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To:         Interested Parties

Date:     February 10, 2016

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Carly Fiorina, the Republican candidate who built her presidential campaign on a series of lies about Planned Parenthood -- lies that were debunked by fact checker after fact checker -- announced today that she is dropping out of the presidential race. It turns out, you cannot simply make things up and expect to have support from the American people.

Quote from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Farewell to Carly Fiorina. It turns out Fiorina can’t flat-out lie to the American people about the nation’s most trusted reproductive health care provider and expect them to elect you President. Fiorina spent months defying all logic to demonize the health care Planned Parenthood provides, and it turns out voters have no appetite for it. Fiorina may not have cared much about the impact her lies had on the millions of women, men and young people whose care you endangered, but lucky for everyone, the American people do.”

Back in September, Carly Fiorina lied about a Planned Parenthood video that doesn’t exist. She was called out by every fact checker -- but instead of apologizing she doubled down -- and her super PAC created a fake video to make her case. She has made demonizing Planned Parenthood and women seeking reproductive health care a central focus of her campaign ever since. And she’s paying the price.

This past fall, Planned Parenthood’s Executive Vice President, Dawn Laguens, publicly sent Carly’s campaign letters line-iteming the falsehoods in her accusations against Planned Parenthood, and inviting the candidate to come tour a Planned Parenthood health center and see for herself the compassionate, life-saving care offered there. An additional invitation was sent to Carly Fiorina’s team from Planned Parenthood Advocates of  Michigan’s CEO, inviting her to visit a nearby Planned Parenthood health center when she was in the area --- an invitation the candidate never responded to. After the first two offers were not taken up or acknowledged, Dawn extended yet another invitation to meet with Carly Fiorina, which the candidate also ignored.

Carly Fiorina’s campaign took a huge hit when David Daleiden was indicted on felony charges -- further exposing that her whole smear campaign against Planned Parenthood is built on a lie. And in typical Carly fashion, when called out for lying, instead of apologizing, she doubled down and peddled factually debunked and wild claims about Planned Parenthood.  

She earned less than two percent of the votes in the Iowa Caucuses despite spending more time in Iowa then just about any other candidate. Then she begged the GOP to let her back on the main debate stage, after being bounced from the last two. And in New Hampshire she received only four percent of the vote.

Carly’s days of demonizing Planned Parenthood may be limited. But the memories will live on.  Let’s take a look at Carly Fiorina’s greatest hits.

That time that Carly Fiorina lied about a Planned Parenthood video that does not exist

Immediately after Carly Fiorina made false claims about Planned Parenthood during the second GOP debate, fact-checkers called her out for her lies.

Watch her claims debunked here 

  • VICE: “Of all last night's attacks on Planned Parenthood, Fiorina's was the most extreme and by far the most egregiously untrue...As several analysts who, in fact, watched the videos have pointed out, this particularly gruesome scene never occurred.”

  • MSNBC: “The fact-checkers examined Fiorina’s claim and concluded that it’s the opposite of reality.”

  • POLITICO: “NO, PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIDEOS DON’T SHOW A FETUS’ HEART STILL BEATING”

  • Washington Post:Fiorina describes images on a Planned Parenthood video that do not exist...Fiorina might have trouble finding this video to show to Clinton. No such video has surfaced, certainly with no scenes inside a Planned Parenthood facility.”

That time that Planned Parenthood patients and supporters took over her tailgate

Days after her lie about a non-existent Planned Parenthood video,Fiorina was campaigning at a University of Iowa tailgate, when dozens of Planned Parenthood patients and supporters adorned in pink and cheerleading uniforms took over her tailgate and made it clear to all in attendance that Fiorina lied, and that her lie is dangerous for women’s access to preventative health care.

 

That time that Carly Fiorina “ambushed” preschoolers

According to reports from theGuardian, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was accused by parents of “ambushing” preschoolers away from a field trip and staging them across the front of an anti-abortion “Right to Life Forum”.  While it isn't unusual to see Carly Fiorina peddlingfactually debunked and wild claims about Planned Parenthood, this event included toddlers, whose parents claim were lured there unknowingly and without their permission.

 

Many media outlets took notice of this bizarre story:

The Hill: “‘The kids went there to see the plants,’ Chris Beck, the father of a 4-year old with whom Fiorina appeared…”

Gawker: “On Wednesday, Carly Fiorina just happened to give a speech on the dangers of abortion and organ harvesting in front of a group of small, bored-looking toddlers. One of the many problems with that scene, say the kids’ parents, is that she liberated them from a school trip without permission.”

Yahoo: “One minute you are looking at flowers, the next minute, you are sitting at former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina’s feet as the presidential hopeful gives a ‘right to life’ forum speech.”

That time she didn’t show up to her own Iowa caucus party

Despite spending more time in Iowa than almost all the GOP candidates, Fiorina refused to show up and thank her supporters. She won less than two percent of the votes and received no delegates in the Iowa caucuses. Here’s a picture of that depressing scene from a local Iowa reporter.

Fiorina no show.jpg-large

Photo Credit: Roger Riley, WHOhd

 

That time that even David Daleiden admitted the video Fiorina described does not exist

Daleiden added his name to a list of virtually every fact-checker who has agreed that Fiorina lied about the video. In an interview with CNN, David Daleiden was pressed about the video Fiorina described.  Not only did he admit that he had edited the video, but that he had no clue where the misleading footage came from and when it took place. Yet again, exposing Carly Fiorina’s lies.

 

That time Fiorina refused to accept her drop in the polls had anything to do with her lies

Fiorina resorted to literally making things up to make her point about Planned Parenthood.  Every fact-checker has agreed that she is lying about Planned Parenthood, yet she continued to wrongly focus her campaign on these blatant untruths.  She refused to accept that this had to do with her drop in the polls.  

 

The times Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa called her out for her lies 

While campaigning in Iowa, Fiorina would not stop lying about Planned Parenthood. So Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa supporters were always on hand at her events to call her out for her lying -- and to make sure Iowans knew the truth.  Dozens of supporters, some of whom were patients, went to her fundraisers in Des Moines, and town halls in Waterloo and Grinnell to call her out.  Fiorina event took notice saying, telling The Hill: “...there has not been a more outspoken advocate for life and against Planned Parenthood than Carly Fiorina. The reason I know I have been the most effective advocate is because frequently at my events, Planned Parenthood protesters show up, they throw condoms at me, they shout and scream.”

  

That time she dropped so far in the polls that she was bounced from main stage

Carly Fiorina did not qualify for the primetime GOP debate in January because her polls numbers have plummeted so low.  Her uncanny habit of blatantly lying to the American people is catching up to her. She doubled down on attacking Planned Parenthood, hoping that her crusade would define her candidacy. And it did -- by cementing her as a liar.  Her fall should serve as a lesson to other candidates -- lying about Planned Parenthood to advance an extreme anti-abortion agenda is a losing strategy.

Carly Fiorina’s continued lies have cost her in the polls.  

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