Chad’s Morning Brief: Joe Biden Outperforming Hillary in Some Polls and Planned Parenthood Ends Fetal Tissue Payments

Hillary Clinton beats Joe Biden among Democrats, but it's another story when it comes to facing Republicans. The Chad Hasty Show airs 8:30-11am on 790AM KFYO.

Hillary and Joe vs. GOP

Hillary Clinton might be doing better in the polls compared to Joe Biden, but according to FOX News the same can't be said when talking about facing a Republican.

Vice President Joe Biden trails Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, yet he looks more electable than the former secretary of state against top Republicans.

As Democrats prepare for their first debate Tuesday evening, the latest Fox News national poll finds little movement in the primary. Clinton remains the front-runner among Democratic primary voters (45 percent), with Bernie Sanders (25 percent) and Biden (19 percent) behind her by about 20 percentage points. That's almost identical to where things stood three weeks ago.

Lincoln Chafee, Larry Lessig, Martin O'Malley, and Jim Webb each receive 1 percent or less.

Biden, who has yet to announce his candidacy, was invited to participate in the debate if he were to make it official; Lessig was not invited.

In hypothetical 2016 matchups with top-tier Republicans, Clinton trails all the Republicans tested. She trails Ben Carson by 11 points and Donald Trump by 5 points. Jeb Bush has a 4-point edge over Clinton, while Carly Fiorina is up by 3 points.

Biden fares better. He leads Trump by 13 points and tops Bush by 5 points. Biden is preferred over both Fiorina and Carson by 4 points. And Biden narrowly bests Marco Rubio by 1 point.

Though Clinton still dominates the Democratic primary race, the new poll confirms a significant decline in her support since summer. In June, her lead over Sanders was double what it is today (61 percent Clinton vs. 15 percent Sanders). And instead of trailing Trump by 5 points, she topped him by 17 points. Clinton was also up by 6 points over Fiorina then, while she's down by 3 now.

Contrary to the chatter from some pundits, party "trumps" gender. Women are more inclined to back the Democrat over Fiorina whether it is Clinton (+7 points) or Biden (+12 points). Men are more likely to back Fiorina over Clinton by 14 points, yet Fiorina's edge narrows to 5 points over Biden.

The poll is interesting but don't take the results as fact. If Joe Biden were to jump into the race, his numbers would suffer. Clinton continues to show though that she is a weak candidate.

Planned Parenthood

According to POLITICO, Planned Parenthood will no longer pay for fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood says its clinics will no longer accept reimbursement for fetal tissue donations, a decision the organization says is an attempt to shield itself from critics’ attacks.

The organizations says just two of its health centers provide fetal tissue donation for research and they follow federal law allowing the clinics to recoup procurement costs. But following a series of undercover videos alleging that some clinics illegally profited from the donations, Planned Parenthood said its affiliates will no longer accept any payment for such expenses.

The organization’s decision is unlikely to deter congressional Republicans’ efforts to probe the group. The House just last week announced the creation of a special committee to investigate Planned Parenthood, in addition to the hearings that have already been held by several committees. And conservative lawmakers are still pressing their efforts to halt federal funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.

“Our decision not to take any reimbursement for expenses should not be interpreted as a suggestion that anyone else should not take reimbursement or that the law in this area isn’t strong,” the group’s president, Cecile Richards, wrote to NIH director Francis Collins on Tuesday. “Our decision is first and foremost about preserving the ability of our patients to donate tissue, and to expose our opponents’ false charges about this limited but important work.”

If Planned Parenthood was doing nothing wrong, why are they changing their business practices? Congress should continue to investigate and should end funding for this organization.