Cecile Richards: Conservatives ‘More Willing to Lie, Cheat, Steal, Deceive, Break the Law’

Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said in an interview published this week that she thinks conservatives have an “advantage” because they are “so much more willing to lie, cheat, steal, deceive, break the law — tactics that frankly we don’t use in the progressive community.” The Department of Justice confirmed in December that Planned Parenthood is under federal investigation in the wake of allegations the abortion chain harvests the body parts of aborted babies to sell for a profit.

In an interview with Salon, Amanda Marcotte asked Richards why she believes “nonprofits like Planned Parenthood” have experienced an “escalation of … attacks.”

Left-wing media often portrays Planned Parenthood as a “nonprofit,” even though the group profits extensively from abortions. Planned Parenthood’s 2016-2017 annual report shows the organization boosted its profits by $21 million, or 27 percent, from the previous year, all the while it took in nearly $544 million in taxpayer funding for its “nonprofit” non-abortion services, many of which are in decline.

I don’t exactly know what accounts for it. Obviously, there were a couple of groups that specialize in this. I think that one of the things that I see on the right is they are so much more willing to lie, cheat, steal, deceive, break the law — tactics that frankly we don’t use in the progressive community. I do think that they have that advantage. The other is, they’ve got a lot of money. People who really probably could care less about the issue, but have complete focus on undermining any progressive institution that has either capacity or political power.

Richards is making the rounds on talk shows and in interviews to promote her book, Make Trouble.

Somewhat dated stats, but,

Beliefs reincarnation, yoga, the existence of spiritual energy in physical things and astrology are more common among Democrats and independents than Republicans, and are more widely held by liberals and moderates than conservatives, especially as concerns belief in yoga as a spiritual practice, with 39% of liberals expressing this belief, in contrast to only 15% of conservatives. Conservatives and Republicans also report fewer experiences than liberals or Democrats communicating with the dead, seeing ghosts and consulting fortunetellers or psychics. http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/multiplefaiths/multiplefaiths.pdf
Some 71 percent of [those classified as] conservatives say you have an obligation to care for a seriously injured spouse or parent versus less than half (46 percent) of liberals. Peter Schweizer, “Makers and Takers,” Doubleday, June 3, 2008. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16895
Liberals are two times more likely to say it is okay to cheat the government out of welfare money you don’t deserve. Peter Schweizer, “Makers and Takers,” Doubleday, June 3, 2008. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16895
Liberals are approx. twice as likely than conservatives to have received treatment for a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Based on data from GSS 1972-2008 Cumulative Datafile http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss08; http://anepigone.blogspot.com/2011/11/conservatives-are-mentally-healthier.html
53% of Democrats have a positive image of socialism, compared to 17% of Republicans. 61% of liberals say their image of socialism is positive, compared to 39% of moderates and 20% of conservatives. http://www.gallup.com/poll/125645/socialism-viewed-positively-americans.aspx February 4, 2010
53% of homosexuals are registered Democrats while only 18% are registered Republicans. Spiritual Profile of Homosexual Adults http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/282-spiritual-profile-of-homosexual-adults-provides-surprising-insights
Some 71 percent of [those classified as] conservatives say you have an obligation to care for a seriously injured spouse or parent versus less than half (46 percent) of liberals. Peter Schweizer, "Makers and Takers," Doubleday, June 3, 2008. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16895
Liberals are two times more likely to say it is okay to cheat the government out of welfare money you don't deserve. Peter Schweizer, "Makers and Takers," Doubleday, June 3, 2008. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16895
58 percent of Republicans rated their mental health as “excellent,” versus 43 percent of political independents and just 38 percent of Democrats. http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30722
61% of Americans have a positive image of capitalism, and of 95% of small business, versus 36% seeing socialism positively, while 33% have a negative image of capitalism, and 58% of socialism. 53% of Democrats have a positive image of socialism, compared to 17% of Republicans. 61% of liberals say their image of socialism is positive, compared to 39% of moderates and 20% of conservatives. http://www.gallup.com/poll/125645/socialism-viewed-positively-americans.aspx February 4, 2010
The population of Massachusetts ranks as the most liberal, with Boston and Cambridge being the most liberal large cities (100,000 or more), followed by California. http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html
Jan. 2013: Only 39% of Americans rate the current status of the U.S. at the positive end of a zero to 10 scale, lower than at any time since 1979. Only 15% of Republicans had a positive expectation of condition of the U.S. in 5 years, versus 75% of Democrats. http://www.gallup.com/poll/160046/americans-downbeat-state-prospects-future.aspx
Those who identify themselves as being conservative on social and political matters lower divorce rates (28%) than those liberal on social and political matters (37%). http://www.barna.org/family-kids-articles/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released
30% of Roman Catholic priests described themselves as Liberal, 28% as Conservative, and 37% as Moderate in their Religious ideology. Los Angeles Times (extensive) nationwide survey (2002). Arthur Jones, 2002 National Catholic Reporter. Gale Group. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_2_39/ai_94129129/pg_2
A poll of conservative and progressive religious activists showed 48 percent of conservatives activists believe the Bible to be the literal word of God, versus only 3 percent of “progressives”, otherwise known as liberals. This contrast was also seen in other issues, with 95 percent of conservatives opposing legalization of abortion, and 82 percent opposing both same-sex marriage and civil unions, while 80 percent of liberals support some form of legal abortions (54 percent in most cases), with 59 percent support same-sex marriage. The study also found that Evangelical Protestants composed 54 percent of conservatives, Roman Catholics 35 percent, and mainline Protestants 9 percent, while liberal activists were made up of 44 percent mainline Protestants, 17 percent Roman Catholics, 10 percent Evangelical Protestants, and interfaith bodies and groups (12 percent). 2009 Religious Activist Surveys conducted by the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron in partnership with Public Religion Research. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090916/u-s-religious-activists-have-widely-divergent-views/index.html
A (disputed) study showed that 50% of American college faculty identified themselves as Democrats and only 11% as Republicans (with 33% being Independent, and 5% identifying themselves with another party). 72% described themselves as “to the left of center,” including 18% who were strongly left. Only 15% described themselves as right of center, including only 3% who were “strongly right.” North American Academic Study Survey (NAASS) of students, faculty and administrators at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada 1999. The Berkeley Electronic Press http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/04/conservatives-underrepresented-in.html http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17963/liberal_bias_in_our_schools.html
More.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.