Representative Diane Black appeared on FoxNews’ ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ to discuss the how it is that the Republican Congress continues to fund the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
In his set-up to the interview with Black, Carlson said, “Congressional Republicans have repeatedly promised to defund Planned Parenthood. It’s hasn’t happened or even come close to happening. Even now, the country’s biggest abortion provider gets more than 500 million taxpayer dollars every year.”
“Would Democrats be okay if the NRA [National Rifle Association] got half-a-billion a year? Would they let that stand?”
After introducing Representative Black, Carlson said, “You’ve said many times on the record – and you seem like one of the more sincere Republican members on this question – that you’re opposed to giving half-a-billion dollars to Planned Parenthood, which is just an adjunct to the Democratic Party. Why hasn’t the Republican Congress defended it? Specifically, why?”
Black replied, “That goes over to the Senate. Twice now with my leadership we have passed, in 2015 and 2017, a measure in the House, sent it over to the Senate, and they have not done their work.
“I want to challenge anyone watching this show who is pro-life to call your senator and ask them where they stand on this issue because we have done our work in the House. They need to do their work in the Senate.”
Carlson responded, “I don’t even think you need to be pro-life or opposed to abortion – I am. But even if you weren’t, Planned Parenthood is part of the Democratic Party. Cecile Richards – who ran it until recently – spoke at the 2016 Democratic Convention; they’re getting a half-a-billion dollars of tax money involuntarily from the rest of us to campaign for Democratic candidates.
“I mean, how is that even Constitutional?” he asked.
“Well they shouldn’t even be using their money for that, but they do raise additional dollars through the communities. And that’s fine if they want to spend their money that way, but we don’t need to be having taxpayer dollars going to abortion, period,” Black said.
She continued, “As a matter of fact, if you look at the Title X dollars, you will see that they were set up for ‘family planning.’ Abortion is not family planning, it’s family destruction.”
Political watchers and regular news consumers will recognize this effective talking point delivered by Black from previous appearances.
“We should should not even be giving them a single penny if they are providing abortions,” she said.
“Right – it’s a self-reinforcing loop,” Carlson interjected. “They lobby to keep their funding in place so they keep getting funding. It’s infuriating.”
“If that’s the way we’re going to do it,” Carlson said. “If you going to figure out a way to get taxpayers to pay for one of your biggest political supporters to campaign for you, then why aren’t the Republicans saying the NRA – which trains a ton of law enforcement, and military; trains everybody guarding our nuclear power facilities, for example – why don’t they get half-a-billion dollars a year in federal money to do the good work that they do?”
“Could you just imagine that?” Black wondered. “Could you just imagine the uproar by the Left if we were to be doing that? I mean, this is ludicrous. My bill simply says, ‘Look, if Planned Parenthood really wants to provide the services they say they want to provide – and that is true family planning without abortion – then do so. Separate your abortion from your regular family planning, and then you can get those dollars.’
“But I simply say take [the dollars] away from them until they can show not a single dollar in their clinics are being used for abortions, neither are they giving money to those organizations that are providing abortions,” she said.
Carlson observed, “That is a key Democratic plank – that is maybe the inviolable Democratic plank: ‘Abortion equals happiness,’ and I justdon’t think that’s true.”
Black said, “Tucker, I want to give the President a shout-out on this. We were able to, through the Congressional review at the CRA to be able to overturn an Obama rule that said we, in our state of Tennessee, which I was able to do before I went to Congress, to make sure that none of our dollars were going to Planned Parenthood or abortion clinics – that we were able to do that in our state. There were eleven states doing this already. Obama took that right away, and I want to say ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ to the President, who signed the Congressional Review Act that gave us back that right in Tennessee that our dollars are being used for life and not to destroy it.”
Carlson agreed, adding, “Well I’m for that, but let’s cut off the half-a-billion for the rest of us. That would be nice, too.”
Watch the full interview here:
https://youtu.be/TyNAfKQEDsE
Shame on you Ms Black, thinking nobody is paying attention. The US Constitution specifically states, “All Bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House…” And as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, you had the power to kill the funding of Planned Parenthood. But that would have taken spending political capital, which you wouldn’t do! Makes what you said at a Reagan Day dinner particularly telling, and I quote, ” it’s so hard to go against Leadership…”
The last thing Tennesseans should do, is give you a promotion to Governor!
Amazing! How many years in Congress, and doesn’t get vocal until she decides to run for governor.
I saw this TV segment. Yes, Congressman Black repeatedly stated that the House had passed legislation to end the funding and that the Senate refused to act on it. What she never said was what she was doing to encourage and convince the Senate to take action. Does she live in a vacuum? I would like to think if she really believes in what she is doing that she would lobby the Senate to take action. Just sounds like more of the same old same old out of Ms. Black.