Medieval obstetrics expert Congressman Todd Akin crashed to humiliating defeat in his attempt to unseat Missouri’s Senataor Claire McCaskill.
The Washington Post reports:
McCaskill had 54.7 percent of the vote, Akin 39.2 percent and the Libertarian candidate Jonathan Dine 6.1 percent…
By staying in the race this grotesquely selfish man threw away what should have been a GOP senate gain and, while he was at it, further tarnished a Republican national campaign already scarred by the earlier success of Rick Santorum.
What a disgrace.
The loss of Richard Mourdock is emblematic of what the Republican party did wrong this year. Dumping Richard Lugar lost a Senate seat in a state that Romney picked up. The Republican strategy all year seemed to be that the American people would be so enthused to dump Obama and the Democrats, that the Republicans could simply demand the keys to the kingdom and expect delivery.
The message they got was — America’s problems are not due to the current occupants of the positions of power. You need to work with them, not claim that your side is the only right one and expect the others to join you.
He would’ve been fine if he didn’t apologize.
Abortion has been on the political landscape for most of my life (I’m 54). You’d think that after this long a period of time, pro-life Repubs would be a LOT more nimble on their feet when it comes to defending their positions. Obviously, Akin and Mourdock were about as nimble as oxen wearing golashes.
And a question for candidates Mourdock and Akin. What kind of god uses rape to ensure that his “will” is done here on earth? Because that is essentially what Mourdock is saying in his response to the abortion/rape exception.
The god Mourdock worships is a monster if that is what Mourdock believes about god’s “will”, rape and pregnancy. It is amazing that Christians don’t see this when they spout their pieties on this issue.
Republicans are noted for pressuring candidates to sign various pledges, most notoriously Grover Norquist’s pledge not to raise taxes (which a few Democrats take as well).
I suggest that any candidate seeking the Republican nomination to run for the House or Senate in 2014 be requried to sign a pledge that he or she will not utter the word “rape” in any context whatsoever (even in reference to the plant) until after the election.
(If the reference to “the plant” is mystifying I refer to the plant that nowadays is customarily referred to as “rapeseed”, but which in my youth was referred to simply as “rape”.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed
Every Republican candidate for office is going to be badgered about abortion, simply because cement-heads like Akin and Mourdock made the matter fair game. What Republicans need to say is: “Abortion is legal, and has been since 1973. My personal feelings on the issue have no bearing the law.” That’s the literal truth–or the reality. No one politician, no matter to what office he or she aspires, is going to end abortion.
Akin was a selfish, self-righteous jackass of epic proportions.