Poor, poor pitiful me. Poor, poor pitiful me!

This is just delightful. I can't imagine a better choice to carry the banner for the new Republican party, the one that minorities and women will flock to embrace:

Karen Handel, the former Susan G. Komen for the Cure executive who drove the charity's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, is considering running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, according to one of her former aides.

“She’s considering it,” Rob Simms, a Republican campaign consultant who worked on Handel’s unsuccessful run for governor in 2010, told the Weekly Standard.

If she ran, she would be going up against Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), whom Roll Call reported may be vulnerable to a primary challenge from the right, given his "willingness to reach across the aisle and his comfort with the idea of compromise."

Imagine. She's to the right of Saxby Chambliss, that pile of dirt!

According to the Weekly Standard, Kay Godwin, the co-chairman of Georgia Conservatives in Action, also said she is hearing that Handel may challenge Chambliss in a primary.

As a top executive at Susan G. Komen, the largest breast cancer charity in the country, Handel spearheaded the effort to stop sending breast cancer screening grants to Planned Parenthood. After a public uproar, Komen reversed its decision and Handel resigned.

In her recently released book, Handel lashed out at Planned Parenthood for her downfall, calling members of the organization "a bunch of schoolyard thugs."

Before joining Komen in April 2011, Handel ran for governor of Georgia on an aggressively anti-abortion platform. She wrote in her campaign blog that she "do[es] not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Handel because of her opposition to reproductive choice.

As you may recall, Race for the Cure got into trouble when they listened to the recommendations of Karen Handel, an anti-abortion wingnut and former Georgia state official who was their senior VP of public policy and wanted an excuse to cut funding to Planned Parenthood.

Their head in the sand approach to the uproar must not have worked very well if the president, founder and two board members are resigning:

DALLAS – What we have here is a failure to communicate, which is why Susan G. Komen for the Cure has yet to heal from its self-inflicted wounds.

On Wednesday, the Dallas-based breast-cancer charity announced that its president, Elizabeth Thompson, was resigning. Founder and chief executive Nancy Brinker said she would relinquish her post after a replacement is found, and two Komen board members also said they are leaving.

Brinker expects us to believe that she, the foundation’s president and two board members just happen to decide to move on at the same time? That’s what Komen told its affiliates Wednesday, in a perfect example of the kind of forethought that got them into this mess.

It’s disappointing that Brinker, once a brilliant marketing strategist, took so long to do even the most rudimentary damage control, which is still not enough.

Critics have been calling for Brinker’s resignation since January, when Komen said it would stop funding breast cancer screenings performed by Planned Parenthood. Brinker ignored the calls, instead releasing a wooden, video-taped statement which did little to stem the backlash against the nonprofit she founded in 1982.

The savage reaction on social media, in particular, forced Komen to reverse its policy for Planned Parenthood in just three days.

But Komen officials insisted they were misunderstood, not wrong-headed. They said the Planned Parenthood decision was the result of a Congressional investigation – one which was initiated at the behest of
abortion opponents.

Whatever the case, the communications crisis did not end with the policy reversal.

Brinker’s failure, or inability, to take responsibility for the brouhaha over Planned Parenthood earned her a level of contempt usually reserved for, say, a BP executive who complained when a massive Gulf oil spill crimped his schedule.

The BP executive was given the boot shortly thereafter, but Brinker clung to her post in the organization she’d built, despite continuous signs of problems.

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Karen Handel, who according to reports was the party primarily responsible for Komen's decision to pull grants from Planned Parenthood, went sobbing into the open arms of Faux News on Tuesday afternoon, where she played an all-too familiar role: the right-wing martyr.

What's great about this segment was Handel still can't get her story straight. She claims that the Planned Parenthood decision was all about "the mission" -- whatever the hell that means -- then started rambling about Congressional investigations.

HANDEL: You know, I think the Congressional investigation along with the various state investigations, those were a factor in the decision. But make no mistake about it, you know, it was a bigger picture than that. There was a granting criteria as well as the controversies that were surrounding Planned Parenthood. And it's no secret Megyn, that Komen and other organizations that were funding Planned Parenthood had been under pressure for some years long before my time, um, that had been going on, the pressure around the controversy.

Pressure from whom, Karen? And what "controversies" would those be?

It's funny that Handel whines about "coercion" from Planned Parenthood, but uses "pressure" from right-wing organizations and Republicans partly to justify Komen's original decision.

It's also pretty rich that Handel accuses Planned Parenthood -- who handled this nasty episode with extraordinary class -- of "vicious attacks" while she passed along offensive tweets like this.

Always the case with right-wingers. They pull some political dirty trick, or do something illegal, or say something offensive -- and then if they suffer the predictable and appropriate consequences (and they usually don't) -- they claim that they are the true victims. Personal responsibility never seems to apply to them.

Cheer up, Karen. I'm sure there's a cushy job at the Heritage Foundation and a steady gig at Faux News if you want it.

Karen Handel has resigned from the Susan G Komen Foundation, but not with much in the way of regret. Here is her resignation letter.

Dear Ambassador Brinker:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US – and increasingly around the world.

As you know, I have always kept Komen’s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority – as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board’s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.

We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen’s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization’s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen’s future and the women we serve. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone’s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants.

What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision – one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact – has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly.

Just as Komen’s best interests and the fight against breast cancer have always been foremost in every aspect of my work, so too are these my priorities in coming to the decision to resign effective immediately. While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline. It is my most sincere hope that Komen is allowed to now refocus its attention and energies on its mission.

I'm certain we will be hearing about how Handel's resignation is the result of a witch hunt sparked from the left's outcry. However, I note that there was nothing political about Komen until they chose to rebuke Planned Parenthood based upon an investigation opened for nothing other than political purposes. Mitt Romney's leap onto the bandwagon is evidence of how such a decision played out, as is Komen's decision to involve Ari Fleischer in the planning and execution of their strategy.

When you hear the screams and shrieks from the right wing, just remember that the Komen Foundation had been pressured for years to withdraw their support from Planned Parenthood, but until the arrival of Karen Handel, they hadn't actually done it. At one point, Komen had actually issued a statement in support of their grant decisions to Planned Parenthood. Here is an excerpt:

The grants in question supplied breast health counseling, screening, and treatments to rural women, poor women, Native American women, many women of color who were underserved -- if served at all -- in areas where Planned Parenthood facilities were often the only infrastructure available. Though it meant losing corporate money from Curves, we were not about to turn our backs on these women. Somehow this position translated to the utterly false assertion that SGK funds abortions.

And somehow, when Karen Handel came on the scene, this all flipped around so that those women suddenly didn't seem as important. Who politicized what, again?

I knew that sooner or later, it would come out that some professional wingnut was behind the little love match between the Susan G. Komen Foundation and anti-Planned Parenthood VP Karen Handel. Surprise! It's Ari Fleischer:

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations” at Komen last December. According to a source with first-hand knowledge, Fleischer drilled prospective candidates during their interviews on how they would handle the controversy about Komen’s relationship with Planned Parenthood.

Fleischer’s relationship with Komen and the Planned Parenthood controversy was previously undisclosed. He confirmed to ThinkProgress his recent role in filling a key communication position at Komen. Fleischer stressed, however, another communications firm (Ogilvy PR) was retained by Komen to deal with crisis communications over the last few days and he has not been involved.

In November, Komen advertised for a top level communications position in Roll Call. Promising applicants received a call from Fleischer. The advertisement is no longer posted on the Roll Call website, but a portion is accessible via Google:

According to a source, during at least one interview, Planned Parenthood was a major topic of conversation. Fleischer indicated that he had discussed the Planned Parenthood issue with Komen’s CEO, Nancy Brinker, and that she was at her wits end about how to proceed. Fleischer described himself as a longtime friend of Brinker.

Fleischer confirmed to ThinkProgress that he would receive a fee from Komen when the search is complete. Fleischer did not specify the amount of his fee but said it would be “substantially below the normal placement fee charged by executive search companies” because “they’re a charity I believe in.”

The Susan G. Komen Foundation has absolutely no credibility left. On Thursday, this is what Nancy Brinker, Komen's CEO, told Andrea Mitchell.

BRINKER: In 2010, we set about creating excellence in our grants, not just in our community grants, but in our science grants, putting metrics, outcomes and measures to them. [...] Part of that includes taking these grants into communities and being excellent grant givers. Many of the grants we were doing with Planned Parenthood do not meet new standards of criteria for how we can measure our results and effectiveness in communities.

She went on to emphasize that this was the key reason the funding had been withdrawn -- and played down the fact that the GOP House was currently investigating Planned Parenthood.

But here's part of the statement she released Friday.

Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.

Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.

So, what happened to those "measures" and "metrics" and "outcomes" Brinker was babbling about on Thursday?

Meanwhile, wingnuts are circulating this piece, which claims a Komen board member says they've haven't reversed themselves at all.

Following a new statement Komen for the Cure released making many observers believe the breast cancer charity reversed position on whether it would fund grants to Planned Parenthood, one Komen board member says it hasn’t caved.

Komen board member John Raffaelli talked with the Washington Post after the statement was released and said the new announcement doesn’t necessarily mean there is any reversal until and unless Planned Parenthood receives additional funding beyond what was already planned before Komen’s December decision.

Based on Komen's actions this week, does anyone have any confidence that they'll do the right thing now?

For Komen to regain any credibility at all, Brinker's got to go. And so does the other wingnut behind this.

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If you're wondering why Komen, an organization supposedly dedicated to women's health, would withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood -- look no further than one Karen Handel.

As pro-choice supporters sound off over the decision by Susan G. Komen for the Cure to pull grants to Planned Parenthood for funding breast-cancer screening and other breast health services, some have suggested a link between Tuesday's announcement and Komen's hiring of a self-described "pro-life Christian" last year to a prominent position within the foundation.

Karen Handel, a former secretary of state in Georgia and a Republican activist, was hired in April as vice president of public policy at the Dallas-based Komen. Handel was coming off an unsuccessful run for governor of Georgia during which she frequently called for an end to abortion.

Handel ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 as a right-wing Christian -- and was endorsed by none other than The Quitter and Jan Brewer. And during the campaign, she said:

Since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood.

And check out this Tweet she recently promoted on her account -- then quickly deleted.

“Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb to throw. Cry me a freaking river.”

You can see the screengrab of the Tweet, here.

Classy lady.