There’s an old saying–oft attributed to Katherine Hepburn, Dorothy Parker, and / or Charlotte Whitton– that “women have to work twice as hard as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” This entire Todd Akin debacle reminds me that the same can be said of Republicans, with the added caveat that they not only have to work twice as hard but be twice as moral, ethical, and decent as Democrats. Now, normally, that’s not at all difficult, especially given the incredibly low bar set by the leftists in today’s Democrat Party, but every now and then, we run into an asshat like Akin. At first, I felt sort of sorry for the guy (even though I don’t believe he “misspoke”; I am pretty confident that he actually believes what he said), but he said something he shouldn’t have, told the truth as he saw it. Who hasn’t done that? How unfair that he has to go down for that! But he does. He will.
The only question was whether or not he’d take us down with him. Looks like he’s dead set on doing just that. He wants to stay in the race. He knows full well that the dem smear machine has already cranked into full gear to tie his ridiculous, childish, stupid comments to Romney and Ryan. He knows full well that we need to beat Air Claire to win the Senate in November. He knows full well what is at stake in this election, not just the presidency but the balance of power in Congress . . . the future of our country, our very Republic. And you know what he cares about? The now long long long-shot that he’ll win. He cares about himself, his power, his career.
It turns my stomach.
Twitter is abuzz with people on both sides: those supporting Akin and those who want him to step down. Let me say, in response to his ad (at link above), that I absolutely forgive him (not that it’s my place to do so). That’s not the point. He’s a jackass, but so are most members of Congress (especially on the Dem side, we can spend all day quoting their asshattery). The logic seems to be that it’s worth losing not just one Senate seat in a crucial swing state but also the entire Senate (well, you know, the possible Senate majority) and possibly even the presidency to defend this guy’s right to say ignorant crap.
Um. No. He’s not one of “us”; he’s not TEA Party, he’s obsessed with himself, not America. If he were the sort of person I’d defend . . . I wouldn’t have to. He’d have stepped down by now.
Fuzzy Logic 
i remember saying to mark when he told me about what akin said, “are we sure he isn’t a lefty plant?”
He’s not, but he might as well be. They spent $1.5 million to ensure he’d beat out his rivals, including one endorsed by Sarah Palin (Sarah Steelman): http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/08/democrats-spent-1-5-million-to-get-akin-elected-in-primary/ and http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/08/04/Palin-Campaigns-With-Missouri-Senate-Candidate-Sarah-Steelman-Before-Tuesday-Primary .
Grrrr.
The Democrats are good at shaping the battlefield, rather than passively entering it. It’s one thing we need to learn.
Agreed.
I bounced my forehead on my desk a half-dozen times when I heard about it. I agree, he’s got to step aside. Whether or not the GOP lets the liberals/Democrats use this as a club against us remains to be seen – hopefully, we’ll get more of a Sununu response than a McCain response to it.
If he steps aside, there is no club with which to beat the GOP endlessly. That’s one of the main reasons I want him to do so. What on earth can the GOP say in response to that jerk? I mean, really? If he stays, and it looks like he will, they’re stuck with this horror around their necks until election day. The dems are cheering and laughing. Can’t say as I blame them, I sure would be if the situation were reversed.
From what Mark Levin said yesterday, I think some kind of deadline for ballots has passed, so it’s a done deal.
I agree with you, Fuzzy. What an asshat. His name is mud as far as I’m concerned. We’re playing team sports here, and he’s an egotistical idiot who does his side more harm than good.
Well, he still has about a month to withdraw, but he’ll need to get a court order to do so. Let’s hope that he does it. His campaign cash will stop flowing, that’s for sure, so hopefully, he’ll see the light. I’m not holding my breath, though, that’s the problem with asshats, their heads are so far up there . . . . grrr
The court that has to give the release is democratically controlled. They have the legal right to say no, and probably will. This man single handedly may keep Obamacare in place.
I’m not so sure about the court saying no, but it’s moot at this time. Akin is an asshat of gigantic proportions and tweeted this a.m. that he raised $100k and that means he’s staying in. Ridiculous.
Great points, especially about most of Congress being jackasses. He should just withdraw now.
Sigh. Yes, he so should.
The fact that he won’t step down speaks volumes.
I agree with 100% of everything voiced in your post;
He believes what he said.
He’s an asshat.
He cares more about himself, his power and his career.
It does speak volumes about his character and his priorities. And what it says is all bad.
Akin stayed in the race, so now we have to decide how to approach winning that seat in MO. We could go the write-in route as they did in Alaska in 2010. But the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to get a feeling that Akin is not completely out of it. He’d have to run smart, but it’s not an impossible hill to climb.
My strategy for him would consist of two parts.
First, make a second commercial about the gaff. The first was an okay start, but I think he needs to make a stronger point. Specifically “My words sucked, but here’s the issue – why are babies conceived in the tragedy of rape any less deserving of life than other children? What about those people out there who were conceived in rape? Are they less of a person because of it? Yes, it takes a woman of incredible strength to take the life inside her to term. But does that innocent child lack a right to life?”
Make it about the baby and he has a chance to rehabilitate his image.
Part two: Get off the subject after running the commercial, run on the economy, and only answer direct questions about the past statement, and only with the statement I suggest above.
There’s still some hope he’ll get out. Not much, but some.
No way will the RNC support him now, nor will the state GOP. Nor will anyone else who’s come out against him (including me). We can’t win MO with him; it’s just not doable. He’s dragging down the entire ticket, shifted the NATIONAL discussion from the economy and entitlements to abortion and rape . . . it’s a gigantic disaster for every single republican running, including Romney and Ryan. And it’s all Akin’s doing. He’s a destructive nightmare and no number of commercials will save him or that seat.
The write-in is a huge gamble, I haven’t really thought it through yet, so don’t really want to spout off on it (yet).
If we had a balanced media, thewords of this idiot would be fodder for a few days and then we would get back to talking about issue. That media doesn’t exist in America today. The DemoRats will play this for all it is worth.
The media is complicit, certainly, but in this case, it’s really politics. The dems can’t not go with this: it shifts the discussion from the economy and entitlements, an argument that Romney and Ryan were winning without even trying too hard, to rape, abortion, social issues. These are not, as historically proven, winners for conservatives. Not yet. We need to win back our culture before we can win there. This is politics, it’s different. And with Akin . . . we may have just lost it all.