House Votes To De-Fund Planned Parenthood, 240-185


After one of the most despicable and disgusting debates I've ever seen on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, they passed an amendment denying all Federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Authored by Mike Pence, it is draconian in its scope and nature.

The video clip above is the very end of last night's very late debate. Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) experiences a flash of rare intellectual honesty and exposes the Pence amendment as the extortion that it is, flatly stating that there will be no funds for Planned Parenthood until they stop performing abortions. As simple as that.

The nonsense that follows from Paul Broun is more of the "excuse me while we screw women a different way while wringing our hands and claiming it's all about those poor babies" crap they're so good at spewing. It's a real study in how cynical and ugly Republicans really are.

There were Democrats who fought valiantly, but they were simply outnumbered. And as Republicans go on their merry way with every wedge issue they've ever invented, we all ask "Where are the Jobs?"

Now that House Republicans have saved the babies, they are debating stripping funds from the Affordable Care Act. Because fetuses are sacred. American citizens? Not so much.

You can watch the House debate on de-funding health care live on C-SPAN.

Update: So far, 3 out of 4 amendments to strip all funding from the Affordable Care Act have passed. They're voting on the last one, stripping IRS of any funds to carry out duties under the ACA. It'll pass too. I can only hope members who cast these votes suffer the consequences of their decisions, personally and painfully.

Update 2:As Republicans succeeded in serving their corporate and ideological taskmasters today, they all applauded and patted each other on the back. When Democrats applauded last year, it was because they had given something to people. When Republicans applaud, it's because they've taken something away.

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