January 27, 2016 01:33 PM UTC

JoAnn Windholz: No Apologies. Dems: Good.

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Yesterday, supporters of Planned Parenthood delivered a petition signed by over 60,000 people across the nation calling for GOP Rep. JoAnn Windholz to resign over her comments blaming the organization for the attack on its clinic in Colorado Springs last November. As the Colorado Independent’s Marianne Goodland reports:

The group organizing a recall against state Rep. JoAnn Windholz told The Colorado Independent today they plan to drop their effort.

Instead they will focus on keeping Windholz’s name and remarks blaming Planned Parenthood for the shooting at its Colorado Springs clinic in front of her district’s voters between now and Election Day, said organizer Steve Cohn…

About a dozen members of the recall group came to the state Capitol today, asking that Windholz resign. They brought with them more than 63,000 signatures from an online petition that also asked Windholz to step down. According to Chris Burley of Denver, senior campaign manager for Care2, an online petition service, about 2,000 of those signatures came from Coloradans.

The Denver Post’s Joey Bunch got a response from Windholz:

“I never once blamed the victims and as a supporter of life I am deeply saddened by the loss of any life,” Windholz said in a statement. “I will continue to support life and the values of my constituents.” [Pols emphasis]

Three days after a five-hour standoff left three dead and nine wounded, Windholz, a Republican from Commerce City, posted on her Facebook page comments critical of Planned Parenthood’s abortion services, saying: “The true instigator of this violence and all violence at any Planned Parenthood facility is Planned Parenthood themselves.” The post has been removed.

In the aftermath of Windholz’s statements about the Planned Parenthood terror attack in Colorado Springs, Democrats were obviously excited about the opportunity this created in one of the most narrowly-won GOP House victories of 2014. Windholz has always been unapologetically pro-life, but blaming Planned Parenthood for the violence committed against the organization makes that much harder for swing voters to ignore. Where it might have been overlooked previously, now strident anti-abortion politics is a central part of Windholz’s brand–in a politically competitive district ill-suited for it.

With that in mind, the last thing Democrats should want is for Windholz to be forced to resign, allowing her to be replaced by a less-damaged candidate. With Windholz standing by her words, and local Republicans standing behind her, the best place for Windholz from a Democrat’s point of view is right where she is.

As Napoleon said, never interrupt your opponent when they are making a mistake.