Colorado attack

GOP contenders carefully denounce Colorado attack

They do so without saying anything that would appear to be an endorsement of Planned Parenthood.

By  Kristen East

Republican presidential candidates Sunday continued to dance a fine line in reaction to Friday’s lethal shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado, condemning the fatal attack without appearing to be sympathetic to the women’s health provider.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee described the shooting as an act of "domestic terrorism" — while still emphasizing his disdain for the organization.

“It was mass murder. It was absolutely unfathomable,” he said. “And there’s no excuse for killing other people, whether it’s happening inside the Planned Parenthood headquarters, inside their clinics where many millions of babies die, or whether it’s people attacking Planned Parenthood.”

Huckabee also challenged CNN host Brianna Keilar to furnish examples, if she could, of anyone who is pro-life encouraging violence against Planned Parenthood.

"God knows that's not what anybody would want," he said, saying there was no "legitimizing."

The remarks from Huckabee and other Republican candidates this weekend came in the wake of Friday's mass shooting at a Colorado Spring Planned Parenthood clinic. Three people were killed and nine injured. The suspect, Robert Lewis Dear, reportedly told law enforcement officials "no more baby parts" after he was taken into custody.

On Friday night, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both tweeted that they "#StandWithPP," and Martin O'Malley did the same Saturday.

Among Republicans, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush all released statements on Twitter or elsewhere saying they were praying for the families of those killed or injured in the attack.

"Praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs," Cruz tweeted Saturday, the first of the GOP candidates to do so.

“There is no acceptable explanation for this violence, and I will continue to pray for those who have been impacted," Bush said in a statement.

Kasich said on Twitter: "Senseless violence has brought tragedy to Colorado Springs. I pray for the families in mourning and have hope our nation can heal."

None of those tweets or statements mentioned Planned Parenthood.

Ben Carson, appearing Sunday on several shows remotely from Jordan, denounced “hateful rhetoric” in the wake of the holiday weekend shooting.

When asked by “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd if the candidates’ Planned Parenthood rhetoric during the Republican debates has been “too much,” Carson seemed to agree.

“I think any hateful rhetoric directed at anyone from any source is too much,” he said. “It’s something that we need to get away from. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be pushed into different corners and then throwing hateful barbs at each other, you know.”

On "Meet the Press," Donald Trump called the shooter a "maniac."

In addition, Trump brought up the Planned Parenthood videos leaked earlier this year, saying “there are a lot of people that are very unhappy” about the organization’s alleged practice of harvesting body parts for fetal research. It has been reported that the suspected shooter was talking about baby parts when law enforcement officials had him in custody.

“Well, I will tell you there is a tremendous group of people that think it’s terrible, all of the videos that they’ve seen with some of those people from Planned Parenthood talking about it like you’re selling parts to a car. I mean, there are a lot of people that are very unhappy about that.

“I know that a couple of people that are running for office on the Republican side were commenting on tapes that weren’t appropriate,” Trump continued, seemingly taking a swipe at fellow GOP candidate Carly Fioirna. “But there were many tapes that are appropriate in terms of commenting on. And there are people that are extremely upset about it.”

Fiorina, too, brought up the videos when appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” defending the language of pro-life advocates. She did, however, say that any link between the shooting and “anyone who opposes abortion or opposes the sale of body parts is … typical left-wing tactics.”