GOP.gov Ties Insidious Speech To Entire Republican Conference
Late last week, Media Matters Action Network wrote about inflammatory remarks make by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) in the House Chamber. Rep. Tiahrt said:
"If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that will be put in place, paid for by tax dollars, that will encourage women who are -- single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion.
"If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in a similar circumstance. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?"
His remarks were widely met with criticism. Many media outlets, including his hometown paper, chided the congressman for his lack of class.
Now, the House Republican Conference, chaired by Rep. Mike Pence, is actively promoting Rep. Tiahrt's remarks. What was a situation solely involving Rep. Tiahrt now taints every Republican in the House of Representatives. What could have been written off as an impassioned rant by an over-zealous member is now being embraced and promoted by the Republicans' official government website.
All of this raises the question for every Republican in the House: do they endorse Rep. Tiahrt's comments, or not?
This is not a matter of policy, but rather one of tact. As Media Matters Action Network wrote before:
His stance against the public funding of abortions is a perfectly valid view to hold. However, by implying those on the other side of the issue may have caused the President of the United States to be aborted, Tiahrt appears vile and childish - reflecting poorly on his state, his party and the anti-choice movement.
Now that Congressman Tiahrt's remarks have been featured on the official website of Republicans in the House, every Republican should make it known how he/she views these inflammatory remarks.