Handel calls for resignations of Right to Life leaders
Karen Handel on Thursday said two top leaders of Georgia Right to Life should resign over “a second incident of disgusting and hateful comments.”
Handel, one of two Republicans battling for the Aug. 10 runoff for the party’s nomination for governor, said Melanie Crozier, the executive director of GRTL’s political action committee, and its president Dan Becker should be forced to resign. She also called on her runoff opponent, former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, to join her in demanding the pair’s jobs.
Washington-based Politico reported this week that Crozier was critical of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to endorse Handel for governor because Handel believes abortion should be legal in the case of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is threatened. GRTL has also criticized Handel for not supporting tougher restrictions on in vitro fertilization. Palin only recognizes the life of the mother exception, as does Deal.
“[Palin] has a son with Down’s Syndrome, and under Karen Handel’s laws, Handel would have felt like it was OK to go in and abort that child,” Politico quoted Crozier as saying.
Handel took issue with the comment.
“This is a cruel and revolting lie and shows just how low GRTL leaders are willing to go for a political attack,” Handel said. “I am deeply offended, and I can only imagine how offensive these callous remarks are to Governor Palin and her family – and to all Georgians.”
Efforts to reach Palin were unsuccessful.
Handel said her younger sister was born with a rare, life-threatening condition and that her parents knew the sister would likely be born with a health issue but chose to keep the baby.
“GRTL’s assertions that I would ever support what they claim are outrageous, untrue, and way, way over the line,” Handel said.
GRTL endorsed Deal and other candidates in Tuesday’s primary, but did not endorse Handel. When the endorsements were released in June, Becker called Handel “barren” and “infertile” because she and her husband were unsuccessful in what they called a decades-long attempt to have cihldren.
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23 comments Add your comment
First Sergeant
July 22nd, 2010
3:05 pm
Well, no news here! Later!
Jane
July 22nd, 2010
3:12 pm
She has as much credibility as Nancy Pelosi calling for the firing of the Pope. This is a fight she cannot win.
melissa's mom
July 22nd, 2010
3:46 pm
These GRTL people are kooks. Karen, don’t be tempted to get down in the mud with them. Have faith that we voters see them for what they are.
bigdawg
July 22nd, 2010
3:49 pm
See how the neo-conmen and women take an issue that shouldn’t be anywhere near the political arena and make it a major wedge issue to get their ignorant base all fired up.
What Georgia needs are high-paying jobs, more rapid transit and windmills up and down Lookout Mountain from Chattanooga to the Georgia/Alabama line. We need to take care of Georgia so we have something positive to give all our kids, not just the ones who come from money/power!
ViewFromMidtown
July 22nd, 2010
3:55 pm
The radical right-wing GRTL vs. the GOP gubernatorial front-runner and Palin’s anointed one. Woohoo, where’s the popcorn?! It’s gonna be a fun three weeks before the run-off.
Truth Speaker
July 22nd, 2010
4:08 pm
Becker never called Handel “barren and infertile.” Jim Gallaway did. See the Peach Pundit where this has been thoroughly debunked. Becker was asked to comment on GRTL policy regarding IVF. His quote is almost word for word what you can find on their website. He represented the organization accurately. Nothing was ever directed at poor Mrs Handel. She self-victimized herself.
Alle
July 22nd, 2010
4:24 pm
I am quite sure Dan Becker will step down tonight. What a useless waste of time to even issue such a statement. Why not also issue a statement to the effect that Barnes campaign staff are filled with Democrats who hate Republicans….?
Tom
July 22nd, 2010
4:34 pm
Jim Galloway must’ve been wearing his Dan “Moonbat” Becker costume….
http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23798434/index.html
KRP
July 22nd, 2010
5:03 pm
I agree that GRTL is a wacko, bomb-throwing (or planting) organization, but Handel comes off as overly righteous with regard to moral issues.
FultonRighty
July 22nd, 2010
5:51 pm
Mis-quotes and more mis-quotes. Where is the true journalism!?
MRT
July 22nd, 2010
9:32 pm
Yeah, this is really a situation of Handel trying to play the victim and drumming up some support over a boring, minor, non-issue. Seems like she is really getting worried that her middle-of-the-road stance is not going to play well with the other 67% of voters who did NOT vote for her on Tuesday, most of them more conservative than her.
The GRTL folks can be a bit radical, but it seems to me it is just their passion for what they do. They have helped a lot more folks than they have hurt over the years.
Terry
July 22nd, 2010
9:38 pm
Handel calling for GRTL leader’s resignation is almost comical and speaks more of desperation and a wee bit too much “righteous indignation”. Sure, the comment was not articulated very well, but the premise of it is actual correct if she doesn’t want any restrictions on in-vitro, which she has publicly stated.
Doug Venice
July 22nd, 2010
10:56 pm
Whether GRTL worded their concerns correctly or not, Handel is clearly NOT pro-life. Her own flyers say she makes exceptions for rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is at risk. Once you add that third one, the value of the kid is completely subjective and there are plenty of doctors willing to claim the mother’s life is at risk if she wants to get rid of the child.
Handel was the ONLY candidate out of the top 4 on Tuesday that claimed pro-life and then added on all those exceptions. Nathan Deal is a much better candidate and has my support.
mark
July 22nd, 2010
11:02 pm
GRTL is nothing more than an extension of the GOP establishment. Earlier in the primary the endorsed a known child predator and now they are endorsing a candidate that stepped down from congress to avoid ethics charges.
I am a social conservative that supports Karen Handel. My support for life goes to the national organization because GRTL is a mess.
Doug Venice
July 22nd, 2010
11:06 pm
Whether GRTL worded their concerns correctly or not, Handel is clearly NOT pro-life. Her own flyers say she makes exceptions for rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is at risk. Once you add that third one, the value of the kid is completely subjective and there are plenty of doctors willing to claim the mother’s life is at risk if she wants to get rid of the child. One of my children is dead today because of just such a twisted doctor.
Handel was the ONLY candidate out of the top 4 on Tuesday that claimed pro-life and then added on all those exceptions. Nathan Deal is a much better candidate and has my support.
ymchoo
July 23rd, 2010
12:41 am
Snow White leads The Seven Dwarfs
The GOP will soon be known as the Party of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs with Sarah “Snow White” Palin leading such GOP Dwarfs as Huckabee, Gingrich, Pawlenty, Thune, DeMint, Romney and Ron Paul. When Snow White leads, The Seven Dwarfs follow.
aaron hunes
July 23rd, 2010
1:46 am
She refuses to share a debate with a former candidate. Now, she tees off on a group that opposed her.
How, then, if elected governor, will she be able travel to diverse countries overseas to attract jobs to Georgia? Must they covert first to her moral definitions?
With opposing views, such as with GRTL, how will she be able to deal with a fiercely independent legislature? How will she be capable of working in a diverse state?
Sounds like King Roy: “My way or the highway”. Fails every time.
GoKaren
July 23rd, 2010
7:45 am
http://www.peachpundit.com/2010/07/22/georgia-right-to-life-suports-candidate-who-supported-major-abortion-funding/
Brian
July 23rd, 2010
10:13 am
Illegal even in the case of rape? What century are we living in?
New study shows that each Sarah Palin Tweet causes decrease in reader’s IQ.
Read this article, it is HYSTERICAL.
http://www.dailygoat.com/?p=1821
Mid Ga Retiree
July 23rd, 2010
11:33 am
Our state has BIG problems with revenues, joblessness, transportation, and education and people have their panties in a wad about abortion and right to life. Come on people. Let’s get our priorities in order.
?
July 23rd, 2010
3:01 pm
@ aaron hunes..
“How, then, if elected governor, will she be able travel to diverse countries overseas to attract jobs to Georgia?”
Are you serious??? Those trips are just vacations on the states dime. All of these people are crooks to hell with ALL of them!
ATF
July 23rd, 2010
4:36 pm
Oh, so no abortion “. . . where the life of the mother is at risk . . . ”
We throw our hands up in the air and deny a responsibility to make a decision. What cowards we all are.
There are no good answers when a woman carring a child may die. So, we acquiesce to what we call “God’s will.” I think God wants us to make decisions, even when it looks as if we are choosing one bad thing or another.
Meltdown
July 25th, 2010
11:07 am
Wow. So to be considered “pro-life” in Georgia you have to be OK with forced in-breeding for 13 year olds? That’s just sick. Tune up the banjos, boys!