Moderator Martha MacCallum twisted facts during the GOP undercard debate in Iowa when she turned to pro-life former Sen. Rick Santorum and asked, “Carly Fiorina was the only one of the GOP candidates to attend the March for Life in Washington last week. Where were you?”
The premise of MacCallum’s question was deceptive, at best.
As Breitbart News reported, Fiorina was the only GOP presidential candidate invited to speak at the March for Life on January 22. The committee that organizes the march set the theme of “Pro-Life, Pro-Woman Go Hand-in-Hand” as a way to counter the “war on women” rhetoric that is prominent in the main-stream media and in establishment Democrat candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, and her supporters, such as Planned Parenthood.
“Mrs. Fiorina was asked to speak because she embodies the theme particularly well; she will speak only to the theme, not her candidacy,” Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said in a statement to Breitbart News, when she was asked why – during an election year in which the GOP can tout many strong pro-life candidates – only Fiorina was invited.
“The March for Life does not get involved in electioneering,” Mancini continued. “Nor are we able to accommodate every person who asks to speak at the March. For example, we don’t have capacity for every pro-life legislator who requests a speaking slot; congress is only one small (albeit critical) portion of the March for Life rally.”
Nevertheless, despite the claim that Fiorina would not appear at the March for Life as a candidate, she did give a rousing stump speech, as Breitbart News also reported.
“You can bet I’ll win this fight against Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina said. “And you can count on what I’ll do as President. I will defund Planned Parenthood. I will support the pregnancy centers around the country that are actually serving the families in their communities. Together, we will restore the character of this nation.”
MacCallum’s question placed Santorum on the defensive – and without any need to do so.
“Well, I’ve been to the March for Life for about 25 years and I thought — I think that’s a pretty good record,” he said. “Spoken at it a few times and I have shepherded every single piece of pro-life piece of legislation that’s passed over the last 20 years. I’ve either authored it or shepherded it through the United States Congress and I’m pretty proud of that record too.”
Santorum went on to say the blizzard prevented him from actually attending this year, though he did not mention the fact that he was not invited to speak this year.
“Not only have I talked a good game on life and I’ve done some things,” he continued:
But I’ve also lived it. You know, one of the things Saint Francis said was, you know, if you preach the gospel, then if you have to, speak. The bottom line is, that twice in my life, we were counseled to have an abortion, one with our son Gabriel and one with our little girl Bella. And neither time did Karen and I for a moment think about it because we know that life begins at conception.
We know the dignity of every human life and we know the potential of every child, no matter how long that life lives. And that is a message that can come across to all Americans and without having to say a word and defend the institution of life and the dignity of life in this country.
Following Santorum’s response, however, Fiorina immediately shot back to MacCallum, “Martha, can I just say we’ve been talking tonight about a lot of issues and we’ve also been talking about the fact that the game is rigged and frankly, the media has a lot to do with that.”
“It is outrageous frankly, that Fox News, and you, would question the pro-life credentials of Rick Santorum,” she asserted.
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