Dan Pfeiffer, who previously served as President Obama's communications director.
A few more months of this and the GOP will be wishing for a candidate with the political skills of @MittRomney https://t.co/iiuiXLPz4f — Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 4, 2015
Lis Smith, a longtime aide to former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, did too:
What exactly does noted women's health expert @JebBush think is the right funding level? https://t.co/XOZTsYXAvX — Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) August 4, 2015
It wasn't just Democrats though that jumped on the bandwagon to bash Bush's comments. Even a handful of Republicans said Bush was doing the party no favors.
Ernst bill didn't cut any $ from women's health funding. Redirected away from PP to others. Key fact, carefully messaged. Jeb undermines. — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 4, 2015
Bush quickly released a written statement clarifying his remarks saying that he believes that there are "countless community health centers, rural clinics and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded.”
“With regards to women’s health funding broadly, I misspoke, as there are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded. They provide critical services to all, but particularly low-income women who don’t have the access they need," he said. “I was referring to the hard-to-fathom $500 million in federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood – an organization that was callously participating is the unthinkable practice of selling fetal organs. Democrats and Republicans agree we absolutely must defund them and redirect those funds to other women’s health organizations.”
While Bush made quick moves to explain the statement, it’s not likely to go away any time soon. It's pitch-perfect fodder for attack ads next fall if he becomes the Republican nominee. Political reporters also noted that two separate versions of the Bush walkback had been published. In one he said he misspoke. In a second, he didn't.
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Huh— "I misspoke" is not in the version of Jeb statement emailed out to reporters. It's online here https://t.co/IVwuU7SfPb — Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 4, 2015
Now his "I misspoke" statement is down, replaced with a retro picture and caption "wat" pic.twitter.com/ogOPrpJEFx — Alan He (@alanhe) August 4, 2015
In email, Jeb doesn't say he "misspoke" but in online statement he does.
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) August 4, 2015