Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gave a short speech on abortion to a mostly-empty chamber last week, and it’s unfortunate that more people didn’t hear it.  In the speech, she detailed the finances of Planned Parenthood, which gets millions each year in taxpayer money to support its efforts.  That funding has helped them spread into upscale malls, an effort that the CEO of Planned Parenthood says makes them the “Lenscrafters of family planning”:

The WSJ article can be found here. PP wants to “rebrand” itself as a health provider for upscale women. They want to increase their revenues and their political clout, and have even begun selling T-shirts and jewelry along with contraception and abortions.

And they’re doing this while still getting millions in earmarks from Congress. The supposedly non-profit “Lenscrafters” of the abortion business got over $15 million in 2007 while garnering more than a billion dollars in revenues from their operations. In return, its national PAC has already raised over $250,000 for the 2008 cycle and spent $200,000 of it, and 97% of it goes to Democrats. That makes their earmarks look a lot like strawman redistribution of tax money back to the Democratic Party. Even those who don’t oppose abortion should find that distasteful.

Take a few minutes to listen to Rep. Bachmann’s full speech. If PP thinks itself the Lenscrafters of abortionists, then let them follow the Lenscrafter model and quit taking taxpayer money for its operations.