This gets to the heart of the problem at Komen for the Cure. In her dual roles as Movement Conservative, loyal Bushie activist on the one hand, and mega-million–raising breast cancer charity CEO on the other, Karen Brinker seems to have "mixed" goals. Or less kindly, she has mixed her twin goals into one unified effort.
Either way, the heart of the conflict is Brinker herself. Here a former Komen board member publicly calls on Brinker to resign.
As the Last Word web-blurb says:
Eve Ellis, a former fundraiser and board member of Komen, who left the organization last week over the controversy, joins The Last Word to discuss her departure and what really went down in the boardroom.Well worth watching.
Not sure you noticed, by the way, but the first paragraph of the displayed text (at 0:20 in the clip) of Brinker's apology could also be read as a justification of the original shameful act:
... we in women's health organizations must be absolutely true to our core missions, and avoid even the appearance of bias or judgment in our decisions.That "appearance of bias" could apply to the giving of money to Planned Parenthood (biased in a pro-choice direction) as well as the withholding of it (biased toward anti-choice).
And notice the tag line "No-good deed," which puns on the phrase and has a pro-Brinker interpretation as well as a negative one. It was overlaid as part of an Andrea Mitchell segment about Sally Quinn's Brinker interview (0:45 in our clip).
Andrea Mitchell (Mrs. Alan Greenspan) and Sally Quinn are both Village insiders, just like Brinker (whose BFF is Laura Bush from way back). They just can't keep away from the "one hand–other hand" excuse-the-insider thing.
Ms. Ellis does a great job of parsing and dissecting Brinker's "apology," saying it "seems hollow" and then says why. Listen for that starting at 1:48. It's very good, very smart.
Ellis's bottom line:
▪ Replace Nancy Brinker
▪ Replace the board
Yes. If Komen wants to be considered "apolitical," they need to clean house.
Until they do, it will be hard not to see them as just another "right-wing fog shop" — a functioning charity with a disguised political core — and a ton of lobbying money at its not-apolitical disposal.
Please support both of these changes. The time to complete the job of really making Komen apolitical is now. When the next news-blonde goes missing, it might be too late.
GP
