Political strategist Karl Rove is disputing the claim made in the new book Planned Bullyhood by former Komen vice president Karen Handel that he urged the breast cancer charity to reverse its position on de-funding Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The new book Planned Bullyhood, released today, chronicles the insider perspective of Karen Handel, the former Komen for the Cure vice president who quit after the breast cancer charity reversed its decision and funded Planned Parenthood after deciding to end grants to the abortion giant.
The book contains a section in which Handel essentially accuses Karl Rove of giving Susan G. Komen for the Cure CEO Nancy Brinker bad advise on the Komen-Planned Parenthood fight. As Handel tells it, Rove told Brinker Komen should reverse course and renew funding to Planned Parenthood, while Handel attempted to convince the cancer group’s founder to stay the course on its December 2011 decision to revoke funding to groups like Planned Parenthood that don’t directly provide mammograms for women.
Handel, in her own words, says about a conversation with Brinker:
I just said, “You don’t have to apologize to me. But I have to say again that it is a huge mistake. Wait through the weekend. It’s Super Bowl weekend. We know there are op-eds teed up about how outrageous Planned Parenthood is being, that private organizations have the right to make the decisions they believe are best. If we blink now, it’s over and no one will know that Komen stands for,” I implored.
Nancy’s reply stunned me. “Karen, I’ve talked to a lot of people. And even Karl says we have to backtrack. There’s just no other way.”
“Karl? Who’s Karl?”
She looked at me strangely as if I should know exactly who she was talking about. She said, “Karl Rove!”
I started laughing. Just when I thought things could not get more bizarre. What in the world did Karl Rove have to do with anything?
According to a report in the Daily Caller today, Rove says the account from Handel is not true.
Reached by phone, the prominent Republican strategist said the charge made by former Komen senior vice president Karen Handel in “Planned Bullyhood” is “not accurate.” He declined to elaborate.
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Reached by TheDC, Komen wouldn’t directly address the claim.
“The book, like many books, contains the author’s personal recollections and views about the organization and its leadership,” spokeswoman Andrea Rader said. “We won’t comment on her personal views or her memory of events. We are moving forward and we are completely focused on our mission to end breast cancer and help women worldwide.”
