"Not intended to be a factual statement."

In the heated floor debate over the budget -- which came down to a fight over funding Planned Parenthood -- Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) took to the podium, with CSPAN cameras broadcasting it to the world, and said:

"Abortion is well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does."

Actually that's about as wrong as he could get. Here are the real stats on their activities:

1. Testing and treating STD's 35%
2. Contraception 35%
3. Cancer screening & prevention 16%
4. Other women's health services 10%
5. Abortion 3%

So, when called on this obvious misstatement of fact, Sen. Kyl's office responded that

"his remark was not intended to be a factual statement."

So here is a question for the Republican party: When your #2 leader in the Senate makes a speech on a major controversial bill, broadcast live for the world, should not we expect that what he says could at least be within the ball park of truth? Exaggeration, yes. Everybody does that. Genuine mistakes, not unforgivable in the heat of argument.

But saying something is "over 90%" when it's really only 3%??? It makes him look stupid and your party look sloppy and incompetent. Why should we believe a word you say about the budget then?

Ralph