When Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) recently said that “abortions make up well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does”, many took issue with this statement, since the figure is actually closer to 3%. And federal money is not used for that portion of their work at any rate. This issue seemed to be important - after all, it nearly caused a shutdown of the government.
But… it’s OK, since Sen Kyl has a simple and straightforward explanation for his figure of 90%.
He lied.
Or rather, “his remark was not intended to be a factual statement” according to Kyl’s office.
Are the Republican leaders so cocky now that they will admit that they are simply making shit up in order to make a point? Is this just accepted as “business as usual”? Do any rank and file Republicans have any problem with this or is it OK?
Of course, the 90% figure is now out there, and will be repeated and repeated ad nauseum by the usual gang of idiots who are impervious to the truth. Is it possible that this was Sen Kyl’s actual intent?
(Note: Finding examples of “the other guys doing it” will not be considered an actual reply. Start your own thread.)
I’m sure the Senator would object to someone claiming that he spends 90% of his income on underage male prostitutes, when it’s actually only around 3%.
This feels like some kind of watershed moment. We know politicians lie, and once in a while, they’ll admit it. This is the first time I’ve heard of a politician admit he was lying in this kind of casual way as a defense for saying something that was blatantly wrong. The gist of the comment is “Senator Kyl was wrong, but in his defense, he was lying.” It’s sort of fascinating in a way that makes you want to completely give up on democracy.
I agree with you, but think the real problem is not that he has done this, but that the vast majority of the country will not care one little bit. It’s no big deal. The public has basically admitted defeat, and acknowledges that politics is not about the truth.
This is now the current moral standard of the Senate; Blatantly lie on the senate floor, and when caught lying, essentially say - “So? Who cares, as long as I made my point”.
So for the people who are going to (and have already claimed) that Kyl was just using hyperbole and didn’t mean to be taken seriously:
I agree with you.
I also think it’s fucking stupid and irresponsible for a Senator with as much experience as Kyl to hyperbolize with such a perfect little soundbite. “90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions” is a factoid that people who want to believe will gladly quote as gospel because it came from a legislator, and they would of course know, wouldn’t they?
And that’s entirely setting aside the fact that it’s undeserved hyperbole besides.
I have a quick question, does anyone have a cite which gives a breakdown on exactly what Planned Parenthood does spend their money on? Ideally, I mean something like PP spends X% of their funding on abortions, Y% on birth control pills, Z% on educational materials etc… Thanks.
Folks need to bookmark this thread, (since the media reports will eventually wander of into the archives), so that the next time one runs across Kyl’s “90%” claim in some Right wing blog or similar source of propaganda, it can be hauled out as evidence that he was just lying (again).
Right. If anyone who supported him cared that he was lying, he could not lie and then have his people respond “oh, it’s no big deal - he was just lying.”
Stupid and irresponsible? You make it sound like he accidentally crafted a good soundbite without thinking. He lied deliberately because he knew it sounded good. My guess that Kyl knows absolutely nothing about Planned Parenthood and is not interested. He probably does think they do almost nothing about abortions, but he doesn’t give a shit. They’re for the stuff he’s against and he doesn’t need to think about it.
You know, now I think I understand why his office doesn’t like to give out his picture.
Right here. As the OP notes, they really spend about THREE percent of their money on abortions.
Sexually transmitted diseases and infections testing and treatment: 35%
Contraception: 35%
Cancer screening and prevention: 16%
Other women’s health services (LEEP, stuff like that): 10%
Abortion services: 3%
Other services: 1%
If you’re going to put it in such a big size, it’s probably worth noting that your statement is incorrect. (Although, I’m not going to accuse you of lying, being more charitable than most of the posters here, including you.)
Abortions are 3% of the services provided by PP, measured by the number of services, not by cost. IOW, give 1 person a brochure and 1 person an abortion and they count equally, by this measure. Abortions are a pretty expensive service and obviously count for a lot more than 3% of PP’s money spent. I don’t know the actual number.
FWIW, IMO Kyl is not a liar, and he did mean it as a hyperbolic statement. He probably assumed the number was somewhere up there and said well over 90% as a hyperbole. He shouldn’t have done it. But that doesn’t mean he’s a liar.
As people like to say here, his general point was valid. Money is fungible, and the fact that federal money can’t be used for abortions is a technicality.
Little known fact: Walter Mondale became the 41st President of the United States after having earned 90% of the electoral college votes in the 1984 election.