If there’s one thing Republicans established at this week’s Planned Parenthood hearing it is that the organization’s CEO, Cecile Richards, makes more than $500,000 — and probably deserves a raise.

Judging by the hearing, the only thing more painful than watching Republicans not do anything about Planned Parenthood is watching them try to do something about Planned Parenthood. They gave every sign of being underprepared and overmatched. They were like a team of paralegals squaring off with an accomplished mob lawyer.

Give her this: Richards is extremely skilled at defending the indefensible, which is her job. The slave trade, another enormity of American national life once accepted by a swath of the country, surely would have benefited from such an on-message, unflappable, morally oblivious advocate.