Perry to Halperin: So you're all good with that Planned Parenthood video, eh?
I'm not exactly sure where Mark Halperin thought he would take Rick Perry in this exchange, but he clearly didn't expect Perry to lead him into this trap. On Morning Joe yesterday, Halperin challenged Perry to more or less endorse Planned Parenthood's government funding by forcing Perry to acknowledge that they provide at least some valuable services, which seems like a very weird form of damage control coming from a journalist. Shouldn't reporters ask Planned Parenthood to defend themselves in this manner? Or ask Democrats who want to keep using taxpayer dollars to float Planned Parenthood's abortion mills?
HALPERIN: Well, look, leave the politics aside for a second, there are obviously still a lot of ethical issues, medical ethical issues still around from discussions we've had back when President Bush was still in office on stem cell research and other things. But the comments made in this video are troubling to a lot of people, not just Republicans, and I don't think for Governor Perry and for others it's a partisan issue, really. It's a question of not just taxpayer money but ethics of a national organization that has a responsibility to do what's right. And I think this is a case where lots of people need to be involved in this debate, and Governor Perry and others have raised it, as have a lot of members of Congress, so that people can understand what's happening and debate whether it's the right thing for our society.
Hmmm. If Halperin thinks that's the debate, then why start off by demanding that Perry list all of the "valuable services" that Planned Parenthood provides? Why not just stick to the debate about medical ethics that "not just Republicans" are raising? If Perry hadn't stung Halperin with that response, Halperin would still be demanding that Perry read the entire menu of supposed Planned Parenthood benefits and demanding a discussion on each and every one.