Sanders camp confirms it thinks Planned Parenthood is part of the establishment out to beat Bernie

On Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders alarmed many liberals when he appeared to include Planned Parenthood among groups belonging to the “political establishment” that he says he’s “taking on”:

"What we are doing in this campaign—and it just blows my mind every day, because I see it clearly—we're taking on not only Wall Street and the economic establishment, we're taking on the political establishment.

"And so I have friends and supporters in the Human Rights Fund, in Planned Parenthood. But you know what, Hillary Clinton has been around there for a very, very long time and some of these groups are, in fact, part of the establishment."

In response, some Sanders supporters argued that Sanders was not including Planned Parenthood among "establishment” groups, pointing out that he spoke only of “some” groups without specifically naming Planned Parenthood.

However, in an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Wednesday afternoon, Sanders’ top strategist, Tad Devine, confirmed that the campaign does indeed view Planned Parenthood as part of a Democratic establishment that’s actively opposing Sanders:

Todd: Do you believe that Planned Parenthood and Human Rights Campaign—that these are part of the Democratic establishment that's trying to defeat you?

Devine: I do, Chuck. I think the leadership of Washington-based groups—and it's not just those two—are part of a political establishment here in Washington.

Devine’s statement, in response to a direct question from Todd, is unambiguous. To many progressives who have witnessed Planned Parenthood endure the most witheringly malicious and mendacious assault from conservatives for the past several years, it’s distressing to see the Sanders campaign view it as an organization it’s “taking on,” simply because it endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Planned Parenthood does some of the most important work of any progressive-minded organization in this country, providing reproductive health services to millions of low-income Americans. And it manages to operate while under constant attack, including a deadly shooting at one of its clinics in Colorado less than two months ago. It desperately needs friendship, not hostility. The Sanders campaign should immediately reconsider its position, and Bernie Sanders should make it clear that he views Planned Parenthood as an ally, no matter whom it supports in the presidential race.