Linda Coleman, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, is seizing on state Rep. Larry Pittman's recent comments about Planned Parenthood by calling for her Republican opponent, Dan Forest, to denounce the comments and support continued funding of the group.
Forest has not responded to a request for comment on the issue by The News & Observer, but he previously said he disagreed with state funding of Planned Parenthood in a survey earlier this year distributed to candidates by Civitas Institute.
Pittman elicited predictable reactions when he called Planned Parenthood a “murderous organization” that deals out “deception, death, personal devastation, and moral degradation” in an email response to the group's plea to lawmakers to not to end its state funding.
If bored and wanting examples of the back and forth, read comments on a story posted on The News & Observer on Monday; or those on the liberal blog Think Progress; or the steady stream of Tweets about the otherwise unnoticed state House race.
Coleman called for a denunciation at a Tuesday event with women in Greensboro, just down the road from a Forest campaign stop that was part of the “She Votes 2012” bus tour, which spans a few states and is aimed at ginning up support among conservative women.
Coleman emphasized her displeasure in an interview later in the day: "At a time when our economy is at its worst and people are looking at ways to help themselves, this is not the time we need to restrict access to quality health care," she said. "We need to expand access. ... Forest and GOP leadership should repudiate the comments."
Comments
Planning parenthood
August 8, 2012 - 9:24am — btushaIf Planned parenthood actually stuck to its mission of helping low income women stay healthy; Mr. Pittman would not have made those comments. Planned Parenthood spends too much of its time advocating for Abortions instead of concerning themselves with overall womens health. Now the difference between Linda Coleman and Forest is that Forest has to answer to the people who intend to vote for him. Linda Coleman has a codre of special interests that she has to answer too.
It would be interesting to see if Linda Coleman would ever denounce something inappropriate that was mentioned by some Democrat.
Sorry, but we can't share your blase attitude about Pittman
August 7, 2012 - 6:17pm — Jackson_TybeeWould that he was just another blowhard rightwinger everyone considers a nut. But if the last two years arre any indication, such people are now mainstream politics in NC and making the laws you and I have to live by. I think it is dangerous to dismiss anything said by an NC lawmaker, no matter how extreme, or to assume other people will dismiss it. The extremists are in charge now. Pittman just wears his far right crazy a little more openly than the rest.