
Well it's only been a week,but women's groups are already angry with Obama. Guess the honeymoon is almost over. Obama's decision to pull funding for contraception from his economic stimulus package did not go over well witht he likes of Planned Parenthood and NOW.
Planned Parenthood sent an "urgent" email action alert to its supporters yesterday. In it, the organization's President, Cecile Richards said she was "stunned" by Obama's decision. The email encouraged activists to call the White House and express their displeasure.
According to Politico, that email was not received well by key Democratic staffers on Capitol Hill:
“That newsletter was completely inappropriate,” said the aide, adding that the action made “zero political sense.”
“There are plenty of opportunities to plus up family planning funds,” the aide said. “A lot of Democratic members and female members felt that didn’t belong in the [stimulus] bill.”
“There are plenty of opportunities to plus up family planning funds,” the aide said. “A lot of Democratic members and female members felt that didn’t belong in the [stimulus] bill.”
The money is likely to come in later budget bills, however. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that while the president “believed that the policy of increased funding for family planning was the right one....he didn’t believe that this bill was the vehicle to make that happen.”
