Tuesday morning, Joe Scarborough slammed Elizabeth Warren for her attacks on the opponents of Planned Parenthood. The Morning Joe host objected to the Democratic Massachusetts senator’s contention that defunding the women’s health organization would send women back to the 1950s or 1890s. Scarborough implored Warren to “stop insulting our intelligence.”
The former Florida congressman was angered about the way the conversation about Planned Parenthood has been framed: “It has been set up that way so you can't have this discussion without being against women's health. But you can be against the funding of Planned Parenthood without being against the support of women's health care. Nice try Elizabeth, nice try Elizabeth Warren. Nice try.”
Scarborough noted that “there are pro-choice people who believe fervently in the right of a woman to choose who are equally repulsed, disgusted by those videos, and more videos are coming out that will be worse.” He continued:
And for Elizabeth Warren to try to conflate the right of a woman to choose with the horrorness and the callousness and the grotesqueness of what was discussed over lunch is really unfortunate. You know, Elizabeth Warren [is] talking about the 1950s and the 1890s, she can talk about it all she wants.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski tried to defend Warren against Scarborough’s claims: “But, you know, just to be clear here, she's talking about the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood and its services. She's not talking about what's going on in these videos.” Scarborough was curious as to how many American taxpayers believe that their dollars should go to the organization. He stated that Planned Parenthood is “not synonymous with women’s health.”
Toward the end of his comments, Scarborough cited the red herring that has been apparent in debates surrounding Planned Parenthood: “I'm just saying, conflating the right to choose with Planned Parenthood, conflating taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood with protecting women's health, that's just a red herring.”
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
August 4, 2015JOE SCARBOROUGH: I don't know what was acceptable in 1890 or what was shocking in 1950. The archbishop of Chicago said, have we so muted the humanity of the unborn child that some consider it acceptable to speak freely of crushing a child's skull to preserve valuable body parts. Was that acceptable in 1890 or 1950? The commerce of body parts, the archbishop says, of defenseless unborn children,
callously discussed over lunch. A woman who spoke yesterday on the senate floor, talks about a sheer disdain for human dignity and a complete disregard for women and their babies. And there are pro-choice people who believe fervently in the right of a woman to choose who are equally repulsed, disgusted by those videos and more videos are coming out and they will be worse.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: They’re really bad.
SCARBOROUGH: They will be worse. And for Elizabeth Warren to try to conflate the right of a woman to choose with the horrorness and the callousness and the grotesqueness of what was discussed over lunch is really unfortunate. You know, Elizabeth Warren [is] talking about the 1950s and the 1890s, she can talk about it all she wants. There is a great quote. I don't know the source. But it goes something like, just because we are not shocked by what shocked our grandmothers were shocked by does not mean we are more advanced than our grandmothers.
BRZEZINSKI: Okay. But, you know, just to be clear here, she's talking about the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood and its services. She's not talking about what's going on in these videos.
SCARBOROUGH: She is talking about an organization whose leaders talk this way
BRZEZINSKI: Look, I don’t disagree.
SCARBOROUGH: And there are more.
BRZEZINSKI: I know there are more.
SCARBOROUGH: It's gonna be very interesting to see how many Americans really believe that their tax dollars should go to fund this organization. Planned Parenthood is not synonymous with women's health. You can have women's health or you can have an organization that takes care of women's health without having the number one abortion provider who speaks so callously over lunch about the harvesting of unborn children.
BRZEZINSKI: The story is going to get a lot bigger.
SCARBOROUGH: I'm just saying, conflating the right to choose with Planned Parenthood, conflating taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood with protecting women's health, that's just a red herring. It has been set up that way so you can't have this discussion without being against women's health. But you can be against the funding of Planned Parenthood without being against the support of women's health care.
BRZEZINSKI: You can also be for the funding of Planned Parenthood and against this.
SCARBOROUGH: Nice try Elizabeth, nice try Elizabeth Warren. Nice try. It's only going to get worse for Planned Parenthood. I agree with Hillary Clinton. There are troubling things on those tapes. And everybody needs to open their eyes and see that instead of reflexively talking about right wing attacks on a woman's right to choose. Please stop insulting our intelligence, Elizabeth Warren. Stop.
