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Yes, Akin should drop out

Yes, Akin should drop out

Yesterday I cautioned against piling on a candidate within minutes before giving the candidate a chance to react himself.

With the benefit of 24 hours, it’s clear that Akin has become a national liability, in part because his apology was round-about, in part because Republicans are not forgiven as easily as Democrats (remember how the press and Democrats reacted to allegations of rape made against Bill Clinton), and in part because Republicans who control the money and political leadership have been left with no choice but to do everything withing their power to distance themselves.

As many readers pointed out, at this point the merits hardly merit discussion.

Akin says he is staying in the race.  I am not of the school that he would be bound to lose under other circumstances.  With time Missouri voters would have to weigh his statements against Claire McCaskill’s support for the Obama agenda and Obamacare.  But that’s with time, of which there is precious little before election day and the conventions.

These developments today should give Akin pause as to whether he wants to drag others down with him (h/t Charles):

  • Republicans pull money from Missouri – “National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (R-Tex.) has informed Rep. Todd Akin that the national GOP will not spend money to help elect him to the Senate in the aftermath of Akin’s controversial comments about “legitimate rape,” according to an NRSC aide.”
  • Crossroads pulls out of Missouri after Akin comments – “The conservative outside-spending powerhouse Crossroads GPS is pulling its ads from the Missouri Senate race, three sources confirmed to POLITICO.”
  • Calls to step aside: “Many big-name Republicans have repudiated the comment, and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Senate candidate and former congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) have called for Akin to drop out of the race.”

Duchess of Kitty has more links in the comments.

There are two ways Akin could drop out.  By tomorrow, or as late as September 25 by court petition.

At this point, let’s hope it’s tomorrow.

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Comments

I agree wholeheartedly. I watched Claire McCaskill smirk her way through an impromptu appearance on “Morning Joe” this AM and could not stomach the thought of 6 more years of her. Clearly she has learned a good deal at the heels of Harry Reid. The mere thought we would be played by this strategy twice was nearly as obnoxious as the thoughts of an Obama second term.

This bothers me…seems too typical of Republicans.

I do not think what he says is true, even though I am against abortion in all cicumstances.

I’m afraid you’re right.

The media are like little brats beating the drum all night long … but we gave them the drum as a present.

theduchessofkitty | August 20, 2012 at 3:44 pm

Akin is damaged goods. He may have apologized, but the damage is done – and it’s very damaging.

What do you do with damaged goods? You toss them out and replace them with something better.

Well he made a sincere apology on the Hannity program and I believe him. I’m more than willing to forgive him and move on. I am not perfect and I would hope I get forgiveness whenI make a mistake.

    Forgiveness is not the same thing as Rehabilitation. He is forgiven, but he is not rehabilitated. That could take a few years. You seem to be saying you would rather the party give up its chances of winning much this election and wait for Akin to improve. I don’t think you really mean that.

      PhillyGuy in reply to 49erDweet. | August 20, 2012 at 4:25 pm

      I was just reflecting on forgiving a man’s mistake.I believe he is remorseful and made an error. In no way was I making a political calculation.That is for the RSCC. After Romney made his comments about Akin, the clock started ticking.

    Mary Sue in reply to PhillyGuy. | August 20, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    I sympathize with your position, really I do. You and I don’t get to vote in MO though. My concern is Akin’s obvious reckless disregard for every GOP candidate running when he took to the airwaves yesterday. As Rick Wilson wrote:

    I’ll save the litigation over abortion for another day, but Akin’s statement (“legitimate rape” will set the pro-life movement back years if this plays out) was so egregiously stupid – and its aftermath so poorly handled – that it betrays a man unprepared for this contest, unable to think on his feet and unwilling to focus relentlessly on a path to victory.

    In the era of the Twitter and Google Panopticon, Akin’s mistake was amplified instantly, and the Obama campaign and every floundering Democrat grabbed it like a lifeline. Barack Obama took to the press room moments ago to hang Akin’s stupidity around Mitt Romney’s neck.

    Which is why he has to go.

    Claire McCaskill spent $2 million because she knew Akin had a long history of reckless statements. He proved her right in short order. He merely had to lay low and stay on message until November. He blew it.

      SmokeVanThorn in reply to Mary Sue. | August 20, 2012 at 4:21 pm

      You know what happens when one side capitulates to its opponent’s definitions? Go over to proteinwisdom.com and do some reading.

    98ZJUSMC in reply to PhillyGuy. | August 20, 2012 at 6:43 pm

    Forgiveness is not the problem. I can always forgive. Ignorance, on the other hand, is something I can’t forgive.

The double standard in the media is reprehensible, and the media will use this to attempt to tarnish the Republican Party as a whole.

That being said, perhaps every time this comes up those standing against the Democrat Party should say FINE. That means all Democrat members support illegal and unethical activities such as cheating on their wives (Clinton, Weiner, Spitzer), support running gay brothels out of their Congressional offices (Barney Frank’s lover), accept bribes (William J. Jefferson) and are in favor of allowing illegal aliens to illegally vote in order to win elections (every Democrat that opposes Voter ID laws).

Let’s watch the Democrat party operatives sputter on those for a while.

And, given it’s the 50 year anniversary of it’s debut as a movie, and QUITE LITERALLY applicable to this faux outrage, let’s all suggest that those screaming loudest go watch “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

(for those that don’t get the reference, one of the main plot arcs is a Black Man is accused of Raping a White Woman, but all the evidence belies the charge).

    Ragspierre in reply to Chuck Skinner. | August 20, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    Falsely accused… As a means of placating her racist daddy.

      I was trying to be subtle and not to give too much of that plot-point away regarding the reasoning as to why he was accused. Merely using it as a vehicle to highlight the fact that sometimes women do falsely cry rape for other reasons (as another example, see the Duke Lacrosse case).

    You just reminded me of Sandra Bernhart who in 2008 threatend Sarah Palin with ‘sending her black brothers to gang rape her if she stepped one foot inside Manhattan’.

    Sarah wanted to speak in solidarity with Israel at the Israel Day event but was forced to stay away because of the threat of gang-rape.

    Ahmadinejad can freely speak in NYC but not Sarah Palin.

    TO all those Centrists and Moderates, do you understand the path you’ve taken when you chose to walk with the Progressive Left?

Yeah, this guy needs to be returned to the bullpen.

Anybody this stupid and inarticulate…or ill advised in a Missouri Senatorial campaign…is not going to make a batter.

ANYbody with GOP associated with their name has to have all their neck-hairs stand up when something like “rape” is HINTED in a press setting. Either he ignored what he’s been taught, or he was too stupid to get good press people.

And, yeah, we are not Deemocrats. There is NOT a DOUBLE standard. We HAVE standards, and they just DO NOT.

Planned Parenthood is a BIG co-conspirator with child rapists, as anyone with a working brain knows. But they are abortionists, and abortion is the highest sacrament of the Collective, as we also all know.

Henry Hawkins | August 20, 2012 at 3:54 pm

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.

    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

    You are 100% correct. The sooner he leaves the better. I said before and I repeat – perception is reality and I am not going into what he believes or whether or not there may be some truth to what he believes. It¡s the words themselves that are damaging because most will only hear those words and not bother with context, etc. His choice of words was very unfortunate and has done a lot of harm. I will repeat this ad nauseum – there is a time and place to take a stand, and this was neither the time nor the place.

I’m not sure why you are doing the Dems work for them, but please stop.

Everyone says something stupid at some point in their lives, be honest with yourself, you have too. Akins has apologized for his poor wording. Honestly, do you really believe Akins endorses rape? It’s absurd.

Many people have the understanding that pregnancy as the result of rape is a rare thing, IF it is not so then cite the study and educate the public as a service. And if you really are sincere about that discussion, then have the discussion instead of shooting from the hip in a political reactionary style because it’s an election season. Liberals are going to pounce on it anyway, don’t help them.

Liberals are only looking for an exception to justify aborting all children any time, any week of gestation for any reason by any method including partial birth. They deceitfully use the pregnancy by rape as an excuse to cover up all the unacceptable reasons for using abortion as a form of birth control. The end game being that human life has no virtue in and of itself meaning that anyone wielding the power over life and death (e.g. government) has no moral accountability for their actions.

I would rather have Akins as a Congress person over that of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or any of the other human life haters who call themselves liberal. At least with Adkins he would think twice about doing something that would cause someone to die, do you really believe Pelosi would bother if it didn’t meet her political agenda?

    Ragspierre in reply to dscott. | August 20, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    “Everyone says something stupid at some point in their lives…”

    Granted. But not during a Senate campaign in a state like Missouri. Or really, most anywhere.

    I mean…just damn.

    When you go to the movies do you understand the story you are watching is only fiction, right? Because you seem to be saying Akin’s terribly incomplete “apology” made everything right in your world. IMO only a fool would not recognize that what Henry Hawkins and many others here are saying is true – the stench from this will last and last and last, until Akin’s resigns or November 6, whichever occurs first.

      I suppose for me it comes down to this analysis: “Can he still win?”

      With enough down-ticket support, I think the answer is still yes. Looking into my crystal ball, I see Romney-Ryan winning Missouri by +9 to +10. A win that big translates to just about every Republican in a State Legislature race and above on the ticket winning.

      Will it play in the Main Stream Morons for months until the election? Probably, considering it gives the Main Stream Morons a talking point to scream “war on women.” That’s the danger and the damage that it does.

      If the Republicans were less timid, it would give them an opportunity to come out and say “Rape is a terrible crime against the person, but all you have to do is look back to the Duke Lacrosse case to see that not every woman who cries rape is actually raped.” Put the Democrat Apologists on the defensive right out of the gate by forcing them to defend a false allegation.

      That being said, my primary goal is to WIN. If there’s another candidate who can be substituted in quickly who already has high name recognition, can get operations up and running (or assume Akin’s operation) AND polls equal to or better than McCaskill, so be it. If not, then we’re stuck with what we’ve got and have to put the best spin on it as possible.

    Browndog in reply to dscott. | August 20, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    I’d rather have Obama as President than Joseph Stalin.

    What’s up with the 40 acre field of straw men?

    Let me sum it up:

    The female electorate has a way of shutting the whole thing down

    P.S>- Akins is not the only candidate “pro-life”, and electing him will not save a single life, unless you think a single Senator can overturn Row v Wade.

      Maybe not a single Senator. But 67 of them together CAN.

        Browndog in reply to Chuck Skinner. | August 20, 2012 at 4:31 pm

        I’d love to hear how.

        (From where I sit, it takes a overwhelming consensus of the population to overturn what I consider and Amendment to the Constitution–as in Prohibition. We’re getting there, this doesn’t help)

          Simple. The 4th Amendment doesn’t protect Abortion because it says so. It protects abortion because 5 Justices sitting on the court de-facto amended the Constitution by interpreting it to say so. That can change at ANY time.

          Impeach and Convict the 4 sitting Liberal Justices (and maybe Kennedy) and replace them with Conservatives who overturn Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood. It only takes 67 Senators to convict.

          Easy-peasy.

          Browndog in reply to Browndog. | August 20, 2012 at 6:34 pm

          As far fetched as that may seem…

          It takes a man like Akins to get that done?

          Yes. It takes a man like Akin to get that done. An unapologetic pro-innocent-life Republican. It takes a group of Republicans made up of that type of person to roll back the Liberal-Progressive Statist mindset and do whatever is necessary.

          No more ‘compromise,’ no more retreat. Use the rules and the procedure as a HAMMER and BASH through the changes necessary. The Dimwits in the Democrat leadership showed us how they do it when they are in power (see 2009-2010 Congress). They are unapologetic in their use of power as a cudgel. It is high time that we did the same.

          Use the power of impeachment, use the power of removal, dismiss the “career staff” put in under Democrat administrations who refuse to implement the new policies and procedures or attempt to stall them. Let the Democrat party scream and then point out the hypocrisy of their whining because of their actions when they were in the majority (pushing through judicial nominations and staff, Obamacare under ‘reconciliation rules,’ etc…).

    Henry Hawkins in reply to dscott. | August 20, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    “I’m not sure why you are doing the Dems work for them, but please stop.”

    Apparently you’ve chosen to ignore the widespread outcry against Akin from his own party members.

    “Everyone says something stupid at some point in their lives, be honest with yourself, you have too.”

    I sure have. But I’m not running for the US Senate.

    “Akins has apologized for his poor wording.”

    It was a decidedly lame apology, barely an apology. Like you, he apparently doesn’t understand what people are upset about. That is, by apology time, Akin still didn’t get it.

    “Honestly, do you really believe Akins endorses rape? It’s absurd.”

    Nobody anywhere is accusing Akin of endorsing rape. What is absurd is your straw man argument.

    “Many people have the understanding that pregnancy as the result of rape is a rare thing, IF it is not so then cite the study and educate the public as a service.”

    5% of rapes cause pregnancy, about 32,000 per year nationally. Notice how once we have the stats, nothing about the Akin situation changes?

    “And if you really are sincere about that discussion, then have the discussion instead of shooting from the hip in a political reactionary style because it’s an election season.”

    And while we are politely discussing the issue, the liberal media will be wreaking havoc up and down the entire GOP slate of candidates via guilt by association. Ah, but we’ll feel better for not having responded in a reactionary way.

    “Liberals are going to pounce on it anyway, don’t help them.”

    We aren’t helping them. We who place principles above party don’t want a clown like this guy on our team.

    “Liberals are only looking for an exception to justify aborting all children any time, any week of gestation for any reason by any method including partial birth. They deceitfully use the pregnancy by rape as an excuse to cover up all the unacceptable reasons for using abortion as a form of birth control. The end game being that human life has no virtue in and of itself meaning that anyone wielding the power over life and death (e.g. government) has no moral accountability for their actions.”

    Then please explain how turning this election season into another national discussional referendum on abortion helps the GOP up and down the ticket. You say don’t help the liberals? Your suggestion is to hand them the Golden Distraction Of All Time.

    “I would rather have Akins as a Congress person over that of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or any of the other human life haters who call themselves liberal.”

    So would Missourians, which is why they nominated him to run for the Senate seat. Too bad he pissed all over that opportunity as well as all over what you’d rather.

    “At least with Adkins he would think twice about doing something that would cause someone to die…”

    There were two GOP primary candidates right behind Akin by just a few percentage points. They would equally think twice. Your ‘Akins or nobody’ idea is a false dichotomy.

    “…do you really believe Pelosi would bother if it didn’t meet her political agenda?”

    Huh? That there exist liberals who support abortion is a reason to support a guy from whom his own party and its PACs have withdrawn all money and support?

      janitor in reply to Henry Hawkins. | August 20, 2012 at 4:28 pm

      And while we are politely discussing the issue, the liberal media will be wreaking havoc up and down the entire GOP slate of candidates via guilt by association.

      You nailed the problem, HH.

      Hi Henry,

      I don’t buy the “5%” number that keeps being thrown out. At the VERY least, the “math” is wrong (see below).

      This 5% number is based on a 1996 NIH study with a sample size of 4008 American Women of reproductive age over a 3 year period.

      Of that 4008, 640 reported they had been raped (15%) and of that 15 percent 34 had resulted in pregnancy. I had to calculate the 15% number, because it’s not listed anywhere. The study only discusses that 34 of the 4008 women became pregnant due to rape during that time.

      The study is WEAK. They’re talking about a population sample size of .00002505 of the female US population. Far too weak to rely on that 5% number. If these numbers hold out, it means that over a 3 year period 12 million women (of reproductive age) will be raped in the US, and 600,000 of those raped will become pregnant. (or 200,000 annually).

      If that is the case then we have a Rape epidemic in this country that the Main Stream Morons are completely ignoring.

        Henry Hawkins in reply to Chuck Skinner. | August 20, 2012 at 5:57 pm

        Change it to 2%, change it to 7% – it changes the dynamics of this situation not one whit.

          I don’t know. I would say it changes the dynamics somewhat if the percentage rate of Rape Pregnancies is something more like 0.5% Then you’re saying 5 women out of every thousand raped get pregnant (aka 1000 NATIONALLY annually) Then the “reasoning” behind saying that “abortion should be unfettered because of women being raped” becomes a farce. It certainly ends the Planned Parenthood talking points of having abortion facilities all over the place because “women need access to abortion facilities in case they get raped.” The Planned Parenthood facilities couldn’t stay open with an average of 20 abortions per year per state. With numbers that small, the HOSPITALS should be able to take care of EVERY case of rape-induced pregnancy requiring abortion easily.

      The voters of MO will decide the issue. It’s up to Akins to connect with voters and failing their understanding decide if it is worth the effort. And yes, Akins has a choice to bow out and let the State GOP appoint a person in his place.

      However, your responses only strengthen the liberal tactical stance over the abortion issue instead of taking it head on by challenging them on their own deceitfulness over the issue. After all, the senate race is a local issue in MO, not a national issue but for calls by LI and other blogs calling for Akins to drop out cause it to be elevated to a national issue. It is a huge mistake to nationalize the issue. What you are basically saying is let the MSM field these type of questions in hope of mixing up the race on the national level. No, the proper response is to punch back twice as hard making it unpalatable for the MSM to even ask the question because they are not going to like the answer as it resonates with the majority of voters. That answer should have been and he meant to say, he generally opposes an abortion except for the rare instances of rape, incest and life of the mother.

      If you want to quibble about the meaning of rare and 5% being rare versus 95% not rare fine, it’s an honest point of disagreement. In a nation of 300 million plus 32,000 out of 4,130,665 pregnancies is not considered average, normal or considerable as it represents NOT 5% but 0.77%, do the math. I my view of the world anything less than 1% is rare.

      http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm

      Your failure to do the math and citing 5% sums up the liberal deceitfulness over the issue, not that I am accusing you of being a liberal. What it does point out is that even you fell into the liberal trap of accepting their false information on the subject. A liberal assertion is nothing more than a falsehood waiting to be exposed. Liberal falsehoods only stand when conservatives get lazy or complacent about the facts. I say punch back twice as hard and let the chips fall where they may.

      Stop doing the work for liberals. Let them do their own advocacy as in most cases it ends up alienating one group against another.

        Henry Hawkins in reply to dscott. | August 20, 2012 at 6:04 pm

        OK then, I’ll ask you what the media will certainly be asking Akin:

        1. Please clarify what you (Akin) meant by “legiimate rape” vs illegitimate rape?

        2. Please provide the names of the doctors who informed you (Akin) that female physiology can ‘shut down’ the fertilization process in a rape attack?

        Bear in mind that whatever your (Akin’s) answers, the liberal media will merely extrapolate new ones from them, all the way until November 6th. They are masters at dragging GOP goof-ups out for as long as it takes.

          Yes, let’s all cower in the corner fearful of what new set of lies and innuendos liberals will spin up. But you are correct, the GOP does have more than it’s fair share whimpering operatives that may not be up to the task at hand.

          The fake indian, Elizabeth Warren has jumped on the bandwagon of this legitimate rape nonsense. If you are going to cower to the likes of Warren you might as well resign yourself to Obama being POTUS for another 4 years.

          Henry Hawkins in reply to Henry Hawkins. | August 20, 2012 at 10:45 pm

          You can’t answer the questions and neither can Akin – nobody can – and you chose instead to go the meaningless ad hominem route on a blog commenter who has nothing to do with the situation. Feel better?

          This isn’t about kowtowing to liberal bullying. This is about choosing one’s battles and battlegrounds. Akin screwed up, voiced belief in magical female physiology in an insensitive way. This sort of ignorance never exists in a vaccuum, never stands alone, and there is no telling what else this guy believes that would doom his campaign and that of too many other GOP candidates. He’s already cited as one reason he won’t quit that his campaign is “providential”, determined not by him, but by God.

          No one is more eager than I to fight the fight against liberal media and politicians, but there are just 77 days till the election.

          This is not the time for that fight, nor is Akin the hill upon which we should make that stand. The guy simply isn’t ready for prime time.

          And they wonder why so many GOP operatives in the national party seem to shoot the Conservative cause at the most inopportune time thus de facto legitimizing a liberal agenda item?

          The Akin controversy was the perfect opportunity to club McCaskill for her own partial birth abortion stance.

          Support a ban on partial-birth abortion

          Q: Do you support a ban on partial-birth abortion? A: I do, within the constitutional framework that we currently have, with the exception for the life of the mother. I also support parental notification. On the whole issue of abortion, I certainly believe that abortion should remain safe, legal and rare in the early term, but why don’t we concentrate on prevention? and do the right thing to drop the number of abortions instead of making health care more unavailable to poor women, which in fact drives up the number of abortions in this country.

          Source: 2006 MO Senate Debate on NBC Meet The Press with Tim Russert , Oct 8, 2006

          http://www.ontheissues.org/social/Claire_McCaskill_Abortion.htm

          For the less astute among us regarding McCaskill’s answer on partial birth abortion. Notice she said their should be an EXCEPTION for the life of the mother. Partial birth abortion is bringing a child to full term (9 months), partially delivering the child with the head outside the mother and then sticking a needle in the base of the child’s head to suck out their brains. NOW under what circumstances would there be any threat to the life of the mother to kill a child when it has been mostly delivered?

          As anyone who is experienced with liberal double talk knows, the exception for the life of the mother is stretched to mean any reason at all. This is in fact the track record of liberals on that particular subject what a threat means. In other words, McCaskill supports the entire concept of partial birth abortion as a means of birth control. Re-read her excuses of safe and rare for abortion.

          Yes, Akins was certainly guilty of a moment of stupidity with the nonsense of preventing an unwanted pregnancy via stress.

          And while we are on the subject, let’s not forget that ObamaCare legalizes abortion, all methods of abortion including post delivery infanticide (that Obama supports) of those children who survive an abortion. McCaskill voted for ObamaCare. Now don’t you feel so good that your tax dollars are going to subsidize, i.e. pay for abortion?

          How does your political tactical strategy look now? Yes, a substitute for Akin may win, but at what price?

    janitor in reply to dscott. | August 20, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    There’s a big difference between a misspeak and a clear statement of stupid, wrong beliefs. What he said is insight into his attitudes and his IQ. If he were a stealth Democrat, planted to make Republicans look like the idiotic cartoon Democrats try to paint them as, he couldn’t have done a better job.

Ah, the old marquee match-up: Massive Blind Ego vs. Greater Good. I’d have to put the money on Ego. But maybe a third party, such as Hopeless Cause Leading to Personal Humiliation can step in and have a word with Mr. Akin.

    There’s a third potential outcome. What if MO voters were to elect Akins anyway? This thing would go on and on and on and on for at least six years, maybe more. He gains the most gravitas by stepping down quickly.

      This thing would go on and on and on and on for at least six years, maybe more.

      The incident has gone national. While squeaking through to a win himself, Akin might sink Republicans across the country. Including, just possibly, the Presidential ticket.

The republicans should understand that abortion is a topic on which they should shut up. The topic loses votes. A true conservative would understand that the government telling anyone what to do with their body is a leftist idea and not one that will get thinking people to the polls. If abortion is such an important concept, then lets vote in an amendment. Otherwise, leave it alone.

    Ragspierre in reply to david7134. | August 20, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    But protecting the life of humans is a Conservative ideal, and we don’t need to apologize for doing it.

    I agree in part that it does not to be something we wear on our sleeve in this election cycle. There is too much else to deal with as a priority.

    But we also don’t need to be bashful about dealing with it when it is put to us.

Without question, Akin must go. Then Missouri Repubs will have a second chance to DO IT RIGHT. Both John Brunner and Sarah Steelman, who were virtually tied in second place in the primary to Akin, are solid conservatives. Steelman is backed by Palin. Either will be a massive improvement over the Bite-Me biden like idiot Akin and either should be able to easily defeat one of the worst people in the Senate, TAX CHEAT and OBOZO-lover McCaskill. Jim Talent, another possible replacement for Akin, would do the same.

I’ll say it-since she won’t

“Told you so!”

-Sarah Palin

theduchessofkitty | August 20, 2012 at 4:24 pm

I posted a link to a post on The Corner regarding speculation on a replacement. I’m going to repeat what I said regarding that post.

Remember that idiot Akin won the primary on a very tiny plurality, not a majority of the vote. Why was that? The consultant gave the definite answer:

“The consultant also thinks that it’s not shocking that Akin made his remark: “People make bad comments, but Todd Akin’s been making these for 12 years, but no one’s paid attention because he’s been a wacky little congressman.””

Based on this, and the fact that there was no majority vote here, there could have been a runoff, just like the one here in TX between Cruz and Dewhurst. Since I don’t know the laws in MO, I can only speculate here. But the Tea Party and other GOPers knew Akin was an idiot. Heck, Sarah Palin didn’t endorse him: that alone should have been a clue.

    theduchessofkitty in reply to theduchessofkitty. | August 20, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    I’m going to say this again. The GOP in MO and the Tea Party knew Akin was a “wacky little congressman.” They specifically didn’t support him for that reason. Even Sarah Palin didn’t touch that idiot with a ten-foot pole.

    And yet, he was still elected with a plurality of the vote.

    I smell a Democrat trap here.

      theduchessofkitty in reply to theduchessofkitty. | August 20, 2012 at 4:44 pm

      Remember that I said “I smell a Democrat trap here”?

      I knew it! From Power Line:

      “Akin’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, seems quite content to have Akin stay in the race. Though claiming to be outraged by his remark, McCaskill declined, during an interview on MSNBC to call for Akin’s withdrawal. Making her true preference clear, she added that for Akin to withdraw would be “radical” after a hotly contested three-way Republican primary which Akin won “by a comfortable margin.” Translation: please, please, please, don’t withdraw.”

      theduchessofkitty in reply to theduchessofkitty. | August 20, 2012 at 6:23 pm

      “I smell a Democrat trap”, part 2.

      I had no idea this happened. From Ann Coulter:

      “Dems spent @ $2 million on ads boosting Todd Akin in the primary, according to the NYT – nyti.ms/Rc4sbh Pls withdraw @ToddAkin!”

      This confirms my worst fears.

      The Democrats had seen the polls and knew McCaskill was in serious trouble – and they also knew a very strong GOP contender would have made it impossible for her to win. They KNEW Akins was the worst candidate among the MO GOP field – and they also knew the national GOP didn’t know him well enough.

      So, they threw their whole machine and money into getting enough gullible people to vote for Akin, thus assuring McCaskill the Senate seat for six more years.

      And it almost worked. They almost got away with it. Almost…

      If Akin had said that idiotic statement two weeks from now, it would have been too late.

      It was a Democrat trap, definitely.

Good for you, professor. Now all we have to do is to get @dloesch to throw Akin under the bus and we’re pretty much 100% there. Akin joins Clayton Williams in Texas: No jokee about the rapee of womyn.

Even though Todd Akin is not a witch.

I don’t agree. He should stay in. The money should not have been pulled. Don’t give in to media pressure. Take the flak and get on with it.

The #AkinGate feeding frenzy is so raucous its hard to tell the Liberal Piranha from the Conservative Piranha…

http://twitpic.com/aluz08

Ace of Spades is saying that Akin is withdrawing from the Missouri Race tomorrow.

http://minx.cc/?post=332078

Lautenberg in NJ. [fill in the blank] in MO.
Akin, take one for the team.

In every case of alleged sexual misconduct I have ever had personal knowledge of whether the would be true or false, it has always been false without exception. Generally as a ploy to gain sympathy or make someone look bad, or not admit to what they have done out of shame. Then there are those accusations of those I know to be pathological liars accuse someone of rape. But I have never heard of a real rape by a credible victim of whom I had personal knowledge of the accused and the accuser. Maybe you have, but I certainly haven’t, and I personally have found that surprising.

I think part of this, is that as Americans we don’t take social violence seriously. So people take it lightly to accuse someone to gain an upper hand against them. Its never punished to falsely accuse someone of a crime. At worst they may need to move away and on to their next set of victims. If you accuse someone of a horrible crime that can end up with that person in a prison being raped himself is such a horrid act, it needs to be punished with the punishment you would have inflicted on them.

Think about the Duke Lacross case, or Mike Tyson’s case, or perhaps the Kobe Bryant. In 2 of the cases the liar ran off with millions of dollars and one got off scott free. Think about what happened to Clarence Thomas or very recently Harman Cain. Never ever taken seriously, never punished for what they did. And this is the state of justice in america.

It seems very strange to me, that in this situation beyond all others, our legal system takes away the rights of the defendants to a fair trial. Always taking the word of one party over the other without any evidence. Its incredulous. Its shameful. I think Atkin is spot on Women cry rape all the time, because its so easy and beneficial there is no reason not to do it. We have to create incentives not to bare false witness against other people otherwise we asre going to get more of this garbage.

    syn in reply to imfine. | August 20, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    You just reminded me of the Mark Foley ‘scandal’ in which college-aged pages sent openly Gay Republican explicit text messages for fun and games.

    2006 election, Dems wanted to take the House and Senate so the Progressive Leftists-magnificent protectors of Gay Rights- pounded on Mark Foley’s Gay puppy until he was forced to resign.

    Then two years later it was found Mark Foley-openly Gay Republican-did nothing criminal:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/20foley.html?_r=1
    “Nearly two years after a Florida congressman abruptly resigned over sexually explicit messages he sent to a teenage House page, law enforcement authorities here have concluded there is “insufficient evidence” to charge him with breaking Florida laws.” The Feds did not charge him either.

Greetings everyone at LI. As they say longtime follower,first time commenter.

I am a life long resident of suburban St Louis,MO. Akin has represented a district here for over a decade. As a staunch
prolifer he should know by now how to answer an abortion queston by a well known local liberal hack.

I happened to be channel surfing Sat eve waiting for the Cards game to begin and saw this debacle live. My jaw dropped at the idiocy of this statement! I thought to myself
“Damn, Clair’s strategy just paid off in record time!”.

I e-mailed Akin’s campaign and politely urged him to step down for the good of the country,the state,and the party. This election is to important to blow. Clair was down in the last poll before the primary to all 3 Republican candidates. This seat was an easy win.

I hope Sarah Steelman gets back in. She is a solid conservitive and I think a women can undo the damage that has been done.(full disclosure, I supported Steelman in the primary and in previous elections.)

I would urge everyone to contact Akin at http://www.akin.org/contact and urge him to do the right thing.

Thanks for your time.

Gateway Pundit links to a report that preparations for Akin to withdraw are already underway.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/08/akin-advisers-ready-for-candidate-to-withdraw-from-race-tuesday/

    1. I hope that’s correct. If so, I am not vindictive toward Akin. Fine with me if he is given a role somewhere, e.g. as president of a small conservative college. In fact I wonder if that was part of the negotiations for his withdrawal.

    2. Although Steelman came in narrowly behind Brunner in the MO primary, as a matter of practical politics she is the obvious possibility to replace Akin. (Unless I’m overlooking something.) If I were Steelman, I’d be asking Palin to repeat her endorsement.

    DizzyMissL in reply to JEBurke. | August 20, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    They are saying the GOP will pick the replacement. That does not seem right.

      9thDistrictNeighbor in reply to DizzyMissL. | August 20, 2012 at 6:27 pm

      The GOP can set up whatever method it wants to replace any candidate who cannot make it until the election. Given that this guy squeaked by in the first place, I say a good ole smoke-filled room would be appropriate right about now.

[…] those who foolishly requested Akin be given a chance to explain now know Akin must go. In an election if you are explaining, you’re losing. And today we have another day in which […]

Karen Sacandy | August 20, 2012 at 5:48 pm

I think this is ridiculous. Nobody’s perfect. If you want “perfection,” you want someone that will NEVER ruffle anyone’s feathers, ever. That kind of person will never get a damn thing done.

Geeze, will someone please call off the thought police?!?!

Karen Sacandy | August 20, 2012 at 5:49 pm

And quit bowing to the thought police!

    Sadly, it is too late to stop the thought police.

    Fear of punishment is too great a motivation.

    The GOP and pro-lifers will forever be know as

    – ‘wanting to let women die on the floor’ (in the words of Nancy Pelosi) if they don’t give women their free abortions.

    I cannot say I am not surprised by the fear for as long as I have been alive those who do not bend to the Feminist ceiling have always been deemed as wanting to force women into hot kitchens, bear-foot and pregnant cooking up slop for the Man.

    Feminist, when She broke the glass She became the oppressive ceiling. And then She led the way for the other Political Identity groups to do the same.

    Because of the thought police, no matter what we do we will always be known as Racists, Sexists, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Environmental Deniers,

    TO all those Centrists and Moderates, do you understand the path you’ve taken when you chose to walk with the Progressive Left?

    Karen, I appreciate your sentiments on this matter. I despise the double standards of the media and would fight back against the libs and thier allies in the MSM.

    But, the stakes are simply too high this time. This stone will be hung around every Republicans neck from now till Election Day. Watch what Saturday Night Live will do with this!

    As I said in my post, I am a life long resident of Missouri. I’ve seen this state elect a dead man to the U.S. Senate out of sympathy. The longer Akin stays in the race the worse this will get.

      syn in reply to Tony H. | August 20, 2012 at 7:20 pm

      It isn’t just the media’s double standards.

      I have yet to hear people such as McCain rail against his good friend Pelosi (the doubled-standard devout Catholic who promotes death of babies by abortion) when she goes on record that he and his party would ‘let women die on the floor’ if he and his party did not give women their free abortions.

        syn in reply to syn. | August 20, 2012 at 7:31 pm

        Come to think of it, it is amazing how Nancy Pelosi-the highly devout Catholic who promotes death of babies by abortion- PROUDLY wears around her neck the words:

        “Under this bill, when the Republicans vote for this bill today, they will be voting to say that women can die on the floor”

        And all the pro-choicers gleefully applaud her vicious and malicious slande. And even better, the pro-choicers need not worry about the consequences of infanticide-their President Obama advocated shoving those defenseless babies into some dirty hospital linen closet to die because it SERVES THE ORIGINAL INTENT while preventing women from dying on the floor!

        The Rah-Rah Sisterhood, when I was twenty and stupid I supported Her now but now that I am fifty and have lived long enough to know that I cannot stand to look at her face anymore.

After a night to sleep on it and I shared my thoughts on Facebook with my liberal friends.

“Akin perverted two issues in one gaffe, he minimized the trauma of rape and then cited the biological response to stress to dismiss the question at hand. Women, especially if they have just ovulated and the egg is in the viable stage of 12-24 hours for conception indeed can and do get pregnant from rape.”

I felt they understood the difference of statement.

I feel horrible being very defensive in regards to how stress affects ovulation. What Akin said was misinformative, but the comments were just as well uninformed in terms of reproductive function. My comments were in no way defending Akin. I really needed to share my point of view.

So where does that leave us?

I think the lifesite article is a good start of a discussion

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/20/woman-conceived-in-rape-responds-to-akin-abortion-controversy/

“Rape victims choose abortion at half the rate of the average unplanned pregnancy, which is over 50%. Only 15-25% of rape victims choose abortion, depending on the study. The majority of rape victims choose to raise her child — not “the rapist’s baby” — HER child.”

We have a lot to think about and discuss.

    syn in reply to ReneeA. | August 20, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    We cannot talk about it or anything else which challenges the Progressive Leftist orthodoxy. To do so would invite the rage of their machine (as we have just seen with Akins)

    And becasue we cannot talk about anything which challenges the Progressive Leftist orthodoxy we have encouraged inbred-intellectualism from the top of the pile all the way down into the sewer.

    Pluralism died in America in the 1950s.

      Much like the battered wife syndrome. Running for the supposed safety of the least offensive thus tacitly supporting the very agenda one is against. Liberals are so vested in their myths, even the liberal GOP members reflexively agree.

    ReneeA in reply to ReneeA. | August 20, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    What is the deal with the ‘thumbs downs’?

      syn in reply to ReneeA. | August 20, 2012 at 7:35 pm

      Because the stone around the Republicans’s neck has been worn so long it has become petrified.

      Henry Hawkins in reply to ReneeA. | August 20, 2012 at 10:54 pm

      One needn’t be registered to vote Like or Dislike. If you see a few Dislikes, it’s probably just Lib/Dems brought here by a link at their chosen sites. If you see a lot of Dislikes, say 5 or more, it means a few LI readers/commenters didn’t like what you posted either. Bear in mind, many/most people get multiple votes, one each from their work computer, home computer, and/or laptops, iPhones, etc., which the software here sees as separate ‘people’.

      Personally, I largely ignore Like/Dislikes and focus on specific replies to my posts, if any, and excepting our resident scamp, one ‘LukeHandCool’ a ne’er do well you’d do well to keep an eye on.

9thDistrictNeighbor | August 20, 2012 at 6:21 pm

He will leave the race when the money dries up.

    He will leave the race when he gets assurances for a political future, and Mitch McConnell decides who is RINO enough to replace him on the ticket….

    ….over a glass or two of scotch.

theduchessofkitty | August 20, 2012 at 6:34 pm

Interesting. Kevin at HillBuzz posted that all of Akin’s phone systems are offline as of today. Read it all.

I don’t think they expected this tornado at all. But the Akins staff response has only added fuel to the fire.

    DizzyMissL in reply to theduchessofkitty. | August 20, 2012 at 6:53 pm

    They are idiots if they did not expect this. We have enough idiots in office. We don’t need any more.

      Yeah idiots Nancy ‘I am a piously righteous pro-abortion Catholic’ Pelosi and Harry ‘you all stink’ Reid will be in office like Robert (KKK) Byrd and Ted ‘drunkard’ Kennedy, until the day they die.

      It is better to pound away at every Republican who ever says anything against the Progressive Leftist othodoxy, at least you’ll foolishly think you are taking it to the Establishment Man

        terimwal in reply to syn. | August 20, 2012 at 8:06 pm

        syn you are missing the point. This is not an abortion debate and Akin is not the only pro-life candidate. Sarah Steelman has excellent pro-life credentials. This is about some incredibly stupid statements by a senate candidate who then doubled-down with a half-assed apology. His judgement is terrible. In the process, the entire Republican candidate roster will be tarred with the Akin brush. He needs to step aside so one of the others, that got nearly as many votes as he did, can step in.

        I would not be a bit surprised if the Democrats contributed money to his campaign.

    Ragspierre in reply to theduchessofkitty. | August 20, 2012 at 7:57 pm

    Michael Barry is a big noise in Texas conservative radio, and he’s all excited about the anti-Akin stuff.

    Meh.

    He’s sometimes an idiot, and fails to see the reality of a given situation.

    He ASSumes that McKaskill will win by default if Akin drops out. I disagree.

    Akin is a stupid, weak candidate who made a colossally STUPID error that NOBODY forced.

      theduchessofkitty in reply to Ragspierre. | August 20, 2012 at 9:13 pm

      I live in the Houston area and I don’t listen to Michael Berry at all.

      This whole thing is sabotage. Total Dem sabotage. And it is fast becoming total Akin sabotage as well.

      I think this will end in court.

[…] Jacobson sides with the “Akin should drop out” side here is some of his take  it’s clear that Akin has become a national liability, in part because his apology was […]

Politics is war continued by other means. In war, when a commander fails at a critical battle through his own incompetence, he should be immediately relieved and replaced by a more competent leader. Stepping aside is the only honorable action for Akin.

I have never supported the clay footed conservatives that scatter whenever a leftwing culture czar flashs ridicule. Too many times we have failed to bully back the nasty nonsense.

But this is not nonsense. I am utterly stunned that someone this ignorant could actually capture the nomination. One wonders if this fellow obtained this “insight” from the graffiti written on a local truckstops restroom walls.

Atkins did not “mis-speak” (which is an extraordinarly inept attempt at damage control) – to call him a hill billy would be an insult to hill billies.

I deeply hope he withdraws immediately and seeks help. I hope his ego and hubris does not cost the party a sure seat. And if he does not withdraw I hope there is not a Republican in the State that will ever associate with him again. This man should be deeply ashamed that he wasted the time and effort of so many by posing as an adult, and if he cannot see how moronic he was, I would welcome him being driven from the party.

What a putz…

[…] NRSC is pulling its funding and American Crossroads PAC are pulling out of the state.  Several Republicans are calling for him to step down.  He was blasted by Mitt Romney yesterday as well: […]

    No, Akin’s problem was saying something so stupid and demeaning of women that it suggests he is a ignoramus of the highest order.

    While oppositiion to abortion for rape victims is
    politically unwise, at least it is a morally informed opinion. But phrases and comments such as “victims of ‘legitimate’ rape” (as if many rapes are exagerations or false claims by women)and spinning bizarre theories that women’s bodies protect against pregnacy if the are raped is more than stupid, it suggests a man deeply out of touch with what is morally acceptable to most Americans.

    And to magnify his error, the guys PR team releases a tepid non-apology saying “Oh,he mispoke” – a second slap in the face to women.

    Akin’s might have been a fine Senator, but a blunder of this size will assure his defeat.If he has a ounce of moral fiber in him and humility, he will resign before the end of the day. All the videos of his “heart” cannot undo the damage. Its over.