What do Women Voters Want?

I just ran across this video from Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, discussing Hillary Clinton and women voters on Fox News a couple nights ago. Marjorie discusses the impact on abortion and the women vote. Watch the video, then tell me what you think.

On the Night of All Nights in Iowa...

... We had some real success outside of Hillary's Victory Party in downtown Des Moines -- which served as party central tonight, with nearly every campaign having parties with the exception of Mitt Romney, who had a party in a nearby suburb of West Des Moines. The streets were filled with supporters -- of every candidate -- and you could actually hear cheers from other parties and tons of cars honking on the side of the streets. It was quite a party for us political nerds on a cold night in early January on the streets of Des Moines.

Terry and I had something to cheer about ourselves, as we made some real success outside of Hillary's party. Many party-goers came outside to smoke cigarettes, so of course it we ended up getting in conversations with them about Planned Parenthood. We got many to read both sides of our fliers, and undoubtedly after reading it, their tone instantly changed, usually going on the defensive where prior they were on the offensive. The general answer we ended up getting was... "These are isolated cases for an organization that does so much good.." is the best way to sum up what we heard. But we challenged them, asking them to really consider what abortion is and what Planned Parenthood does. We had some good discussions about how abortions are disproportionately done on African American women, and how most PP clinics are located in minority areas.

We made sure to always tie back the conversation to Clinton, and really encourage the person to consider that the first woman president should stand up for women and investigate the crimes that Planned Parenthood cover up.

It was an interesting night in Des Moines. Hillary ended up placing third, behind a first-place Obama and a narrow second-place finish for Edwards. On the Republican side, Huckabee beat Romney, with McCain and Thompson vying for 4th. Rudy, who we protested our first night in Iowa, was a non-factor, and was beaten by Ron Paul, who we saw at lunch today.

Anyway, we thank you for your prayers for a successful night of sidewalk counseling tonight on the streets of Des Moines!

I am having trouble uploading pics, but will hopefully get some up tomorrow.

The Caucus is Finally Here!

The Caucus is finally here and everywhere you go in the Des Moines area, you are quickly reminded. Its tough to round a corner on a major road and not see young supporters holding up signs for their candidates. Today at lunch, myself and Terry Schilling ended up talking with presidential candidate Ron Paul about the right to life and got a picture with him. When we were driving back from lunch, we sat at a light behind Mike Huckabee's campaign bus. And when you turn on the TV, not a commercial break goes by without a message from Hillary, Obama, Edwards, Romney, Huckabee, or Ron Paul.

Last night we protested Hillary Clinton in downtown Des Moines and handed out an unbelievable amount of our flyers, before we were virtually frozen. Media reports later estimated there were at least 1,000 people there. Hopefully, she'll top that crowd at her rally tonight in Des Moines, and we'll get more Planned Parenthood truth into people's hands.

Stay tuned, its going to be a crazy night!

A Snowy Day in Muscatine

We had a snowy day yesterday in Muscatine (population 23,000), with snow accumulating at an inch an hour! Unfortunately, icy roads kept most of our friends in the right-to-life community in Muscatine home, but we certainly had their support and prayers.

The snow certainly kept Hillary Clinton behind schedule too, as she arrived to the event over an hour late. However, this gave us an excellent opportunity, as we had time to figure out where her motorcade would be coming in, and where we could make sure she would get our message. We were able to stand on the side of the road right next to her motorcade to send her a clear message: Planned Parenthood hurts women and must be investigated.

We'll be moving shop today from Eastern Iowa to Des Moines, the biggest city and Iowa's state capitol. We'll be doing some evening events in some areas surrounding Des Moines. With the caucus the day after tomorrow, some campaigns are doing events as late as 9 or 10 pm. Get-Out-The-Vote efforts are certainly in full swing!

The Challenge

Today, we took a long drive out to Vinton, Iowa (population 5,000) for a Hillary Clinton for President event. It was a little bit chillier today, at about 18 degrees.
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As expected, our efforts to expose the crimes of Planned Parenthood were met with hostility. As soon as attendees read the headline of our flier, many immediately tried to hand it back to us. So we challenged them: "I challenge you to read it and then tell me what you think." However, nobody accepted our challenge, and many fliers were crumpled up or thrown to the ground.

However, I do not think we failed in our mission to educate, as many attendees took the flier in with them. Many put it in their jacket or purse, and had to face it eventually. And certainly, thoughts of abortion and Planned Parenthood instantly became at the forefront of people's minds as they walked into the event. Its important that the voters of Iowa, who carry so much weight and responsibility and carry so much pride in having the "first in the nation" say in who our next president is, think about a critical issue that destroys the lives of women and their babies.

Have any suggestions for us? Email us at plannedparenthoodwatch[at]gmail.com

Tomorrow we'll be working with a new group of local activists to protest Planned Parenthood, so stay tuned!