Jeb’s Planned
Parenthood Problem: Did He Oppose Bloomberg’s $50 Million Donation?
by Michael Patrick Leahy 1 Aug 2015
The recent release of undercover videos
that appear to show Planned Parenthood executives
engaging in the sale of aborted body parts has put the Jeb
Bush Presidential campaign on the defensive.
Before becoming a GOP candidate Bush was serving as a director of Bloomberg
Philanthropies, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s non-profit, in March 2014 when it announced a $50 million partnership with
Planned Parenthood in Africa.
At issue is whether Bush was aware of the initiative and if
he exercised his fiduciary responsibility as one of Bloomberg Philanthropies’
directors to provide “advice and oversight” to the foundation’s
management team prior to the decision to spend $50 million on the program.
“As a board member of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Governor
Bush did not vote on or approve individual projects or programs. Governor Bush
and Mayor Bloomberg disagree on several policy areas, including Planned
Parenthood. They do share a passion for reforming education, which was Governor
Bush’s focus on the board,” Jeb Bush campaign spokeswoman Kristy Campbell tells
Breitbart News. That echos the themes — and some of the exact words — she first
used in April when interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times on Bush’s role in
the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $50 million partnership in Africa with Planned
Parenthood.
Campbell adds:
Governor Bush’s strong record of fostering a culture of life
is clear, and he has called on Congress to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood
in light of the recent alarming revelations about its practices. During his
eight years in office, Governor Bush took measures to protect innocent life by
passing a partial-birth abortion ban, fighting for a constitutional amendment
requiring parental notifications and doing everything possible to promote
adoption.
Even for a charity as wealthy as Bloomberg Philanthropies,
whose 2013 endowment was $5.4 billion, an
expenditure of $50 million over several years is a substantial portion of the
estimated $200 million in grants it disburses annually. In 2013, it disbursed
$204 million in grants. Data is not yet available for 2014.
When news that Bush was one of the Bloomberg Family Foundation’s nineteen founding directors from the charity’s
formation in 2010 until the end of 2014 (by which time the name had been
changed to Bloomberg Philanthropies) was first brought to the public’s attention
in April 2015 by the Tampa
Bay Times, the Bush campaign tried to minimize Bush’s involvement with the
Planned Parenthood decision.
But a Lifesite News article on Thursday
resurrected the issue, which, in light of the release of the undercover videos,
has become politically radioactive.
Last week, Bush called for a
Congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood.
“I’m confirming that yes, we have a maternal and
reproductive health program. We support work in countries in Latin America and
Africa to prevent maternal deaths and work with partners including Planned
Parenthood Global. In regards to Mr. Bush’s involvement, Bloomberg Philanthropies’
board members do not vote on individual initiatives or program
spends,” Rebecca Carriero, a spokesperson for Bloomberg Philanthropies
tells Breitbart News.
But pro-life activists are not impressed with the
explanations offered by either the Bush campaign team or Bloomberg
Philanthropies.
“Abortion and association with Planned Parenthood, the
largest promoter and provider of abortions, will be front and center in the
upcoming election,” Susan Allen, a pro-life activist, speaker and writer from
Tennessee, tells Breitbart News.
“The pro-life community is adept at cutting through rhetoric
and euphemisms very quickly,” Allen says.
“Governor Bush needs to answer why he would allow his name
and influence to be added to a board who would donate $50 million dollars to
this organization to export the culture of death to developing nations,” Allen
adds.
Breitbart attempted to obtain more detailed answers from the
Bush campaign, but did not receive a response to these specific questions:
(1) Was Governor Bush aware of the $50 million partnership
with Planned Parenthood before it was announced in March 2014?
(2) If so, did he offer any advice to the CEO and/or Mr.
Bloomberg as to the appropriateness of the project?
(3) If so, what was that advice?
Lacking any comment from the Bush campaign or Bloomberg
Philanthropies to the contrary, it is fair to assume that as a director with
clearly delineated fiduciary responsibilities, Bush was well aware of the $50
million Planned Parenthood initiative and did nothing to stand in its way, even
if he was not asked to vote to approve the initiative.
According to press reports, Bush was paid $37,100
in director fees during his five years of service to the Bloomberg Family
Foundation.
The current list of directors,
which now numbers twenty-one, is a “Who’s Who” of establishment figures. It
includes two Republican establishment figures well known to Bush: former
Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, who oversaw the bank bailout approved
by his brother, former President George W. Bush, in the fall of 2008, and
former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Sen.
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 52%
.
The involvement of Bloomberg Philanthropies with Planned
Parenthood on Jeb Bush’s watch is not the only problematic partnership that may
cause Bush political troubles. The Bloomberg Philanthropies website also
proudly notes a partnership with the Open Society Foundations, which is
funded by far-left billionaire George Soros.
At the heart of the political problem for Bush is that he
has a long-running professional and business relationship with a billionaire
who espouses a political philosophy that is the exact opposite of the
conservative limited government philosophy Bush is attempting to persuade
Republicans he holds.
Bloomberg’s stated philosophy on the role of philanthropy
and government, which he articulated in his 2014 “Annual Letter on
Philanthropy” is exactly the sort of elitist statism abhorred by the
Republican base:
Modern philanthropy began as a substitute for government.
Where government failed, philanthropists stepped in, providing food for the
poor, hospitals for the sick, and libraries, museums, and colleges for the
masses. Philanthropy continues to play a vital role in all of these areas. But
some still see philanthropy as an alternative to government. I see it as a way
to embolden government.
In so many areas, governments represent our best hope for
making the broad-based societal changes that philanthropic organizations are
devoted to bringing about. Governments have the authority to drive change in
ways that philanthropic organizations cannot. By leveraging our resources, and
forming partnerships with government, philanthropic organizations can help push
those changes forward. That mindset may be untraditional, but it is at the
heart of nearly everything Bloomberg Philanthropies does.
Breitbart News asked the Bush campaign if Governor Bush
agrees with Mike Bloomberg’s stated philosophy on the role of philanthropy and
government, and if he does not, why he agreed to serve on the board of the
Bloomberg Family Foundation from 2010 to 2014.
The Bush campaign has not yet responded to those questions
either.
If Jeb Bush wants to win the Republican nomination for
President, he’s going to have to start providing satisfactory answers to these
questions.
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Marjorie B. Tiven
is a director of Global Cities for the Bloomberg
Philanthropies, Michael R. Bloomberg’s
sister, and was the New York City commissioner for the United Nations.
Note: Bloomberg
Philanthropies is an umbrella organization for the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Michael R. Bloomberg
is Marjorie B. Tiven’s brother, the
founder of the Bloomberg Family
Foundation, a member of the Alfalfa
Club, his adviser is Howard Wolfson,
and was a benefactor at the Harlem
Children's Zone.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone, the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace (think tank), and the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
George
Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, a benefactor at the Harlem Children's Zone, Nancy
Pelosi was invited to his 2013
wedding reception, and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace (think tank), and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Jeb
Bush is a director at the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, a member of the Alfalfa
Club, and a presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
Howard
Wolfson is Michael R. Bloomberg’s
adviser, married to Terri McCullough,
and was a partner at the Glover Park
Group.
Glover Park
Group is the lobby firm for the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America.
Terri McCullough
is married to Howard Wolfson, and Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff.
Nancy
Pelosi’s chief of staff is Terri
McCullough, was an invited to George
Soros’s 2013 wedding reception, and Cecile
Richards was her deputy chief of staff.
Cecile Richards
was Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of
staff, a grant overseer for the Turner
Foundation, is the president of the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, and is a trustee at the Ford Foundation.
Ted
Turner is the chairman for the Turner
Foundation, the chairman for the United
Nations Foundation, and a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).
Kofi
A. Annan is a director at the United
Nations Foundation, was a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and the secretary
general for the United Nations.
Marjorie B. Tiven
was the New York City commissioner for the United
Nations, is a director of Global Cities for the Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Michael
R. Bloomberg’s sister.
Bloomberg
Philanthropies is an umbrella organization for the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
United
Nations Foundation is a partner with the ONE Campaign.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, is Marjorie B. Tiven’s
brother, and the founder of the Bloomberg
Family Foundation.
Michelle
Obama was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign.
Howard
G. Buffett is a director at the ONE
Campaign, and is Warren E. Buffett’s
son.
Susan A. Buffett
is a director at the ONE Campaign, and
is Warren E. Buffett’s daughter.
Warren E. Buffett
is Howard G. Buffett & Susan A. Buffett’s father, and an adviser
for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think
tank).
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think
tank) was a funder for the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank).
Jessica Tuchman Mathews is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank),
was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank), a trustee at the Rockefeller
Foundation, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think
tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with
Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population
control by involving the United
States in war)
This is a very interesting
video. "The man who tells this story is none other than Mr. Norman Dodd,
who in 1954 was the staff director of the Congressional Special Committee to
Investigate Tax-exempt Foundations, sometimes referred to as the Reece
Committee, in recognition of its chairman, Congressman Carol Reece." He is
here interviewed by Ed Griffin back in 1982. Dodd is telling us about his
research into the tax-exempt organization and what they REALLY stand for. He
shows us that the Carnegie
Endowment, the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim
Foundation, and the Rockefeller
Foundation joined together to alter American
history and take over the whole education system in America, so the children
can be indoctrinated into accepting a World Government.
Ford Foundation
was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Cecile Richards
is a trustee at the Ford Foundation,
the president of the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, was a grant
overseer for the Turner Foundation,
and Nancy Pelosi’s deputy chief of
staff.
Rockefeller
Foundation was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace (think tank), the United
Nations Foundation, and the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank).
United
Nations Foundation is a partner with the ONE Campaign.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, is Marjorie B. Tiven’s
brother, the founder of the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, and a member of the Alfalfa
Club.
Jeb
Bush is a director at the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, a member of the Alfalfa
Club, and a presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
Margaret A.
Hamburg is the VP for the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank), was a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA),
an assistant secretary for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a trustee at the Rockefeller Foundation, and a trustee
at the Rockefeller University.
David A. Hamburg
is an adviser for the Nuclear Threat
Initiative (think tank), a trustee emeritus for the Rockefeller University, the president emeritus for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and
an advisory board member for the Global
Security Institute.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace (think tank), and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).
Mikhail Gorbachev
is an advisory board member for the Global
Security Institute, the founder of the Green
Cross International, was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Green Cross International - SourceWatch
Ted
Turner is an honorary board member for
Green Cross International USA, the chairman for the Turner Foundation, the chairman for the United Nations Foundation, and a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).
Cecile Richards
was a grant overseer for the Turner
Foundation, Nancy Pelosi’s
deputy chief of staff, is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation
of America, and a trustee at the Ford
Foundation,
Ford Foundation
was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think
tank) was a funder for the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank).
Barbra
Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Planned Parenthood Federation
of America, and the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
Leonardo DiCaprio
is a trustee at the Natural Resources
Defense Council, and was a board member for Global Green USA.
Global Green USA
is a US affiliate for Green Cross International.
Green Cross International - SourceWatch
Robert
Redford is an honorary board member for
Green Cross International USA, and a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Mikhail Gorbachev
is the founder of the Green Cross
International, an advisory board member for the Global Security Institute, was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,
and the president of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR).
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