Broken Glasses

Broken Glasses by Greything, on Flickr

Michele Bachmann is test-driving a new line — actually a misquote from a Planned Parenthood executive — in her speeches to the rabid rightwing anti-family-planning crowds she’s drawing in Iowa:

The possible GOP presidential candidate supported her belief that Planned Parenthood should lose its government funding by telling a crowd in Iowa on Monday, “The executive director of Planned Parenthood in Illinois said they want to become the LensCrafter of big abortion in Illinois.”

Here’s the actual three-year-old statement:

But what Steve Trombley, CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois, actually said is different than Bachmann’s interpretation. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in June 2008, he stated, “I like to think of Planned Parenthood as the LensCrafters of family planning,” while speaking of making family planning services more accessible.

And here’s what LensCrafters’™ parent company has to say to Congresswoman Bachmann:

LensCrafters hit back at Bachmann Tuesday, telling Roll Call, “She’s using our name without our knowledge or permission.” Julie Maslov, communications director for Luxottica Retail, the parent company for LensCrafters, said the company contacted Bachmann’s office Tuesday and asked that she stop making the comparison.

Clearly unwilling to have their brand injected into Bachmann’s ‘Big Abortion’ so-called debate, the corporation has moved to protect its name. No word yet from Bachmann.