For those of you who are not on Twitter, or only casual tweeters, it’s rather interesting to note how the social media network exploded with comments after Sen. John Kyl of Arizona made a huge gaffe on the Senate floor.
Speaking in opposition to federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the Arizona Republican said that “well over 90 percent” of the non-profit group’s budget is spent on abortions.
When some folks in the media pointed out that the true figure is just 3 percent, a spokesperson for Kyl said his remarks on the Senate floor “were not intended to be a factual statement.”
That astounding response quickly produced a hashtag — a portal in cyberspace — on Twitter, #notintendedtobeafactualstatement, which quickly generated thousands of comments from people of all persuasions — sarcastic, angry, disgusted, profanely bemused.
Hey, if social media can help overthrow a Mideast dictator, can it possibly, just maybe, force members of Congress to stick to the facts?
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AN UPDATE
Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican from Arizona, has issued a statement in an attempt to clarify the matter:
“Last week on the Senate floor, I incorrectly stated that well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is perform abortions. I was referring to a statistic that I had read in a report by the Chiaroscuro Foundation, but I later found that I had incorrectly cited the report. It said that 98 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services to pregnant women (abortion, adoption, or prenatal care) are abortion.’ That statistic was also cited by a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in a recent column.
“My error was in failing to qualify that it related only to pregnant women. I regret the error. However, regardless of the number, I believe it is still fair to question whether taxpayers should continue to subsidize Planned Parenthood, thereby freeing up its resources to provide abortion services.”
AS IT TURNS OUT, KYL’S SKINBACK ALSO APPEARS TO BE INACCURATE.
According to Examiner.com, a web site in the senator’s home state did some checking and found that Kyl’s newest version of the truth is also flawed.
Here’s what the Examiner said: “However, as AzCentral.com reports, the report by the Chiaroscuro Foundation also appears to be misleading. Planned Parenthood does not collect statistics on the women it refers to ob-gyns, and the organization also does not inquire as (to) the pregnancy status of every woman they treat. Therefore, it is impossible for the Chiaroscuro Foundation, or anyone for that matter, to know what percentage of pregnant women Planned Parenthood treats receive abortions.”
