Is Susan G. Komen now a lightning rod? (Politico)

Susan G. Komen for the Cure says there wasn?t anything political about its decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood.

But in Washington, every decision is political ? and now the cancer-fighting organization may have turned itself from a ?safe? charity into just another political lightning rod.

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It may have ruined its fundraising, too, as its Facebook page filled up with messages from Planned Parenthood supporters promising they?ll never give a dime to the charity again.

?They pretty much cut their fundraising support in half. I don?t think they meant to make a huge political statement, but it was extremely na?ve of them to think this wasn?t hyper-political,? said Kivi Leroux Miller, an expert in nonprofit communication strategies.

?They have dove head first into the abortion debate ? in fact, they fell into the pool ? and whoever is doing their communications doesn?t know how to swim,? Miller said.

On Tuesday, Susan G. Komen announced it would no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates for breast screenings. It wasn?t political, the charity argued ? it was simply protocol. A recent policy change within the organization prevents it from giving money to organizations under federal or state investigation.

As it happens, Planned Parenthood became the subject of an Energy and Commerce subcommittee inquiry in September, launched by Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida,?which is?looking at how the organization is using taxpayer funds.

?While it is regrettable when changes in priorities and policies affect any of our grantees, such as a longstanding partner like Planned Parenthood, we must continue to evolve to best meet the needs of the women we serve and most fully advance our mission,? the foundation wrote on its Facebook page.

?Grant-making decisions are not about politics ? our priority is and always will be the women we serve. Making this issue political or leveraging it for fundraising purposes would be a disservice to women,? the statement said. Officials at the charity didn?t respond to requests for further comment on the controversy.

The decision has been a big boost to Planned Parenthood?s own fundraising efforts. In fact, Planned Parenthood spokesman Tait Sye said the group received nearly $400,000 in donations in the first 24 hours after the story broke.

And even if it really was a nonpolitical decision, the politics of it all are very real.

The Komen foundation has been able to maintain a relatively nonpartisan status as a leading breast cancer research organization, despite the fact that the CEO, Nancy Brinker, served as an ambassador under George W. Bush. More recently, Komen Vice President Karen Handel ran for governor of Georgia as a Republican ? and pledged to take away grants from Planned Parenthood. (POLITICO has been a sponsor of the Global Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C. over the last two years.)

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