Say it ain't so.
Susan G. Komen Foundation is leaning towards finding a new location for its annual "Perfect Pink Party" scheduled for mid-January currently booked at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to sources inside the organization.
Leaning towards?
Sources say Komen will make a decision after October—Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
What are they waiting for?
The organization wants to keep its event separate from "controversies unrelated to our mission," said Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for Komen.
Why haven't they moved their party from Trump's club yet? Are Donald Trump's abhorrent boasts of his sexual assaults on numerous women really unrelated to Komen's mission?
As a former board member of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in New York, and as a Board Member of The Ms. Foundation for Women, I am well-aware of the need for non-profits to remain non-partisan. But non-partisan does not mean handing money to the person who degrades and harms the constituency you are pledged to serve - women, some of whom are breast cancer survivors and some of whom are actively battling the disease. An unfortunate captive constituency, indeed.
Why is it possible for anyone but Komen to veer from what's expedient and change hotel venues so as not to fill the pockets of a man who exhibits behavior that they wouldn't allow from their children? Any corporation with a Human Resources department would not even hire Donald Trump.
But Komen says, "Here you go. Take our money, Mr. Trump." Or "We'll withdraw when eyes aren't on us or perhaps not on you either, Mr. Trump."
I get a queasy feeling. I've been here before.
In 2012, in a shocking and politcially motivated action, Komen defunded Planned Parenthood. Then, due to a nationwide outcry and backlash, Komen changed its mind.
Still, the charity lost millions of dollars from supporters throughout the country, and the battle for care for some and the search for a cure were adversely affected. The damage, self-imposed by Komen's Republican leadership, was done.
During that controversy, I personally wrote and spoke publicly about how this Komen decision was an affront to its donors and damaged the people it serves.
Where's your moral core, Komen? Then? Now?
Komen is in a predicament. Nancy Brinker, founder and once a visionary leader for Komen, has become problematic for the organization. Her politics, it seems, are always showing.
The Republican President George W. Bush named Brinker Ambassador to Hungary in 2001 and then Chief of Protocol in 2007. Since then, it seems she actively tries to position herself in case another Republican administration comes into power.
In 2012, this led to the Planned Parenthood fiasco, which severely damaged the organization and the cause, and now this.
Brinker backed Donald Trump earlier this year and even called him, "thoughtful about things." She has yet to denounce him or his words.
Denounce Trump? More likely, angle for an appointment by him.
The Planned Parenthood debacle loosened Brinker's grip on Komen. She slinked from Founder/CEO/Board Chair to Chair of Global Strategy, and now to unpaid volunteer. But clearly, she still remains a too powerful volunteer.
Either the charity needs to come clean and recognize that Brinker injects her Republican politics and personal ambition into every vein of the organization. Or the charity needs to recognize there is a connection between breast cancer and women. Fighting the assault of breast cancer but enabling assaults of another kind is a zero sum game with your constituency in the balance. You're either serious about helping women or you're not.
C'mon Komen. Take a stand. Before the end of October.
Never Trump, Komen. Choose women.
###
October 28, 2016
