The Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri , Todd Akin, made a stupid statement on a talk show today regarding abortion in cases of rape. I’m not going to defend the statement. It was similar to Whoppi Goldberg’s rape-rape comment. He now has apologized.
Yet the reaction not only from the left but also Republicans on Twitter was swift that he should be forced step down, be thrown overboard, summarily executed, etc.
Dana Loesch was almost alone is saying, hold on a second, give the guy some time to clarify and don’t hold him to a standard Democrats are not held to until that clarification comes. Which it has. Loesch also pointed out that making a stupid statement is not the same as Claire McCaskill tanking the economy and voting for Obamacare.
Now Loesch is the object of the left’s invective on Twitter, including from well-known execrable characters (also known as nutroots leading lights).
Really, I understand why the left seeks to take advanatge of screw-ups by our candidates, but can’t we give someone a little bit of time to apologize before we swarm too?
Must we form the circular firing squad within minutes without giving the candidate a chance to react himself, and hand the election to a woman who is a walking disaster for our nation?
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Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be great if all Republicans stepped down, and were replaced by a group of brave people?
Let me re-phrase that, to effect my true intent: Wouldn’t it be great if all RINOS stepepd down and were replaced by a group of brave people?
(Yikes — gotta be careful around here…)
I liked it. But I’m not a Republican. I’m a CONSERVATIVE. So I would be quite happy to see the all the Republicans resign and be replaced with by a group of brave CONSERVATIVES who would stand by their principles and actually fight for things like, oh Constitutional Governance.
Off topic but: Cheer up…
Pink and ready to take over…
Come to think of it, I think Republicans don’t seem that bad.
I know many pro life people who are pro life–they are opposed to the death penalty and they are opposed to abortion. What Akins said was not that radical. Does anyone really believe we will reverse Roe and then make abortion in the case of rape illegal in this country or for that matter Missouri? I do not think so. His position is a defendable one (if not entirely popular).
Now I disagree. I would never use the power of the state to compel a woman not to have an abortion in the case or rape. But he did not even go there, he just said he would lean toward punishment for the rapist and not the child of rape. It is a moral question that many Christians (and other faiths too) agree with.
As for the female situation not getting pregnant in rape situations, he is correct that pregnancy as a result of rape is very rare. The high stress of the assault could be a factor. But it does happen.
Actually, the fact that a woman is usually only capable of getting pregnant for 3 days out of the month might have something to do with it.
Further, the female human being is not 100 percent fertile during those three days.
Of course pregnancies happen during rapes. But it is rare. Rarer than days of fertility and general fecundity taking into account. I just noted stress affects pregnancy and obviously rape is very stressful. That in no way means a woman who becomes pregnant from a rape was not raped.
Listened to the video. He was ill-prepared, and was attempting to soft-peddle his position instead of just saying that he doesn’t consider rape by itself to be sufficient reason for an abortion.
And let me clarify for him, he believes the abortion in the case of rape argument is really more about preserving abortion not giving a limited out in the case of rape. His statement clarified. That should be the end of it. Of course it will not be.
Perhaps he should claim to be Cherokee and plagiarize some recipes.
Come to think of it, he does have prominent cheek bones and a finely chiseled snozzola. He probably IS Cherokee.
This is a chance for bipartisanship.
We just borrow the most often uttered sentence in the English language of Democrats,
“That’s just Joe being Joe,”
and replace “Joe” with “Todd.”
Joe gets a second chance every week (sometimes daily). To be fair, shouldn’t Republicans get a second chance once during their careers for saying something stupid?
I like your argument except it cheapens Todd.
I’m developing Outrage fatigue. Everyone rushing to out-do everyone else in conspicuous, angry, high-moral-ground Outrage.
It’s like my Twitter feed has been taken over by neuraesthenic maiden aunts.
(Oh no, wait, I’ll be jumped on for being sexist and disablist for that comment. Sigh.)
Fetch the smelling salts – is there an app for that?
There is an enormous amount of concern trolling going on — needless to say from Dems but also from Repubs.
About 1% of all abortions are due to rape or incest. If we prosecuted rape and incest appropriately those numbers would go down a bit over time. Allowing the rapist to go free while killing the child without due process is hardly “just” or “fair.” Offering compassion to the woman dealing with such a pregnancy is the best option and many crisis pregnancy centers do this across the country on a daily basis.
Akin said something stupid. He apologized. He deserves a little consideration. Every politician says stupid stuff. Just look at Obama and Biden…
I would never use the power of the state to compel a rape victim not to have an abortion. But I understand counseling for life.
Meanwhile, here is an example of leftist tolerance. Hmmm, reminds me of a recent Legal Insurrection video, doesn’t it.
Akin has a LOOOOOONG way to go before he becomes Joe.
Joe has had his foot in his mouth for so long, he can tell where he’s been by the taste of the dirt.
I’m sure Akin cares deeply about abortion and has thought about his position, but that makes it even harder to understand why he can’t express his beliefs better than this.
I’m not throwing Akin overboard but this reminds me of Clayton Williams’ rape “joke” and that haunted Williams for 20 years. It’s only 2 months until Akin’s election.
One thing I have noticed is that MANY, MANY politicians are incredibly inarticulate. Just look at Biden ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. Look at Obama the second TOTUS goes down. There are very few communicators like Lincoln or Reagan.
Akin’s campaign staff need to prep him better so he knows how to handle unexpected questions. If they don’t and he continues to say stupid stuff because he isn’t prepared the MSM will deal with him in their usual biased fashion and he will suffer at the polls.
Still, he said something stupid and it sounds like he issued a genuine, well-worded apology. A little consideration should be extended.
There was a reason they taught Rhetoric at universities way back when…. it was one of the pathways to power.
Now we teach Oppression Studies and Lesbian Literature… pathways to unemployment and student debt.
Everyone here is showing rationality and reason, and explaining what he really meant, etc. Unfortunately, that is not what the msm is about right now. Their guy is losing, and this makes a soundbite that fits their “war on women” narrative (or their “religious extremist narrative, for that natter). If you are explaining you are losing.
This will be the story all week. And it is going to be a long tough week, unless the party can get this guy to step down.
The msm will ask Romney to refute this guy’s comments, and this guy. What’s he supposed to do, explain the comments like you are doing? Then the story will be that Romney agrees with him.
Right and wrong and accuracy have nothing to do with our nmedia right now.
This is going to be bad.
The Obama people have spent the last 4 years explaining “what he really meant” whenever Obama opens his mouth and says something incredibly stupid.
I guess I just expected better from the right.
I think the Romney campaign handled it pretty well:
You’ve still got the fact that the MO guy looks like a bit of a numpty for having said what he said, but Romney appears to have been pretty unequivocal about where he & Ryan stand.
This isn’t about what is or isn’t fair to Todd Akin. This is about what results in the defeat of Claire McCaskill.
Akin’s statement makes defeating her far more difficult. He needs to withdraw from the race ASAP for the good of the country.
Complain all you want about double standards, they exist and we must deal with that reality.
This has the potential to ensnare Romney/Ryan as well if the media and Obama want to go there. It’s a terrific distraction for them.
If he withdraws who gets the nomination?
hopefully the state convention hasn’t occurred yet and they have a mechanism for replacing candidates (let the delegates vote I assume)
Under Missouri law, I believe the party committee chooses a new candidate. If Akin does withdraw, they might go with the 2nd-place finisher. (Steeleman, I think?)
There’s more to Akin’s statement than the “legitimate rape” comment. (Which, btw, I think he meant “…as opposed to false claims of rape.”) His statement about female biology was weird, and there’s an implication that women who do get pregnant may not really have been raped.
Regardless, he’s handed McCaskill a huge mallet to beat him with every day until November, and apologies and “clarifications” almost never undo the damage done. I understand the frustration with Republicans doing the Democrats’ work for them, but Akin may well have done fatal damage to his candidacy. Polling and fundraising numbers should show if that’s true, soon. A “Torricelli switch” may become the only option for getting rid of McCaskill.
Steelman supporters are having fun saying “You Should Have Listened To Sarah Palin” anyway 🙂
I agree with Phineas. According to Twitchy, the far left is already trying to tie Akin to Ryan. McCaskell is set to ream Akin. If she succeeds, and we should know within a week if she does, the only option left is the Torricelli one.
“The far left” was never going to vote Republican anyway.
Given that, how worried should we realistically even be about making them happy?
It’s whoever the “swinging voters” are in MO that the GOP needs to be gauging the reaction from.
Choice between Brunner and Steelman. The GOP would have to choose Steelman at the Convention. A raped woman doesn’t want the child inside her, but the child should not be penalized with abortion. Adoption would be good, and raped women should be counseled towards that.
Well said. It’s not time to talk about the double standard. It exists, and we know it, but it will not help to make that case in this situation.
And it is the larger picture, how this will redound against Romney, that I am worried about.
Agreed! As soon as Obama and Biden resign from the Dim-o-crat ticket because of all the patently false and stupid statements they have made we should demand Akin resign.
Let me know when that happens…
I agree with commodore. Akin should be counseled to resign of his own volition and ask the state committee to designate a replacement, if that is Missouri law. It’s totally not fair but regardless of how well-intentioned his remarks, they will be devastatingly replayed over and over as long as he’s on the ticket. He stepped in the dog poo. He needs to remove the stench from the others. His clarification and apology did not reach to that level. Ye4s, if he were a Democrat it would not be a problem, but Republicans need to be the grownups here.
Oh yeah, I agree. That was a horrifying statement. There is no way to clarify it or walk it back. They need to dump this clown for the good of the country. That is a amazing level of ignorance…women of both parties should reject this guy immediately.
Huskers for Palin:
No, he does not have a long way to go. Our media have not covered Biden’s gaffes at all. They cover everyone one of ours.
It only takes one for our side. Biden gets a pass on most.
Are you sure you all are familiar with the American media?
Yes, I was being SARCASTIC. No need for the snarky last sentence.
sar·casm [sahr-kaz-uhm]
noun
1. Harsh or bitter derision or irony.
2. A sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.
I’m more concerned about Claire Bear voting for Death Panels.
I am truly sorry, huskers-for-palin, and I apologize. I had just spent two hours with some people who didn’t understand that just because WE knew it was meaningless, that the msm would treat it so as well.
Sorry mate, sincerely.
[…] tone” I guess. At Legal Insurrection, Professor Jacobson bemoans the Republicans’ knee-jerk willingness to form a firing […]
Well, it’s begun: front page on all the main media outlets.
But by all means, lets defend the guy, let him explain, AGAIN, and hope it will all just blow over.
Prediction: by tomorrow night there will be an msm story with the headline ‘Gamechanger’.
Awww … James Rainey, the L.A. Times’ media critic, tweeted this 3 days ago about Joe Biden’s gaffe:
http://twitter.com/LATimesrainey/status/236139681908137985
And today, just 3 days later, tweets this about Todd Akin’s gaffe:
http://twitter.com/LATimesrainey/status/237324442374660096
Bathe in the even-handedness. Soak in the objectivity.
Poor thing is still nursing getting clawed, almost to death, by Michelle Malkin on Twitchy recently:
http://twitchy.com/2012/08/09/dishonest-lapdog-media-hack-shamed-into-gasp-linking-to-michelle-malkin/
Everybody is on edge for a bunch of reasons: we need the Senate to junk Obamacare, this seat should have been a cakewalk and we’re all sick of making it easy for the Left. Also, we had two other good candidates, one a smart and capable female endorsed by Sarah Palin.
These comments were astonishly stupid and damning — inconceivable from any competent candidate and really inexcusable given what’s at stake. How does one explain them away? I read his apology. It’s boilerplate and won’t make the grade. This is going to be a siege.
He may have apologized minutes after, but the damage is done – and it’s very damaging. He’s damaged goods at this point.
I understand that people misspeak all the time. That is a very human trait. But he stepped in it big time, even though he may have never intended for it to happen. In this day and age, you cannot afford to misspeak at all. In the age of Twitter and Facebook, making a mistake is not an option. Period.
The call for him to get outta there should be loud and clear. If he doesn’t resign immediately, he should be thrown out to the street. There are other good candidates there, and besides, didn’t he win with a plurality, not a clear majority?
Withdraw? Are you kidding me? We are going to now ignore Claire McCaskill’s private plane, her votes on Obamacare etc., the things she has said? This is ridiculous and it has to stop. The guy misspoke or just blundered. He apologized and corrected it. It should be over.
The double standard by the media is a disgrace to the profession. And the stupid party jumps right in beating the double standard with them. Do Republicans carry on like this with screams of stepping down when a democrat says something outrageous or stupid? Like Biden did all last week…? Of course not….
This is just gross that we are now going to stop focusing on what McCaskill has done over the past years as a Senator. It’s like the word macaca and George Allen a few years back. Republican party needs to knock it off and stop letting the media and the democrats distract everyone.
‘Withdraw?’ Please.
Fight on.
Wake up! The only way to put the spotlight back on McCaskill’s shabbiness is with someone not carrying their own questionable baggage. To try to salvage Akin’s reputation because he’s a really, reallyu nice guy who misspoke once is a benevolent act – unless it also mean’s letting McCaskill keep her seat. That’s what needs to be focused upon.
You fight back against a siege, with like-attacks. Whenever Obama demands, “Give me those tax returns!” Romney simply needs to retort, “Give me those secret school records!”
In this instance, the GOP just needs to go on the attack – and hard. They might…or might not…kinda…sorta…maybe…
(See first comment, supra.)
Remember you are talking about the scared stupid party, the GOPe.
Exactly. The institutional will and wherewithal to fight back in this context simply doesn’t exist.
http://rightreactions.blogspot.com/2012/08/dumb-as-post-x2.html
Akins is not a witch.
Sorry Professor, I completely disagree with you. I read his exact transcript and you aren’t posting everything he said.
Let me post what he also said::
“the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, preventing conception”
WHAT THE F**K!?!?!? I cannot stand Claire Mckahill, and I was planning on donating to Akin, I really didn’t know much about him, I was rooting for Sarah Steeleman because Palin endorsed her, and I trust Gov. Palin’s judgement on candidates.
I will not be donating a single cent to this idiot Akin. Even if you accept his explanation that ok, something women lie about being raped so they can get an abortion, and I’m a pro-choice independent woman voter, how the hell do you explain away that a woman can somehow just magically stop a pregnancy if that woman is raped? And that is exactly what this moron from MO said!
No wonder Claire was running ads for Akin in the repub primairies, she knew what a idiot this man was, and he was her best chance of staying in the Senate, I wouldn’t be surprised if many dems crossed over to vote for the weakest candidate, Akin.
The man needs to go and go now. I’m still pissed at what he said, did tha man even take science in school??
And hell, I want Claire kickout out this November, she’s one of the weakest dem candidates up for reelection. I cannot believe the repubs are this freaking stupid to pick another Sharron Angle!
Hey MO repub, replace this Akins idiot, this is not going away and will taint all other repubs with it!
This issue has been bothering me for hours. You’re right. How in this day and age can anyone be that ignorant.
It was an incredibly ignorant thing to say. It was not an error of stats or a misattribured quote or anything of the remediable sort. It was just an incredibly ignorant thing to say and there is no explaining it away. This was no slip of the tongue. This revealed an area of appalling ignorance in this guy. Worse yet, he said he was taught this stupid notion by doctors – whose names he’ll be asked to share ad nauseum by media, just so they can tape his squirming for replay.
McCaskill was Obama’s banner bearer early on in 2008, his greatest spporter. Her job just became savable thanks to this clown.
This guy will be hounded by the media till he withdraws or falls so far behind he becomes irrelevant. No matter what he does, the media will pursue this every time he goes out in public between now and election day, negating his campaign, plus feverishly hoping he says something even dumber in the process, then they’ll parlay it all against Biden’s innate idiocy, whom they’ll say isn’t the dumbest politician out there afterall.
I suspect the weak-kneed RNC will soon be whispering in his ear about vacation spots in Bulgaria or Moldova.
This guy isn’t a bad guy at all, might even make a good incumbent, and certainly isn’t a witch. All that will make absolutely no difference at all. He just screwed the pooch on the McCaskill seat.
I am frozen in horror and dismay. This is fodder for the media to blow onto every Republican. I want him to step down.
And I read his “clarification” statement, no where did he “clarify” this statement that a woman can magically stop a pregnancy if raped
““the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, preventing conception””
How the hell do you make a moronic statement like this, it cannot be defended! The man is done. I’m not pro-life, but I was willing to donate to any repub — didn’t matter if they were pro-life- candidate to evict Claire Mc. — cannot stand this woman, but if repubs are this stupid not to see this man for the idiotic statements he’s made, I don’t even think repubs can win the WH.
And I just made my first donation to Romney,Ryan, since I like both of them and Akins will cost them points with independents like me, I still plan on voting, donating for R/R, but there are many that will pause.
The Akins man needs to go.
““the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, preventing conception””
What century is this idiot Akins living in? Idiot!
He lives in the same century as Nancy Pelosi who said the most aggregious, malicious, vicious, slanderous lie any human being could ever say about one sector of Americans be they female, male, black, white, religious, non-religious, gay, straight yada, yada, yada:
“They would” let women die on the floor, she said. “They would! Again, whatever their intention is, this is the effect.” (Nancy Pelosi, Washington Post 2011)
IN THIS DAY AND AGE THIS WOMAN IS ALLOWED TO SAY SUCH AN OUTRAGEOUSLY DISPICABLE LIE
“They would” let women die on the floor, she said. “They would! Again, whatever their intention is, this is the effect.”
And the sick part is pro-choice women believe anti-human Nancy Pelosi and none are demanding she resign…she gets a free pass just because she is pro-choice!!!!!!
I am WOMAN hear me Roar, Feminist’s Emotional Blackmail does not work on me anymore!!!!!!
Unless you demand Pelosi resign from office for her statement
“They would” let women die on the floor, she said. “They would! Again, whatever their intention is, this is the effect.”
then there isn’t much to say about Akins.
what makes you think I respect Pelosi? I cannot stand that witch either!
My point is that when the pro-choicers go after Nancy Pelosi for saying-while as an elected official-
“They would” let women die on the floor, she said. “They would! Again, whatever their intention is, this is the effect.”
viciously and maliciously as pro-choicers go after pro-life politicians then I’ll take your ‘witch’ comment seriously.
Until such time that Nancy Pelois is asked to resign than all this righteous indignation is just puffery.
Akins is feeling the heat from this event and will learn some cold hard facts as a result.
No there is no on/off pregnancy switch in case of rape. Some meat head told him that and he bought it.
This kind of thing happens to politicians often and they learn from it the hard way.
Throwing Akins if you must but he beats his Democrat opponent by a mile and he is getting schooled on all this as we speak.
“Throwing Akins if you must…”
The problem is that his utterance was too stupid for remediation by anyone. It makes no difference how he compares to McCaskill now after saying something this stupid, nor does it matter whether his own side supports him or throws him under the bus. There exists no universe where the liberal media gives a GOP-er a pass on something like this.
This.
That man was an idiot.
In the age of Facebook, Twitter and 24-hr Breaking News, you cannot – and I repeat: CANNOT – afford to make a mistake. Especially a grievous one. Period.
He just did that.
And he has until Tuesday to withdraw his nomination.
If the Democrats are smart, they will pull their punches until Akin has not withdrawn by the deadline.
After the deadline they can state, loudly, what Akin and the Republicans supposedly are implying about women whose bodies do not resist impregnation during rape.
There is a danger that this fiasco has not even begun to build up.
Note that he is not the Tea Party candidate. And he was not Sarah Palin’s choice.
Are you learning yet, Republicans.
Say hello to Obamacare. Great. Just great. @dloesch notwithstanding.
They should have listened to Sarah Palin to begin with. Instead, they stabbed her in the back. Now, they’re paying the price.
Once again. Republicans, They Thirst For Death.
What else does this Akin idiot do? reinforce every stereotype the LSM has on repubs.
anti-science
anti-women
anti-education
How this man was this stupid to say what he did, every repub running will be asked by the Barry-MSM.
November is still months away, replace him with Brunner or Steelman, whoever came in second.
If he said this, heard this coming out of his mouth and thought nothing of it, he’s just another gaffe away. I just looked up his past statements online, Claire has lots to work with now.
I’ll be honest this really really bothers me what he said below, and I was willing to donate to any repub candidate, even pro-life, against Claire mccakill. I’m just one independent voter, but this line makes me really angry, the level of ignorance, and makes me think, how many other repubs believe this idiocy? I don’t think the repubs have a clue if they don’t think this will not having a lasting effect.
“““the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, preventing conception”””
Apparently his mental facilities are closely aligned with his interpretation of the female reproductive system, only his shuts down at first sight of a reporter.
I’ve been practicing Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness Method for over ten years, and factually what the Congressman stated has truth to it. The first thing we learn is the stress does delay or ‘shuts down’ ovulation, we note stress in our daily charts with other fertile indicators. Yes, there is a biological response to trauma that affects ovulation. What could be more traumatic then rape?
I’m not defending the presentation of the facts, just defending the facts.
I’m actually scared to write this post, due to a negative reaction. I feel rather screwed, because I have to speak up and defend aspects of what has been said.
Here is a neutral site in regards how stress affects ovulation. This is a secular ‘fertily awareness method’ site, not religious.
http://www.tcoyf.com/content/FertMyths.aspx
“Stress, per se, does not prevent conception.”
That would be ongoing stress, not sudden rape. Please don’t make this worse.
Sudden Trauma can delay ovulation. Why? Because the fertile cycle has numerous steps, up to the point of ovulation. It’s a sequence, and something traumatic can ‘shut it down’ prior to ovulation.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-common-causes-of-delayed-ovulation.htm
A woman may wonder why a single reproductive hormone can cause ovulation delays. The reason for this is the fact that the hormones act on the body and on each other to stimulate ovulation. For example, FSH stimulates egg production in a woman’s ovary, and the eggs develop in follicles that also have the job of producing estrogen. Estrogen surges in a woman’s body a few days before ovulation and causes a surge in LH, which then stimulates ovulation. If even one of these hormones isn’t produced and released when it should be, ovulation may not occur when expected.
Please. Stop. A woman who gets pregnant from a rape is already ovulating.
I think you mean she has “ovulated”.
Ovulation is the point when the egg has been released.
There is a difference between her ‘fertile phase’ and the ovulation.
Ovulating sounds like an ongoing process of releasing eggs, which is not how the female body works.
Fertile phase is the time frame in which sexual intercourse could result in conception. As we know sperm lasts for days within a woman’s body, but as a woman prepares to ovulate her cervical mucus changes to facilitate sperm.
A woman starts with her period (day 1) after menstruation she takes note of the changes in her cervical mucus. As it prepares to ovulate, this mucus increase and become more lubricate. The production of mucus peaks, and eventually after a woman has ovulated dries up. But you don’t want to get a false ‘peak’, so you monitor mucus changes some days after.
Personally I’ve been using the Marquette method, utilizing an actually clear blue easy fertility monitor. I was apart of a study.
What Renee is pointing out is completely valid science. It doesn’t justify the stupid remarks Akin made, but it is a contributing factor as to why pregnancy is rare (not impossible) in the case of rape.
And by the way Women are most fertile 2-3 days before ovulation. So yes a high stress event at the peak fertility point can delay their ovulation and prevent pregnancy. Once again I’ll reiterate, I’m not defending Akin’s moronic comment, just agreeing with Renee on the science.
Thanks VetHusbandFather.
People can be angry at the Congressman, but I can’t just be quiet about the factual aspects of what is being discussed.
Please listen to janitor.
this is supposed to be about defeating Democrats. Not butying ourselves under tons of sciency-stuff designed to perpetuate our loser-ness.
Paul, that’s why I believe that Akin should step down and Romney and Ryan should make a statement denouncing his comments (which they already have). This stuff is political napalm. Rep. Akin is a victim of himself here, he took something that he heard (which was based on fact) and tried to twist it into a soundbite. He screwed up, by trying to comment on something that he was clearly not knowledgeable. Screwing up the facts, when trying to repeat a talking point is a common flaw in politicians… and one of the reasons that I hate politicians that walk around quoting soundbites instead of thinking for themselves. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and let people tell Renee to shut up just because the things she’s saying are inconvenient.
omg. this is what you repub people want to run on??
Egad.
That book is written by my friend and his sister.
My friend is a raving leftist.
TCOYF, yes presents the facts from the left. But the basis of TCOYF has some of its basic research from Billings, who was Catholic.
I remember reading TCOYF (Taking Charge of Your Fertility) over ten years ago, and being angry at the feminist establishment for not embracing the same science Catholics use to practice natural means of family planning.
BTW, yes I’m Catholic and I thank TCOYF for that ironically.
I’ve never read it, but my friend’s older sister (I went on one date with her) has been making a living off of that book for years.
From what he told me about the book, it just sounded like they cobbled together information that was already out there in the public domain.
I’m sure I’ll be getting emails from my friend about this latest GOP facist outrage. He sends them out to all his old friends and I just delete them.
I don’t doubt your right about all this. But he would be frothing at the mouth right now saying nothing in the book supported what that monster Republican said.
Like I mention, I feel screwed writing these posts. Totally screwed.
@ReneeA
No worries, Renee. Life is too short.
Their book was in Amazon’s top 200 bestsellers for years. I just checked and it’s still at 695.
Tell you a little story. I swear to God this is true.
My friend, Toni Weschler’s brother, and I were in biology class together in high school.
He owed me money from playing poker.
When the first lecture on human reproduction came in biology class I told him I’d forgive his debts if he stood up on his chair and sang “Having My Baby.”
He did … to a shocked and speechless teacher and an amused class.
It was worth it.
Who’d have thought years later he’d end up helping his sister write a blockbuster on fertility awareness. I know they have a huge following.
Hey … maybe I’m partly responsible for all this. I should ask for a cut!
From the proferred link:
“Actually, the role that stress plays on one’s fertility is fairly complex. Stress, per se, does not prevent conception. However, it can delay ovulation by suppressing the hormones necessary for it to occur. If a couple adheres to the myth of ovulation always occurring on Day 14, they then may inadvertently prevent pregnancy by timing intercourse at the wrong time, thus triggering a vicious circle of misperceived infertility causing more stress. Charting her cycle would allow the couple to regain control by correctly identifying the woman’s fertile phase.”
There is nothing here that supports your contention.
I’m waiting for what Palin says.
If the tea party didn’t endorse Akin, I know Gov Palin did not, because I donated to Steelman because Palin endorsed her.
So, who exactly endorsed this idiot Akin? Mo has an open primary so no doubt many dems crossed over to vote for him, but he was trailing prior to the MO primary, so what repubs endorsed this idiot?
Show of hands folks, how many of you dog piling on Akin voted for Steelman and Brunner??? C’mon….you can share.
If he leaves, you might as well fold up the tent because if you think his gaff was bad, replacing him at this point will just be fodder for Clair Bear.
This isn’t New Jersey which is so blue, the Dems can get away with a last-second switchero (remember how the liberal state courts literally ignored the election laws).
I have 2 relatives in MO, they are independents, they voted for Steeleman, lets just say, they would have voted for a ham sandwich over Claire, but after what Akin’s said, they will just stay home and eat that ham sandwich.
Akin’s didn’t make some tiny little gaffe, and MO from what I understand is pretty even between dem, repubs and independents, and this Akin’s idiotic statement will make independents stay home or switch back to Claire, who they loathe.
They will vote for Steeleman or Brunner, they are pretty angery at Akins who they were willing to vote for, but not after this, at least this has given them a lot of pause. and Barry kissing MSM will no doubt have this on 24/7 now, asking every repub, so what do you think about what Akins said?
well, I stand corrected, I called them up to ask them about this, they didn’t like what he said, and still voting anyone and anything running against Claire Mccaskill.
I just hope this won’t cost that MO senate seat. I want this idiot woman de
oops, clicked submit before finishing the sentence.
“I just hope this won’t cost that MO senate seat. I want this idiot woman defeated in november 2012”
Alex: perhaps that’s why you call yourselves Independents. If you all felt the same way then you should create a Party. Stupid or not, what he said is he’s Pro Life. That’s all that matters to some people. Let’s hope he doesn’t prove to be ignorant in too many areas.
gasper, yes, all 3 of us are independents, all 3 of us are also ex-dems.
I’m not pro-life, but I’m not some zealot pro-abortion person, my 2 cousins in MO are more centerist when it comes to social issues but lean quite right when it come to fiscal issues.
I just don’t want that seat to go to that idiot woman again, I want her evicted in november, but I’m really worried he’s opened himself up to more attacks on social issues. I’m not a social con, and frankly in 2010 and 2012, I do not care about social issues, I’m also a big supporter of Palins, yes there are people who aren’t pro-life who really respect Sarah Palin.
I’m just really worried the MO seat is gone. I want ObamaCare repealed, I could care less about Akin, but him not flipping that MO seat makes it harder for repubs to get ObamaCare, which I hate, to be repealed. and out debt to be growing with no restrictions. My worry is Akins will lose because of this.
I’m not ‘dog-piling’ on Akin, just observing what a monstrous gaffe he’s made and that it is likely the unsurvivable sort.
I’m from NC and have no vote in that race – but I’ll be stuck with McCaskill if Akin doesn’t survive this.
I also refuse to render myself blind to faults in candidates because they are running against Democrats.
Hey huskers-for-palin, just in case you haven’t been reading up-thread (or is that down?) I apologized to you.
So in case you didn’t see that one: sorry.
Sorry Professor, this was not a stupid statement. Akin said what he honestly believed. That written, he had one chance to clean up his mess. When he issued his clarifying statement he should have stated:
“What I said was wrong and I apologize.”
Instead he claims that he “misspoke.” To misspeak is when you say for example the capital of x is y and you say z by mistake, or you say North Korea when you meant to say South Korea, or you say Sunni Arabs when you meant to say Shia Arabs. That is a “misstatement.”
Here in using the word “misspoke” what he is saying is:
“I meant what I said, but I should not have said it.”
In 2012, there should be no room for sexist dinosaurs holding elected office in the Republican party, let alone aspiring to a high office such as a seat in the U.S. Senate.
P.S. The Romney – Ryan campaign has repudiated his statement. Akin needs to withdraw from the U.S. Senate Race for Missouri.
I Facebooked my parents who live in MO and like a previous poster, they want Claire Bear OUT. They will vote for Akin.
Here is something really stupid, ignorant and anti-science, in 2006 MO voted for Claire McCaskill primarily on one ad in which Michael J Fox sit shaking in his chair suffering from Parkinson’s disease asking people to vote for McCaskill (a devout Catholic who believes in using embryonic stem cells to cure-all diseases) because Jim Talent was ‘criminalizing science”.
Even though research at the time indicated that injecting rats with EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS resulted in tumors in the brain, MO elected Claire MCCaskell an anti-science, highly devout Catholic who believes in using human embryos to cure-all disease candidate.
Fast forward to 2012 and Michael J Fox has seen the science, he rejects using embryos to cure-all disease
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/05/23/michael-j-fox-sees-the-light-on-embryonic-stem-cell-research/
How MO elected Claire McCaskill in the first place is a question that even science cannot answer.
Note: I prefer that Steelman had won however hammering away at Akins for saying a stupidily ackward comment is suicidal compared to the fact that MO ELECTED INTO OFFICE an anti-science, fear-mongering emotional blackmailer who considers herself a highly devout Catholic beleiving that using human EMBRYOS is cure-al answer to disease.
Spare the rightous indignation.
What came first, comprehending morphogenesis, or exploiting embryonic and fetal stem cells? Apparently, the latter. The fact that adult stems cells have been successfully exploited in therapies seems to escape popular recognition. The science of the matter, or lack thereof, is also of little interest to its proponents.
He needs to be out by the time we wake up in the morning. Period.
well, looks like my MO cousins didn’t read the entire paragraph by Akins, they have and now they’re back on the fence, they knew he was pro-life, which they didn’t really care about, but the entirety of this statement has given them pause, not to back Claire, but just stay home.
Not sure how much Akins was up by before all this happened, but this will lose votes for him, it may not gain Claire any, but it will make Akins lose votes, and it will hurt other repubs in the race, especially with a rabid Obot MSM.
This whole is a distraction, he needs to withdraw, put in Brunner or Steeleman, and then defeat Claire.
Whether or not Missouri gets another Senatorial candidate is one thing. A discussion on “rape” is another. Yes, is a horrible crime when a person (men are frequent rape victim) is violated that way.
What about women who lie about getting raped to get an abortion? I’m sure there are some who are. But I’m also sure that there are many more who aren’t. Then women are making things harder for other women.
What about women who lie about being raped to smear a former boyfriend? Those women rarely suffer serious consequences.
What about young girls impregnated by older men getting abortions at Planned Parenthood, and Planned Parenthood never reporting statutory rape?
What about prison rape? Do we condone it?
What about men who think they’ve been invited to have sex with a woman and they find out later they weren’t invited, and now they are facing rape charges? Had Assange not had sex with two different women in a short amount of time, and then had those women chatting at a party, I doubt he would have been charged with rape.
We’ve been told rape is a crime of power and control. Yet most rape victims are women aged 18-24, when they are the most attractive and most fertile? Do we ever get to ask the victim what the hell they were thinking when they wore that skirt and blouse, and then drank too much? I recall a story about Errol Flynn being charged with rape. The judge asked the young lady exactly what she thought was going to happen when she agreed to spend the night on his yacht.
Political correctness has contributed to rape: women are afraid of being rude, and they get in the elevator with a future rapist. The victims didn’t want to “offend” the perpetrator, even though their intuition told them “That’s a bad dude.”
Notice that the left isn’t concerned about many of the concerns listed above, if they were they would do something about them.
Yes, because it most often is.
And? Your point?
No. Because the answer is never going to be, “Well, I really set off tonight hoping that some bloke I wouldn’t consent to having sex with would go ahead and have sex with me against my will.” Never.
I hope we’ve cleared a few things up there. You’re welcome.
Since women can willing engage in sex and then in the morning regret it, and file rape charges, some research is needed on “mostly is”.
The point is while old and ugly people are raped, those who are sexually attractive are raped more than those not sexually attractive. Sexual attractiveness being part of the picture means sex is part of the crime.
There are times when victims are victims because they have exercised poor judgement. We try to protect the weak and the innocent. Perpetrators of violent crime need to be reported, apprehended, tried, convicted and spend time in penal institutes. However, we need to coach people how to avoid being a victim. Women do get to lead men on, and change their minds at the drop of the hat and then charge the man with rape. I’m sure you’re right, nobody says “Well, I really set off tonight hoping that some bloke I wouldn’t consent to having sex with would go ahead and have sex with me against my will.” And I’m also sure there are guys who thought they had consent when they didn’t, or had consent until they didn’t.
“sexually attractive are raped more than those not sexually attractive.”
This statement is wholly inaccurate.
Where is the peer-reviewed scholarly research supporting your claim?
There is none.
Stop — don’t talk.
Head directly to your nearest sexual violence education workshop or course — and don’t come out until you’ve dislodged your head from your gender solopsism and misogynistic delusions.
“Do we ever get to ask the victim what the hell they were thinking when they wore that skirt and blouse, and then drank too much?”
No, we don’t. Unlike the Taliban, we in the west do not place responsibility for rape on a woman who wears what the rapist considers revealing clothing.
It is part of the difference between conservatives and liberals. Conservatives are always looking for the error and ready to throw their people under the bus, whether for gaffes, ideological deviation, or corruption or scandal. Liberals don’t give a rat’s patootie about how stupid, immoral, or crooked you are IF you toe the line on ideology – anything else is forgiven by default.
Akin’s real sin is violating political correctness. The phrase “legitimate rape” is taken to suggest some claims of rape are false, but the current Dicta is that women NEVER lie about rape – unless the rapist is a prominent Democrat, liberal, or celebrity, in which case it is assumed she is lying, the whore.
Several others have pointed out that Akin’s verbal gaffe is a stupid statement, while the legally binding votes and actions of McCaskill have brought ruin on the state and the nation. A little sense of proportion is in order.
I also have to wonder how much of the Republican indignation we hear is from supporters of his opponents in the primary, one of whom would presumably replace him if he did drop out.
Regrettably, reality and idealism collide here.
The fact is, we live in an era of Stalinist, Democrat-controlled media. There is not a single mainstream media outlet or person that will give Akin a fair shake, let alone defend him.
Akin must go. Some gaffes are too egregious to overcome.
@William A. Jacobson:
While Akin’s comment was similar to Goldberg’s, only one of the two wields concrete, major institutional power over women’s reproductive lives.
Your comparison is a failure in that regard.
And that’s also why folks from Right to Left ought to swarm and call for Akin’s resignation. A man that says things like marital rape ought not to be criminalized does not belong in Congress. He can make those arguments on his personal time, off the taxpayer’s dime where he can hurt feelings, but not women’s and girl’s legal rights.
Even the right can do better than Akins.
Right? 🙂
Republicans’ circling the wagons and defending these comments won’t change the fact that the Democrats and, more importantly, their media allies, won’t let it go.
I hardly find the comments disqualifyingly egregious, but we have to face reality. Todd Akin would almost certainly lose now.
I don’t make the suggestion lightly, but I think the Party leaders must convince him to step aside for the sake of the Party and the Senate. The stakes are just too high.
I agree. Though we have heard far worse from liberal candidates, those comments will never be picked up by the MSM. This Akin story was just on ABC radio news. The story will not go away, but Akin should.
Once again, Sarah Palin was right.
You’re right. The only way this goes away is if Akin goes away.
1. This is the hand-picked GOP establishment candidate.
2. The GOP has a death wish. “Official” GOP Establishment candidates seem to be complete idiots far too often.
3. Regardless of anything else, GOP candidates should be ready for questions on hot-button issues. He failed miserably — monumentally. He threatens to lose not just the MO seat, but the entire Senate.
4. The MO seat looked like it would be easy pickin’s. Well, now it isn’t anymore.
5. It’s OK to defend Republicans from unreasonable attacks, but not their own blatant stupidity.
If Mark Twain were to write a character who is too stupid even for Missourians to vote for -it would be Akin.
the hysterical defenses by the likes of dana loesch are just embarrassing. she has no problem mocking and blowing-up statements made by people she dislikes.
what the guy said was idiotic. can’t we just own it since he’s ‘one of ours’ ? i thought we were supposed to be the adults in the room.
In the 21st century if a woman reports an assault she will be offered an abortificant tablet/s.
These clear that problem immediately .
If she does not want to report it these are available through a doctor or from my local pharmacy . The cost here is about $30.
Are you really going to lose a senate seat /a state /an election over a thing that 15 ear olds manage every weekend?
The problem with Akin’s comment is that it was not succinct like Palin’s. On the same issue, Palin said she would choose life. Akin went into a valid area: the issue of the genuine nature of the rape. These days, liberal women have shown us that not all rape is rape. Indeed, some cries of rape are vindictive attempts to get back at the “sonofabitch” who dropped the gal for another gal or for some mistake the poor dumb schmuck doesn’t even know about, or they are just an attempt to politicize some topic or other. So, Akin’s comment is valid.
However, Akin is an idiot. How, do tell, can the female body shut “that” down? What can the female body shut down if it is real rape? Is Akin such an idiot that he believes a woman can will herself to have a spontaneous abortion? What on earth does he mean?
Akin’s problem is that he tried to offer two answers to one question, and never offered the linguistic marker to let folks know he was raising a valid concern. Morover, he wasn’t asked about cry-wolf rape but about abortion. Therefore, Akin’s should have taken a page from Palin’s book, kept it stark and simple, and moved on.
Since he did not, and since the LSM will now try to nationalize this goofball’s misstep, Akin should step aside and let Steelman replace him. McCaskill wanted him, now let her deal with her worst nightmare in Steelman. Besides, it would nip the LSM idiocy in the bud if Akin stepped down and gave the nod to Steelman.
Heck, yeah, Steelman, anyway we can get her. The Senate is more important than Akin.
If there’s a way for the Missouri GOP to get a better candidate for this race, I’m sure they’ll consider it. If it’s true he was trailing and Dems voted in the GOP primary, maybe they should consider legislation to close the primary to GoPers only.
In the meantime, this absolute intolerance for any unforced error by a GOP candidate is looney. The left always hates GOP candidates, so they’ll always be hateful about anything one says. Ignore the LSM, they’re dying anyway.
Tempest in teapot. Absolutely no candidate is a robot. No one is error-free, and the sooner we accept the humanity of our candidates, the better. They deserve better than the circular firing squad.
“Ask not what the candidate can do for you, ask what you can do for the candidate.” Andrew Breitbart
OK, I am awake and I do not see that he is out. WTH is wrong with the GOP?
What Akin said not only has ramifications for the US Senate race in Mo, but also nationally.
Here is what he said during a television interview:
“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child,”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/08/19/missouri_gop_senate_nominee_legitimate_rape_victims_dont_get_pregnant.html
He said this publicly. The LSM did not gin up this statement.
What was his response to the firestorm? “I misspoke.”
Later, he goes on twitter to say “Let me be clear …. I regret misspeaking.”
The issue is not abortion, but the idea that different kinds of rape actually exist and the hallmark of whether a rape is legitimate or not is if the girl becomes pregnant as a result of the penetration.
Over 50% of voters are women. If you talk to any woman of any age one of their greatest fears in life is rape. And now Akin distinguishes between legitimate rape and illegitimate rape.
The majority of women’s reactions to Akin’s comments:
“You can go to hell! And so can your party.”
Even though the Romney – Ryan ticket has publicly rebuked Akin for his statement, let’s presume for the sake of discussion that Akin remains on the ballot for the U.S. Senate in Mo.
Forget about that race for a moment, want to have a national discussion about “legitimate rape” and that rape is only legitimate if the woman does not get pregnant in the run up to the Republican national convention?
Want to listen to late night comedians mock and ridicule white male Republican conservatives?
Want to hear Obama say the following in his convention speech to a nationally televised audience:
“I pledge to the women of America I will do everything in my power to defend the rights of women against the dinosaur notions of Republicans and conservatives who believe that there are two types of rape: legitimate and illegitimate.
We believe there is only one kind of rape and it is as abominable as slavery was in America’s past. And the potential for pregnancy is not an issue for lawyers or moralists to decide or comment on.”
Think Romney presently has a problem with women voters?
What is the defense? Democrats and their media allies are hypocrites. They lionize people like Robert Byrd and Teddy Kennedy, while ignoring many of Obama’s troublesome statements. Republicans are subject to a double standard. It is unfair to punish Akin by forcing him to withdraw from his race because he said something “stupid,” when Democrats have said far worse, and are given a free pass.
So the bar that we want to set for political candidates is yes my guy said something offensive and reprehensible that should disqualify him, but since your guy has said or done things which are just as bad or worse and that has not disqualified him in the eyes of the media then my guy should get a pass.
Will that approach assuage the feelings of women voters or will they be outraged to learn that the Republican political party will let someone run for the US Senate who publicly stated:
““First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Translation: A woman who is “legitimately” raped rarely gets pregnant.
Then when he is called out, how does he defend his offensive and reprehensible statement? He first says he “misspoke.” Later he says “Let me be clear” and he “regrets misspeaking.”
Does that sound like a defense that will win the support of women voters for the Republican national ticket and Republican candidates in House and Senate races?
You already posted that at c4p plus you have stolen some other’s c4pers’ lines.
So and with permission.
It was an excellent post. Not all Legal Insurrection readers have the luxury of reading all the conservative blogs as you apparently do, so I’m glad John.Frank posted his comments here, and I hope he is posting them elsewhere as well. Having had many of my own best lines “stolen” by others, I find it hard to get exercised about that. Assuming there is no cutting and pasting of sentences or paragraphs, it’s likely not even conscious.
Professor, I don’t see much apology in Akin’s “apology”.
But I will grant you he sure as hell misspoke.
Akin needs to get out yesterday but I think the odds of that happening are slim and none. We can probably kiss that seat good-bye.
Here is how CNN is reporting on the story on it’s website:
Missouri Republican claims ‘legitimate rape’ rarely results in pregnancy
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/19/missouri-republican-claims-legitimate-rape-rarely-results-in-pregnancy/?hpt=hp_t1
Perception, perception, perception. I don’t care what he meant to say, it’s what he said that is so damning. How many people are really going to research the female fertility cycle and the effects of stress thereon?
If you are running for office, just being a nice guy is not enough!!!! You have to have some shred of intelligence and instinct to know when to shut up!!! We all know there is a double standard out there, so act and speak accordingly.
He has virtually handed the seat to McCaskill who will stop at nothing to stay in power.
Unfortunate. McCaskill has got so many skeletons in her closet, she should never have been elected Senator. When she was a prosecutor her first husband embarrassed her by getting himself arrested for smoking pot on a gambling boat. She later dirorced him, and he ended up murdered a few years later, presumably because of a drug deal gone bad. McCaskill herself was the subject of a Bill Clinton justice department investigation related to drugs (she was not charged).
Her second and current husband was arrested for beating his first wife. He has made millions from government cronyism, by constructing Section 8 housing and nursing homes whose patients dump off their Medicare and Social Security to him to pay the rent.
McCaskill and her husband were caught a year or two ago not paying a quarter million dollars in taxes on their private plane.
Her character is so lacking she is not fit to be a Senator. But Jim Talent refused to play hardball to win 6 years ago.
But Todd Akin made a dumb statement so let’s all demand he forfeit the election and put her back in office.
Republicans are stupid.
Exactly!
The fact is no matter how rare or biological mechanisms that can postpose ovulation due to stress, a woman can get pregnant from rape.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2828206/posts
“Woman meets child born out of rape, given up for adoption 77 years ago.”
The child, who was adopted, had six children one of them became an astronaut.
———-
I happen to be pro-life and I realize how unpopular the stance can be. I feel the heat and social isolation of it. Sorry I can’t be ok with abortion, just as I can’t be ok with rape.
This was a response to MAB, on the other page about perceptions.
Followed the freep link, went on to: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/years-later-mother-daughter-reunion-is-a-surreal-amazing-experience/article_5dd0f21e-35c6-11e1-ac2f-0019bb2963f4.html
As I confessed elsewhere, I consider myself an atheist, although one that deeply respects those who are religious. Stories like this, however, make me wonder….. Is there such a thing as a wavering atheist?
Thanks; this is a perfect example of how apparently simple things often aren’t simple at all.
On “GOP bashing on Today” today, they are calling in the artillery, Mitchell & Todd, and making as big a mountain out of this, and the skinny dipping story, as possible, spreading it as widely as they can to tie in and tar, in classic guilt-by-association fashion, the entire GOP. You can see the twinkle in their eyes.
Substitute the name Ted Kennedy for any of the players in these trumped up dramas and tell me Today would devote a half hour to it.
This is the result of Echo-Chambering.
Akin got that goofy idea from somewhere and likely it was a few folks who are out of the main stream thinking.
I have seen the left do this time and again with their goofy ideas that wither in the full rays of public scrutiny.
I will guarantee you Akin is all the wiser for it.
The left needs no help in attacking Akin.
What I have seen is a classic circular firing squad.
Romney: Akin’s ‘Inexcusable’ Comment
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/314452/romney-akins-inexcusable-comment-robert-costa
In a phone interview this morning, Mitt Romney told National Review Online that Representative Todd Akin’s recent comment on rape is “inexcusable.”
“Congressman’s Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,” Romney said. “Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.”
Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri, controversially claimed on Sunday that a woman’s body can block an unwanted pregnancy.
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down,” Akin said in an interview with KTVI-TV.
“I have an entirely different view,” Romney said. “What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it.”
Question: So how does Akin go about “correcting” a statement that the de-facto leader of the party find is “insulting,” “inexcusable,” “wrong,” “offensive” and “entirely without merit?”
Hmm … seems to me that is very polite way of saying to Akin it is time to walk the plank and withdraw.
Can’t happen soon enough for me.
This is why the left wins, they circle the wagons when one of their own steps in it. Republicans wring their hands and concede to the left’s rules of double standards.
Obama doesn’t condemn Biden telling blacks they’ll be put “back in chains” (which if said by a republican VP would have been the most horrific quote of the new millenium), but Republicans pounce en masse on Akin for saying “legitimate rape”, and gift the media w/added material to prolong the story. Dem pols make more offensive comments on a daily basis.
When your enemy protects fools and criminals within his ranks and you do not, your own ranks grow stronger, wiser, more ethical, less corrupt. Ideally, that is.
The problem here was vetting. Did no one from the RNC screen this guy’s beliefs on abortion, contraception, etc.? Isn’t that a standard procedure for a US Senate seat nomination?
Do you advocate that Republicans ought to lower their standards to those of Democrats? Can we see no other way to compete? Is our vision that small, that limited?
Can you imagine what would happen if Romney chose to defend Akin, if only as a party unity issue?
Any party that places party over principles can count me out.
I hope Akin survives this, but no way should any other Republican apologize or endorse what he said. That is poison.
He’s got a Divinity degree (he’s also a former Marine Corp. commissioned officer). His staunch pro life position is no secret.
He’s well liked by the voters in his district, who have re-elected him 5 times with about 65% of the vote each time. He has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress, with a 97.5 lifetime ACU voting record.
He’s been vetted. Just because someone has been vetted does not prevent them from making a stupid remark. And if he’s a staunch conservative, the media will hype it and try to disqualify him for making it.
“He’s been vetted. Just because someone has been vetted does not prevent them from making a stupid remark.”
If he’s been pre-race vetted by the RNC or GOP senate committee it means he was asked precisely what his position on abortion was, including in the case of pregnancy by rape. If he said to his vetters what he said yesterday, he would have been counseled not to repeat anything so incredibly stupid. Either he was never vetted for this race or he was vetted but ignored counsel on this claptrap belief of his and said it anyway.
This is not how professional politics is done and now what sounds like a good man will likely be sidelined, that seat is in jeopardy, the GOP takeover of the Senate has been needlessly made more difficult, and he’s supplied the media slimeballers with a pile of volatile ammunition.
Final Score:
Duke 88
Akin 0
The sooner Akin leaves the race, the better. That was a reprehensible comment and I’m surprised that some of you wouldn’t completely condemn what he said. I have no patience for people who say things like that. No way should we give him our votes.
I wanted also to add that I really like Dana Loesch but she is out of her mind if she thinks this is not a dealkiller. Who cares if Democrats are hypocritical. That is not germane. This is a “tweet a photo of your private parts” level offense.
I’m steaming mad that a senatorial candidate would say something that dumb and hurtful.
I’m having trouble seeing what was so reprehensible about it. Can someone explain it to me? I am being serious.
To me it’s apparent that he used the term “legitimate” to mean “obvious”, so he made no suggestion that some rapes are legal. There are indeed cases where rape unquestionably occurred. Unfortunately, there are other cases where a woman changes her mind after consensual sex and calls it “rape.” I don’t think it happens very often. I expect it happens in cases where a woman has engaged in a one-night extramarital affair, got caught, and didn’t want to accept responsibility for her actions. I expect men would behave the same way in the same shoes. Then there are cases like the Duke Lacrosse team, where the “victim” was looking for financial gain.
I know that some people on the left would like us to never question a woman’s word. But the truth is that all men and women lie.
As for his claim that women who are obviously raped will not conceive, I have no medical knowledge. I have heard this claim advanced before (by a woman), but I cannot attest to its veracity. Perhaps his statement was made out of ignorance, but it’s hard to see how it was misogynistic or truly offensive.
If someone can better explain his crime to me, I would appreciate it. Again, I am being serious.
Willy, what Akin said was that the female physiology shuts down the fertilization process when rape occurs, making pregnancy impossible, therefore there should be no allowance for abortion on the basis of the pregnancy being caused by rape. For this to be true means that women who get abortions due to getting pregnant from a rape must be lying. I know, I know, it’s crazy, but some rape victims take it all personal when they’re called liars for no reason whatsoever.
After thinking about this overnight, what’s wrong with Republicans swarming one of their own when he says something like this? If the only thing that matters is whether someone has a “-D” or an “-R” after their name, then I don’t want to be either one.
Here we go!
“Akin’s ‘Macaca Moment’ Could Flip the Senate Race.”
Shouldn’t that headline be more relevant and up to date and say something like:
“Akin’s ‘Put Y’all Back in Chains Moment’ Could Flip the Senate Race.”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/signal/akin-macaca-moment-could-flip-senate-150018315.html
First-I am an atheist, so have no religious dogma in this fight. Second, I think that the standard of judging a society by how it cares for its weakest members is a good measure. The weakest of all are the unborn–and newly born.
Third–this is a really, really, tough one. If you believe, as I do, that a fetus is a person, then the only justification (and it is a perfectly acceptable one) for abortion is to protect the LIFE of the mother. It is a Self Defense argument and accepted by even the most orthodox of religions. OTOH, forcing a woman to bear a rapist’s child is awful to contemplate. Can’t think of much worse.
So–on one hand, no one is asking the fetus; I suspect he or she would prefer to live. OTOH, what about the woman?
My point is this: I respect the doctrinaire anti-abortion person that wants the child to live. With limitations, I can respect those that would permit abortions in the case of rape. I can see how bearing the child is just too much to ask.
My limitations come in when the “exception” is a bit too automatic. A life is being taken. It is adding another tragedy. In effect, you are telling the unborn child that, because of the circumstances of its conception, it will not be permitted to life.
For once I have to say that I think the professor is wrong. This guy put his foot in his mouth – up to about the knee- which tells me he is too stupid to be in the Senate. He is apparently the candidate that McCaskill wanted to run against, and Missouri dems ran ads about how he was ” too conservative”, which helped him win. According to John Podhoretz at Commentary, if he withdraws by tomorrow, they can put someone else on the ticket to replace him. We can’t risk control of the Senate to stand by this dope – he has got to go. This election is too important. We can gripe about media bias all we like – and we would be right – but the guy still has to go.
It just occurred to me that Obama got elected U.S. Senator in part because his Republican opponent decided to drop out at the last minute after Axelrod somehow managed to get his sealed divorce records made public. The Republicans was too embarrassed by the details to continue the race.
The replacement candidate was Allen Keyes. He had no money and no organiztion. It was a disaster and Obama won in a landslide (Keyes only got 27% of the vote).
It is a dead certainty that some skeleton in Mitt &/or Ryan’s closet will be revealed about a week before the election.
We all have them.
“If it ain’t close, they can’t cheat”.
I just heard a news report in Kansas City. Apparently, if Akin steps down before midnight tomorrow, the Republicans have two weeks to get someone else on the ballot. The report was silent about the process for determining the replacement candidate (Special primary election? State Republican Party committee appointment? The person who came in 2nd in the primary? I do not know).
If he does step down and we get someone else on the ballot, it may be a blessing in disguise. McCaskill, the DNC, and the DSCC have been killing him with ads painting him as an out of touch extremist. The ads began even before he won the primary. All that money will have been wasted.
So if the new report I just heard is accurate and the Republican establishment is determined to force him out, they better make him do it before midnight tomorrow.
Just heard a follow up report as I was about to hit the “submit” button. They say Akin has apologized and is vowing to stay in the race.
Obama has weighed in. The Democrats think they have a national issue.
His remarks as reported were relatively restrained. I recently suggested that that’s the Democrats’ right move—until the Akin candidacy is set in stone. At that point, for starters they will hit Akin, and all Republicans, harder than Limbaugh was hit about Fluke.
Akin says he will not step down. We are screwed.
If he doesn’t step down, he’s going to be thrown to the sharks. I guarantee it.
But how much damage do we sustain before he finally finds religion?
This was no “gaffe” and it should not matter to conservatives that Democrats are hypocritical and the media have a double standard. Akin’s remark reveals him to be, at best, a massively ignorant fool. His remarks were deeply offensive, reprehensible and, in my view, unforgivable. They do not represent the compelling view of abortion held by the pro-life movement, the conservative movement, the Republican party, or, I’ll bet, mosf GOP-inclined voters in Missouri. This is not a case of a candidate who may lose because he refuses to compromise on first principles. There are no principles involved and defending him — or ignoring the matter — is a fool’s errand.
Akin should step down to make way for a conservative who can win this crucial seat — and he will if he hears that message from conservatives.
Mum got assaulted, so kill the kid. That’ll make it OK….
Why do we hear nothing about information he received that led him to this statement?
It is not about the dumb statement itself or republicans eating their own.
It is about the fact that this unfortunate gaffe has offended so many people who will now not come out and vote for him, resulting in a democrat win.
For the good of the country we need this woman to be gone and another seat in the repub senate count.
This is why he needs to be replaced.
This.
I posted this on the Tip Line because there’s a chock-full of links. You all better take heed.
“I’m sorry, Professor, but Akin stepped in it big time. He says he is remaining, but I bet you that he’s going to be out before late Tuesday. The evidence?
Romney/Ryan have strongly condemned him.
Scott Brown (MA) (the father of two young adult daughters, don’t forget) has called for Akin to withdraw.
So has John Cornyn (TX).
Ron Johnson (WI) Twittered also, calling for Akin to get out.
And it gets worse: If Akin Remains In, the NRSC Will Spend Nothing on MO Senate Race. BTW: John Cornyn runs the NRSC.
Karl Rove’s Crossroads took MO ads off the air at once.
As I said before, Akin is an idiot. Akin may have apologized, but the damage is done, and it’s very damaging, and he’s damaged goods. What do you do to damaged goods? You throw them away and get a good replacement.
And MO GOP: before picking candidates for such an important seat, make sure your primaries are CLOSED – as in, NO DEMOCRATS voting in.
And do yourselves an even bigger favor. Listen to Sarah Palin. There was a reason why she supported Silverman. Now you know. This kind of SNAFU is what happens when you stab in the back what probably could be the best thing that ever happened to the GOP.”
You rock.
Akin said to be withdrawing from race:
http://quickhits.tumblr.com/post/29841250464/report-missouri-representative-todd-akin-to-withdraw
Local talk radio here in Kansas City (who are often favorable to Republicans) are absolutely skewering Akin. I don’t see how he survives.
The talk radio personalities are now reporting that the second and third place finishers in the primary, John Brunner and Sarah Steelman, are working behind the scenes to get their campaigns re-activated. They answered my question above about how the new candidate is determined whould Akin step down by tomorrow. If Akin steps down by 5:00 tomorrow (it was originally reported as midnight tomorrow – so who knows which is correct), the State Republican Party committee can name Akin’s replacement on the ballot. Since Brunner only beat Steelman by about 1%, it’s going to be contentious. Brunner is a wealthy businessman wiht no prior political experience, while Steelman has been a state legislator and the state treasurer, so she’s got better politcal connections.
What a mess.
Thanks for the local take, Maggot!
If the man is that ignorant, bordering stupid–
Not only on the subject matter, but his inclination to lay it all out for the world to see–
I wonder what else…
It’s been a day.
He’s been weighed and measured.
He’s toast, fair or not.
Atkins of Hannity radio show NOW
Certainly didn’t sound like he was going to budge from the ticket.
If he stays in the race, they’ll beat him to death on the general stupidity of his comment, then try to smear all Republicans with guilt by association. When that plays out, they’ll beat him to death on one particular within his dumb comment: “You say you got this medical info from doctors.. which doctors, Mr. Akin? Can you name them, please?” and then try to smear all Republicans with guilt by association. When THAT plays out, they’ll beat him to death on another particular, his use of the phrase “cases of legitimate rape”. “Mr. Akin, what did you mean by ‘legitimate rape’? Are you insinuating that many reported rapes are not legitimate? Why do you and your party hate women, sir?” – and again smear all Republicans with guilt by association.
How long could the liberal media drag this out if Akin stays in? Oh, I’d say till about Novemeber 6th or so.
Replace Akin now and by late September people will have to be reminded of that Akin scandal back last month. The Missouri voters clearly want McCaskill gone. Any half-decent Republican will do.
Sarah Palin … listen to her, Republicans. Are you even capable of listening?
Apparently Silverman is not on the top of the list being considered to replace Todd “I am not a witch” Akin.
Silverman.
Silverman? Steelman? Someone help me out here.
Apparently it’s State Treasurer Sarah Steelman. Oops.
Ahem . It is around the globe.
WTF.