Richard Burr for vice president?

Burr, the U.S. senator from Winston-Salem, is starting to get some attention as it looks increasingly like Arizona Sen. John McCain will be the GOP nominee for president. That has led to plenty of speculation about where McCain might turn for a running mate.

Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard puts Burr high on his list:

Any number of prominent social conservatives have been suggested, including Republican senators Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Sam Brownback of Kansas. I suspect a better possibility is Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, a rising star among Republicans.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has called on Congress to stop funding for Planned Parenthood because the non-profit organization provides abortions.

Dole, a Salisbury Republican seeking re-election next year, joined 12 other Republicans in signing a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations, and Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, reports Barb Barrett.

The group of senators asks the appropriations committees to suspend all federal funding for “organizations that promote abortion.” The signers say Planned Parenthood Federation of America receives $300 million a year from the federal government.

The letter, spearheaded by Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and David Vitter of Louisiana, comes in the wake of charges against Planned Parenthood in Kansas by a local district attorney who opposes abortion rights.

There, the organization is accused of performing late-term abortions against state law and not maintaining proper medical records. The clinics have denied wrongdoing.

Read more after the jump.

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