Republicans understandably want to move past the Todd Akin debacle as quickly as possible, but it’s not going to be easy. The Obama campaign is going to try to keep this issue alive as long as possible, if only to avoid a substantive debate on the economy and the deficit, and many in the media seem happy to help.
That means that any comment from social conservatives that relates to abortion is going to be scrutinized under a magnifying glass. Mike Huckabee, Tony Perkins, Kirk Cameron and Rep. Steve King from Iowa have all unfortunately added fuel to the controversy:
Rep. Steve King, one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, was one of the few Republicans who did not strongly condemn Rep. Todd Akin Monday for his remarks regarding pregnancy and rape. King also signaled why — he might agree with parts of Akin’s assertion.
King told an Iowa reporter he’s never heard of a child getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest.
“Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way,” King told KMEG-TV Monday, “and I’d be open to discussion about that subject matter.”
King’s comments probably wouldn’t have received much attention under normal circumstances, but we’re still in the midst of the Akin media circus. So unless Republicans want to spend weeks debating the intricacies of rape exceptions for abortion instead of talking about the economy, social conservative leaders might want to be more careful about how they phrase their arguments in the media.
The Family Research Council has come to his defense, no? n nHere’s what you have to worry about: how many Republican voters believe that they can will science into being? n nDepending on the answer to that question, a Sister Souljah moment might well be a double edged sword, if you’ve kipped down with fellow travelers you can’t afford to offend and lose.
Today's paper said that 5% of rape victims become pregnant. That is 50 out of 1000. However, according to Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Willke, the numbers are 1.5 per 1000. n nNext question. Out of the 1.5 women who become pregnant, how many lose the baby due to a miscarriage, which is likely for rape or incest? n nMaybe Rep. Akin was not wrong. n nWhat about the rapist who will be speaking at the Democratic convention? n
He's wrong. Miscarriage is not a function of morality. This is insanity.
Why are you under the impression the good Dr. Willke has any clue what he's talking about? n nOur friends on the religious right are getting downright embarrassing.
Conservatives, relax. Does anyone seriously believe that the abortion issue is going to decide this election? OK – maybe Akin blew his chances in MO, and maybe that means the Dems hold the Senate, which means Obamacare kicks in, which means the economy continues in the doldrums, which means the United States begins/continues its inexorable decline to become Greece. That's the worst case scenario, at any rate, but one many people seem to be jumping to. nRomney's moving in the polls, he is vastly outraising Obama, the Republicans have distanced themselves from Akin as much as they can, and not one single voter whose vote is truly up for grabs is going to vote for Obama because of this. If the Dems hold the Senate 51-49 after a Romney victory, some Democratic senators will be looking for an excuse to vote against Obamacare before they next face their constituents, and with Obama gone the pressure from the top for the continued leftward lurching of the party will be gone. nOh – and if Dems want to pound away on this as the economy continues to struggle and gas prices go up – well, good luck with that. nSo buck up.
Decided. Past tense.
I'm almost convinced Huckabee wants to sabotage Romney's chances of winning the election. That's why he gave Akin to the GOP as a gift weeks before the general election (Huckabee and McCaskill together are responsible for Akin's victory in the MO primary), and continued to support him and persuaded him to stay on even after his staggeringly stupid remarks.
The only "debacle" is the one the Republicans stepped into when they decided in this case that they would heed the Left's hysteria. I fact-checked Akin's comment. It is accurate.
LOL. Going to some koolaid drinking pro-life website that gets its info from Dr. Willke isn't much in the way of "fact-checking." I suppose you believe the earth is flat too. Are you married? Maybe you can your wife or some other woman to explain biology to you.
Akin undercuts Ryan. It will help Obama with swing voters in swing States.
Complicating all of this is Akin's apparent belief that somehow God is whispering in his ear, and that he's representing the forces of righteousness. An ignorant zealot is a dangerous thing.
I read on Wikipedia that Congressman Akin was born in New York City. You should be standing up for one of your own!
I think Akin should have gotten out of the race. I also talking to a co-worker and seriously, how many conservatives are actually going to vote for Akin's opponent. This is the hot topic right now but it will blow over. Since this guy won't get out of the race maybe the right should get behind him and try to aleast beat Claire McCaskill the woman is a train wreck and we are going to need her to get out of the way if we are to get the Senate out of Harry Reid's hands.
I think it is disgusting the way the GOP is throwing an honorable man like Todd Akin under the bus! I happen to agree with him that abortion is always wrong. I wish more politicians had deep-seated convictions that stayed the same regardless of which way the wind was blowing. nI think the worst thing Akin to do would be to withdraw after saying he wouldn't. What if someone else replaced him and the GOP STILL lost the seat? Who would you blame then? Would you blame Akin if Romney lost? "Independent moderates", bah!