Bruised feathers for the right wing

    It’s been a tough couple of weeks for conservatives.
    A decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to drop funding for Planned Parenthood left the organization reeling, then backpedaling so fast that failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate, pro-life activist and Komen Vice President Karen Handel was bucked right off the pink ribbon express.
    It was lots more flop than flip. I’m still not sure what the Komen group was thinking. Having donated to the organization myself, all my interactions have been with pro women’s rights types, the kind of ladies that Planned Parenthood relies on, and rallies with, for support.

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    Handel made no secret of her beliefs in her 2010 campaign and now seems to be the sacrificial lamb for an embarrassed foundation, whose plans to eliminate Planned Parenthood from the revenue stream were set before she came on board. Last hired, first fired if your politics are at odds with prevailing opinion. Worse still for Handel and Komen, et al, their efforts to de-fund Planned Parenthood resulted in a flood of donations, far exceeding what Komen would have supplied over the same period. Oops.
    In something resembling a coincidence, California’s Proposition 8 also went down in flames, ruled unconstitutional by a federal court of appeals. Legislating morality is expensive, something California voters are about to find out first-hand, despite large scale sectarian funding from Utah.
    Topping it all off is the GOP’s apparent and lack of identity, evidenced by primaries across the nation. Rick Santorum, cheated out of a legitimate (and symbolically significant) win in Iowa, all but disappeared from the party radar in the recent fawning over Romney and Gingrich. Now Romney heads toward the next round with egg on his face, while Gingrich, king of the Republican baggage handlers, stumbles, perhaps toward oblivion.
    Even if he manages to win the battle for the nomination, Romney stands a good chance of losing the war. Based largely on negative campaign ads, Romney’s status as a viable contender in November has fallen, with an ABC News/Washington Post poll revealing that, by a better than 2-to-1 margin, Americans say the more they learn about Romney, the less they like him.
    The silver lining here? The same respondents went 3-to-1 against Gingrich, about the same batting average he has with wives.