Todd Akin Vows to Stay in the Race

Akin told Mike Huckabee that he was going to stay in the race today, even though everyone in Washington was begging him to drop out. He must have taken some "going rogue" lessons from Sarah Palin, eh?

His statements today are almost as incredible as what he said on Sunday. Almost.

From the Washington Post:

“I’ve had a chance now to have run through a primary, and the party people said when you win the primary then we’ll be with you. Well, they were with us. Then I said one word and one sentence on one day, and everything changed,” Akin told Huckabee, an early supporter. “I haven’t done anything morally or ethically wrong. It does seem like a little bit of an overreaction.”

. . . Akin said that his supporters and “good friends, closer than brothers,” had asked him to stick it out. He added that he has received “continuing calls from other congressman” expressing their support. (He did not name any of these congressman.)

He compared his race to the GOP primary, when he was outraised by rivals and lacked institutional backing. And he referred to the potential to attract more independent voters. “I realize that there are now a lot of other bravehearts that don’t fit into the political parties exactly,” he said. “I believe there is a cause here, and there is a part of the message that’s missing, and a lot of the people feel left out of the parties.

“What we’re seeing right now is a tremendous outpouring of support from just regular small people,” he said. “They’re not the big party people.”

No, but you can bet the "Big Party People" are furious right now because having Akin in this race will keep the topics of abortion and "personhood" in the center of controversy until November. And that road leads right back to his good buddy, Paul Ryan. Ha!

All my Liveblog Posts about Akin from Snark Amendment:
Todd's Countdown to Destiny
Todd Akin Under the Bus
Akins Empty Chair Appears on CNN
Akin Breakin' in Missouri - Should he Stay or Go?
Todd Akin (R-MO) Needs Legitimate Sex Education

Todd Akin and the Magical Pregnancy Shield

Sometimes the more subtle type of violence against women is the verbal kind coming from the Right-Wing Republican Tea Party Nutters. Take Todd Akin . . . please. He thinks that women can't get pregnant from "forcible" or what he calls "legitimate" rape because of "God's Protective Shield," which is something a couple of wingnut doctors made up. Insane. (More on that further down the page)

My Previous Post: Missouri's Todd Akins and "Legitimate" Rape
Updated Tweets and Comments on Snark Amendment

His Original Statement from Huff Post

From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist.

And of course the Obligatory Non-Apology

Now Republicans are panicking and calling for Akin to pull out (no pun intended).
Todd Has Until Tuesday Aug. 21 to Drop Out of the Race

Meanwhile, Claire McCaskill has had a surprise money bomb dropped on her Senate campaign tonight. Congratulations! 

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Did you know that Congressman Akin is on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Go figure that out!

What we know is that Akin worked with Paul Ryan in Congress to redefine rape as either "forcible" or not, so that girls wouldn't be lining up for abortions and claiming "statutory rape." I guess he believes that statutory rape can lead to pregnancy, but not "legitimate" or "forcible" rape.

From Huffington Post 

Ryan ... cosponsored the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" with Akin in 2011. The GOP tried to narrow the definition of rape as it related to abortions with the measure. Only in instances of "forcible rape," the bill specified, would a woman be eligible to have her abortion covered under insurance.

The Romney/Ryan Ticket came out with a statement tonight that is slightly to the left of Paul's previous views on abortion:

Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Andrea Saul, a Romney spokesperson, told The Huffington Post.
While Saul's statement is consistent with Romney's position on abortion, it's a clear departure from Ryan's position, which is that abortion should only be legal in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. Ryan sponsored a fetal personhood bill, which would effectively criminalize abortion and some forms of birth control without exceptions for rape victims.
“I’m as pro-life as a person gets,” he told the Weekly Standard in 2010. “You’re not going to have a truce.”

Mother Jones has an article detailing just where Todd Akins (and probably Paul Ryan) got this misinformation about rape and pregnancy. Turns out there are some whacked-out doctors on the right who are spreading misinformation and these anti-women wingnuts then use it to make policy.

My question: Why would grown-up supposedly educated men believe this nonsense? 


Todd Akin Wrong, but Not Alone

. . .  John C. Willke, an anti-abortion doctor, writes on the website Christian Life Resources about how pregnancies resulting from rape are "extremely rare" because of hormones and stuff:

Finally, factor in what is certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that's physical trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get and stay pregnant a woman's body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain that is easily influenced by emotions. There's no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy.

. . . In 1998, Fay Boozman, a Republican candidate for Senate in Arkansas, got in trouble for embracing this idea. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Boozman said the inability to get pregnant from rape stemmed from "God's little protective shield"—a report Boozman denied before saying that it was in fact an "adrenaline rush" that prevented conception from rape.
The you-can't-get-pregnant-from-rape falsehood is apparently something that enough people believe that Planned Parenthood includes it on its pregnancy FAQ page.

I don't think even God's Protective Shield can help Todd Akin now. He's going down!

Missouri's Todd Akin and "Legitimate" Rape ~ Updates

UPDATES:

Snark Amendment Tweets and Internet Comments on this story

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Honestly, how much more of this can we women take before we have to go march in the streets? This evil idiocy towards women is like a Frankenstein's monster that keeps going and going and going . . .kicking women where they are most vulnerable. What does this say about the GOP and the future of this country? I. Just. Can't. Stand. It.

On Pregnancy from Rape:
From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist.
~ Congressman Todd Akin, R-Missouri, running for Senate

We're going to prove to Missourians that Todd Akin is out of touch with their problems, out of touch with the pain that they feel, and out of touch with the views that they hold dear.
~ Akins opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri

As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases,I'm stunned by Rep Akin's comments about victims this AM bit.ly/NahiHz
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) August 19, 2012

UPDATE: Akins Issues a Statement - "Whoops, I misspoke off-the-cuff." OMG

Todd Akins Press Release

St. Louis - Congressman Todd Akin just released the following statement regarding his interview on the "Jaco Report" broadcast this morning in St. Louis:

"As a member of Congress, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve.

"I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue. But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election.

"But I also believe that this election is about a wide-range of very important issues, starting with the economy and the type of country we will be leaving our children and grandchildren. We've had 42 straight months of unacceptably high unemployment, trillion dollar deficits, and Democratic leaders in Washington who are focused on growing government, instead of jobs. That is my primary focus in this campaign and while there are those who want to distract from that, knowing they cannot defend the Democrats' failed economic record of the last four years, that will continue to be my focus in the months ahead."

Missouri Rush Bust Under 24-Hour Surveillance

Ugh, Rush Limbaugh's statue was unveiled this week in the Missouri State House. Dark Days there. Just keep in mind that if MO ever gets a more enlightened House Speaker, they can roll that big old bronze head right on out of there.

Via the Kansas City Star

Democrats were hopeful the bust would never be displayed alongside other inductees, such as Harry Truman, Mark Twain and Walt Disney. They argued that Limbaugh's history of controversial statements -- most recently when he called 30-year-old law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" -- should have prevented him from being included in the hall . . .
The 2012 legislative session adjourned Friday. The bust was placed just outside the entrance to the Missouri House on the third floor of the Capitol on Monday. Inductees are selected solely by the House speaker.

But get this ~ The statue was installed in a "secret ceremony" and includes it's own Surveillance Camera! Do you think they are expecting that some visitors to the State Capitol might want to leave some type of offering to the Great Stone Head? Maybe a box of birth control pills? How about a picture of Sandra Fluke?

From ABC News:

“Instead of being open to the public, as is tradition, the ceremony was conducted in secret in a locked House chamber with only Republican officials and other select people allowed in,” Talboy said in the statement, according to KPLR-TV in St. Louis. “The secrecy and exclusion of the public demonstrates that even Republicans are embarrassed at honoring someone who recently called a female college student with whom he disagreed a ‘slut’ and a ‘prostitute.’”

The ceremony was closed to the public and Highway Patrol officers stood guard outside the House chamber, the Post-Dispatch reported. The event was announced to the media 26 minutes before the it began, KPLR reported.

A security camera, which was installed specifically for Limbaugh’s bust, will provide 24-hour surveillance of the statue, said Trevor Fox, the House’s director of communications. Limbaugh’s statue, which stands between those of 19th century painter George Bingham and former Missouri Gov. Warren Hearnes, is the only statue in the Missouri House’s Hall of Fame that has its own security camera.