Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed John Kerry in 2004 before the primaries were over.

[joshcryer]

Just FYI, on April 23.

2008 was actually the exception to the rule, as they did not endorse Obama until July 7. In 2012 they endorsed Obama on May 30.

So, the first time Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed a candidate it was before the primaries were over, and they did it a second time, before the primaries were over. The first time they did it it was still very early, and with other candidates with great grassroots support (Dean and Edwards were still fighting hard).

Not only is the "first time in 100 years that Planned Parenthood endorsed anyone" a lie, it is also a lie that they "should have waited until the primaries were over," since they only did that once.

Where ever this "100 year" meme is coming from is really suspect since they've been doing it since 2004, every Presidential year. Over a decade of Presidential endorsements. Ratfucking at its finest. Bravo to whoever came up with it.

[BlueMTexpat]

1. Thanks for setting the record

straight, joshcryer!

The anti-PP "mob mentality" and conspiracy theories were OTT, IMO.

[Perogie]

20. The record wasn't corrected.

Kerry was the Democratic nomination for President in March according to the history books. PP endorsed Kerry after that, so they were endorsing a Presidential candidate.

By endorsing HRC before the primaries started, PP broke tradition of NOT endorsing Primary candidates.

Please pay attention to history

[SunSeeker]

2. K & R for exposure. nt

[Proserpina]

3. It's still not the right thing to do

[joshcryer]

4. They specifically set up the PPAF to do that.

I don't see what makes Planned Parenthood any different from any other organization.

[dsc]

14. the difference is they had the audacity to endorse Hillary

and that they are linked with women. It is that simple.

[JTFrog]

5. "Ratfucking at its finest."

And there it is in a nutshell.

[betsuni]

6. K&R

[highprincipleswork]

7. April 23 is a far cry from early January, May 30 still further, and July 7 truly far.

Also, curious why there is only a decade long tradition, and how it has served them?

Doesn't appear to be serving them very well this time around.

[joshcryer]

8. It's only existed since 1998.

They set up the Plan Parenthood Action Fund in the late 90s to counter the anti-choice lobby. It seems more that they realized that if they wanted to keep existing with the extreme pressure of the anti-choice lobby then they would have to get political. Presidential endorsements, of course, are political in nature (and we shouldn't forget that Clinton had a shot to take that thing to the convention, and many observers thought she'd go for a brokered convention with a shared ticket; so I think that's why they waited so long on that one, new territory for the party).

And people doth protest too much, they've doubled down on their endorsement with several postings since the endorsement went out (see their pages on Facebook and their website, where they actually come down on Sanders for not introducing pro-women legislation, nor even mentioning them once in the debates). They aren't backing down nor do they seem to be bothered by the social media backlash.

They're actually handling it a lot better than John Lewis' people did (that poor John Lewis Facebook page was a disaster).

[highprincipleswork]

9. Thanks for the information. Clearly they get to do what they want to do.

And so do people who have an adverse reaction to it.

Politics involves a lot of emotional thinking, some clear and some not so clear. But people have a right to their thinking and to their emotions and to their reactions.

I wonder exactly how it serves Planned Parenthood to make such an endorsement? What's in it for them?

I really don't see how it's of any benefit at all.

[joshcryer]

10. Quid pro quo.

They say as much, thanking her for mentioning them in all of the debates so far, and for tweeting about them on the regular, etc.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Do you know how many members are in their political action committee and what the vote totals were?

Thanks in advance if you know.

[Skidmore]

11. Thank you for this bit of history and for

helping defend an organization which has done so much for women's health care needs. The reaction to this endorsement has been as deplorable and plays right into rightwing narratives using rightwing tactics. Appallingly shortsighted and hurtful to the women served by PP.

[stonecutter357]

12. K&R!

[Squinch]

13. But... but....but....

this is SO much worse than that! Because ... because .... because...






Kick.

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. Kerry won 46 primaries in 2008, the vast majority before April 23rd

Super Tuesday that year, for example, was on March 2nd. Kerry won 11 out of 12 contests that day losing only Vermont to Howard Dean. He then won 12 of the next 13 before April 23, losing only NC to John Edwards. The race was over when Planned Parenthood endorsed John Kerry in 2004.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries,_2004

It really wasn't certain who would win the Democratic nomination in 2008 until July, so it made sense for PP to delay their endorsement that year until July. And in 2012 there was not exactly any suspense as to who the Democrats were going to nominate.

Last time I checked no votes have been cast yet in the 2016 race.

[kath]

21. Thanks for this. many here are immune to facts, but thanks for putting forth the effort.

[mcar]

17. K&R

Thanks!

[JTFrog]

18. kick. n/t

[Perogie]

19. You're wrong kinda

Kerry had already sewn up the nomination even though there were still a few primaries. He was officially nominated before the primaries were over.

In Super Tuesday, March 2, Kerry won decisive victories in the California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island primaries and the Minnesota caucuses. Dean, despite having withdrawn from the race two weeks earlier, won his home state of Vermont. Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry in Georgia but, failing to win a single state, chose to withdraw, making Kerry the presumptive nominee. President Bush called Senator Kerry to congratulate him that evening.
On March 11, after meetings with Democratic superdelegates in Washington, D.C., and former primary election opponents, Kerry accumulated the 2,162 delegates required to clinch the nomination. The DNC's website acknowledged him as the party's nominee at that time, four and a half months prior to the Convention.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries,_2004

So the Meme is kinda correct if you're talking about Primaries which most people are.

[kath]

22. Yes. Thanks for this - Kerry had the nomination sewed up at that point. So it was an ENTIRELY

Different situation.

An utterly boneheaded move for PP to endorse before a single freakin' vote has been cast. NOT appropriate when all 3of our candidates are pro-choice.

[Segami]

23. +1

[karynnj]

24. kerry was already the de facto nominee then. nt