Mitt Romney Thinks He Can Just “Get Rid” Of Planned Parenthood (Which He Can’t) — And New York Dems Are Pissed!

Former Massachusetts governor/wannabe GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s currently catching some heat from the left over comments he made about his desire to “get rid” of Planned Parenthood — something he has no authority to do, even if he is elected president.

One of those worked up over Romney’s comments is Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York Democratic Party.

Before we get to Jacobs, have a look below at what Romney said during a radio interview on KSDK in Missouri when asked yesterday about how he would determine which programs will lose federal funding:

My test is pretty simple. Is the program so critical that it’s worth borrowing money from China
to pay for? And on that basis, of course you get rid of Obamacare.
That’s the easy one. But there are others. Planned Parenthood, we’re
going to get rid of that. There’s a subsidy for Amtrak. I would
eliminate that. National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for
the Humanities. Both excellent programs but we just can’t afford to
borrow money to pay for those things.

Again, even if he is
elected president, Romney will have about as much power to “get rid” of
Planned Parenthood as he does as a presidential candidate, which is
precisely none.

What he means is he wants to cut federal funding for
the organization — Planed Parenthood is private, and not even the
president of the United States can just wave a magic wand and get rid of
it (although, cutting the organization’s federal funding would be
devastating — about a third of its budget comes from government
grants), even if that’s what a President Romney would want to do.

Obviously,
Romney knows he can’t just get rid of Planned Parenthood, but “I want
to get rid of Planned Parenthood” is much better sound bite when trying
to appeal to the far-right-wingers, who are the folks GOP presidential
candidates are trying to woo in these last stages of the Republican
primary.

In any event, Jacobs seems to agree that Romney is using Planned Parenthood to kowtow to the far right.

Below is a statement Jacobs sent out a few hours ago calling Romney out on his BS:

“Mitt
Romney has once again shown there are no limits to what he will say to
pander to the extreme far right wing of the Republican Party – even
offering to put the health care of millions of American women at risk if
it means scoring a few cheap points with his party’s base.” Chairman
Jay Jacobs said. “Since supporting the Blunt Amendment, Mississippi’s
personhood bill and flip flopping on abortion rights aren’t helping Mitt
Romney close the deal with his party’s base, Mitt Romney has now
decided to try an even more extreme and desperate strategy by promising
to get rid of a 95-year old organization that one in five American women
has depended on for health care services.

“Mitt Romney just doesn’t get it. America’s women aren’t interested in
being pawns in his quest to pander his way to the Republican Party
nomination for President. It’s bad for women, bad for America, and
isn’t going to help him wrap up the nomination any time soon.”