Yesterday, I mentioned that a federal grand jury is investigating whether there was a broader conspiracy behind last year's murder of George Tiller. It's a near-certainty who one of the witnesses will be--Cheryl Sullenger, the senior policy director for Operation Rescue. Sullenger, for those who don't know, was in frequent contact with triggerman Scott Roeder before Tiller's death. In fact, her phone number was found on Roeder's dashboard. She initially denied any contact with him, but later admitted she'd helped Roeder keep track of Tiller's court appearances. At the very least, this is firmly in "what did she know and when did she know it?" territory.
However, even if Sullenger didn't do anything criminal, she displayed a staggering degree of irresponsibility. She had to have known Tiller was a marked man for many extremists on the pro-life side. And yet she gives Tiller's court dates, and possibly other information about him, to someone who is basically off the street? I'd been waiting a year for Sullenger to be woman enough to resign. But now I'm publicly calling for her to resign--and if she doesn't, Operation Rescue should fire her.
Granted, it may be too much to expect to ask Operation Rescue to fire her, considering they hired her despite the fact she tried to blow up a clinic in California back in 1988. But based on what we know, Sullenger is at the very least morally responsible in part for Tiller's death, even if she isn't criminally responsible. Can you imagine if it came out that some Dem congressional staffers were communicating with yayhoos who vandalized a Repub congressman's house? It wouldn't matter if they did anything criminal--the demands for them to be fired would have come fast and hard.
For all of its denunciations of Roeder's crimes, their continued employment of Sullenger is a slap in the face to the Tiller family. Moreover, she was irresponsible in a way a senior member of any organization can't afford to be. If Sullenger has anything left in her, she should resign. And if she isn't woman enough to do it, Operation Rescue president Troy Newman should show some leadership and fire her.
Crash their inbox--email them at info at operationrescue dot org (sorry, not even bottomfeeders like them deserve to be spammed).