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Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin
The is no better sign that the Romney campaign is really concerned about the damage Republican Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin could do to its campaign than the extraordinary lengths they are going to avoid talking about the issue of abortion. Romney did a local interview with KCNC-TV but with the one stipulation from the campaign that the candidate not be asked about abortion. From the Hill:
A television reporter in Denver said that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign stipulated that he did not want to be asked about the topic of abortion or the controversial comments made by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), the Republican candidate for Missouri’s Senate seat, during an interview taped Thursday.
The Romney campaign said later Thursday that “the matter was being addressed,” and that as a policy, it does not place restrictions on reporters. It also pointed to reports that other news stations granted interviews Thursday were not put under similar restrictions as evidence Romney was not trying to skirt the issue.
The Akin controversy has become an uncomfortable reminder that Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan shares Akin’s belief that there should be no abortion exemption for rape. Ryan believes that if you are brutally raped and as a result get pregnant, you should be legally required to carry your rapist’s child to term. This position is well outside the mainstream and sounds incredibly callous, so the Romney really campaign doesn’t want to talk about it, hoping it will go away.
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Does he think we’re electing Maxwell Smart or a President.
If it’s going to be a plank in the republican platform, the republican nominee has the duty to discuss how he’ll run the country into the ground. No exceptions and a free press would start with the abortion question every interview from now on.
Topic should NOT go away; he said what he intended to say though not truthful or humane.
As I just tweeted a few minutes ago:
Todd Akin was holding a press conference at 4:15 p.m. CDT today.
Has anyone heard what he said? Did he drop out or stay in the race.
Pretty rare for a presser now, but it is 4:55 and I have been all over the sites and cannot find out what he said. Help please.
Same here…could not find anything. NPR doing a big piece on Ryan and his views on abortion.
Via NBC News
Thanks.
RevBev and dakine01,
Thank you, thank you. I love this site.
As I told Ruth the other day, i really want him to stay in the race not only to give heartache to the Repubs but especially Paul Ryan his partner in writing anti-abortion legislation.
Saw a report that the Denver reporter wasn’t the only one given restrictive demands.
Rmoney’s tax plan = zero tax rate for he, zero income for thee.
Today, i read somewhere and I am kicking myself for not bookmarking it, but Paul Ryan, in an interview said “rape is just another ‘method of conception’ and not an excuse to allow abortions.”
What a POS.
When local TV reporters’ questions are too tough to handle,
it’s time to find another line of work.
I am of an age from the great thrust of the women’s movement…involved and active and committed. I really cannot believe what we are hearing these day…completely regressive and anti-woman. Come a long way Baby is shrinking fast. Dinos…
Mitt was willing to take questions on his taxes but not abortion? This is huge since Mitt won’t even release his taxes. Just what are Mitt’s numbers on Women after Akin’s comments? Are Akin’s comments dragging down Mitt’s already bad numbers with Women the way Rush’s comments did?
Will the GOP war on Women cost Mitt more votes than his failure to release his tax returns? Will they cost Mitt more votes than Rep Ryan’s plans to cut SS and Medicare with older voters?
Only thing that really matters is how many votes the republicans can steal in swing states. They certainly know this, even if some of us think that issues matter.
http://globalgrind.com/news/mitt-romney-polling-unfavorable-amongst-women-details
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/surrogates-admit-romney-will-cut-medicare-benefits-for-current-seniors.php
I have no idea what Mitt could cut to save the program and it seems Mitt has no idea either. I would love to see what seniors think of this in polling.
I would like to see Obama fight back on this issue for once.
From what I understand the ACA has already closed the doughnut hole and that can be a large savings for lots of people. Mitt better be careful or smarter.
So what is Mitt thinking the GOP platform at his Presidential convention is his deal nothing gets into the platform that he does not approve of and after Akin’s comments the anti abortion plank is like lemon on a cut.
In this economy cutting SS and Medicare to give the rich a tax cut is like salt on a cut. Add in the fact the Bush tax cuts for the rich never produced any jobs and thats like adding alcohol to a cut.
The GOP needs older voters to win, the GOP needs Women to win just what are they thinking?
You can only steal so many votes.
This must be making air time and/or the usual bellowing Hate radio shock jocks are also yelling this. In today’s local nooz paper, there were 2 letters to the editor from men basically saying words to the effect that “abortion is becoming much *common* as a means of birth control, and why should I have to pay for slutty women who get their whore-selves pregnant???” Not exaggerating a whole lot.
It gave me pause bc the victimizing *anger* really lept out of the paper. Of course, these letters were all fawning over Akin & Ryan and how fantastically fabulous they are, and how their viewpoints are so “correct.”
Believe me, there is heavy-duty propoganda afoot, and it’s mostly about how women are “out of control,” using abortion for birth control, have no morals, and why should poor embattled white men have to pay for their slutty wanton “mistakes”????
RevBev,
I bet that we are somewhat close in age if we remember the same things. I am 69 yrs. old and every step that women took was a proud moment and I am a male.
We have three daughters and I am very tuned in to women’s issues and demand that a woman be respected whenever i am around.
You are so right, the Republicans are trying to take womanhood back to the dark ages. Rights, you do not have any rights unless we say so…
The GOP moneymen had better be careful or they will lose to a President who has unemployment numbers no President has ever been reelected with.
4 years from now assuming the economy improves it will or we will have a revolution how can the GOP beat the Dems if Mitt discredits both the corporate and fundy wings of the GOP’s core ideas to the majority of voters?
Mitt has the best brains in the GOP on his payroll I am wondering about just how smart those brains are.
When you believe your own propaganda/drink the cool aid you are in trouble.
Thank you….the animosity and regression are quite shocking….Those were the days, my friend. My sister, who has passed, was more radical than I. She would be in white rage; interesting to recall. RIP
Really sad comments about any woman in those articles.
Sounds like they got their talking points for next week and beyond.
Do you connect the rage with the real progress women have made? ie, More college students, and now we have women docs, lawyers, Judges, College Profs and Deans….it has been a long, difficult road, but there is obvious progress.
All Obama has to do is sit back and let Romney and Ryan shoot themselves in the foot just like rickj Perry did. The two and the party they represent are despicable human beings. Despicable I say.
No woman, hispanic, gay, black, red, yellow or grey haired person should even consider voting for these two.
you know until you mentioned it, I had not thought about the direction of the rage, my dumb.
I think you hit it on the head, the women have broken through the “glass ceiling” and have made tremendous progress in the professions.
I am sure there are a lot of men who cannot stand having a woman for a boss, or being told what to do, by a woman supervisor etc. and i would be willing to bet these same cretins would favor a return to the beginning of the last century before the 19th Amendment.
The woman should just know her place and let the men take care of things.
Yeah right, that is not working out so well of late.
Well put. These guys and their party are a scourge on the planet.
I honestly think that the republican attitude towards women will go the way of vinyl records, typewriters, and manual can openers. It’s way past time. I don;t think anybody born after 1970 think the way the republican party does on these issues. My son is 35 nad most of his friends thinkg Romney and the republicans are repugnant. And, I cleaned that up.
Yeah, now Mitt’s campaign is putting out there that he has an enormous penis.
I hope you’re right but fear that you’re wrong.
Let’s break it down. The economy sucks big-time. Unemployment is very high. Competition for jobs is fierce. What better way to divide and conquer than to pit men against women yet again, esp for jobs. What better way to do it than to paint all women as disgusting sluts who cannot “control” themselves and run around having sexytime constantly without protection and then “claiming” they were raped, blah blah…
Nurses I know say that prof is now highly competitive for jobs, when, until recently, many areas where begging for qualified nurses. I’m also told (anecdotal and have no links or hard stats) that there’s more men flooding into this formerly female-dominated prof (which is fine).
I think this move is all about divide and conquer, per usual.
With the Letters to the Editor that I’m reading locally in CA (which is meant to be so liberal), I’m seeing a lot of men (at least they sign their letters as men) lining up to endorse and support Akin, Ryan & Romney. Don’t know how old these men are, but…
Here’s a good question for Willard.
Willard, just how many abortions have you written off on your tax returns?
Make that:
“Willard, just how many legitimate abortions have you written off on your tax returns?”
What’s the difference between today’s Republican Party and the John Birch Society?
David and Charles Koch have their political roots in the John Birch Society.
They’ve now turned today’s Republican Party into their version of the John Birch Society, one intent on lying, cheating and stealing it’s way to permanent political power…making Mitt Romney, and his campaign, the perfect representatives for this Latter Day racist incarnation of the John Birch Society.
Lazy corporate media should agree to no such stipulations on interviews. Otherwise the press just becomes an extension of the campaign. At least bill the Campaign for the free air time.
They are all scared shitless of a Katie Couric gotcha question that leaves them guppy mouthed
Heh, because everyone knows those “slutty women” totally made them babies on their own. I mean it wasn’t like there is a male involved in the process of making a baby or anything right?
I actually talked to a woman who comes from a conservative household. She was appalled to hear that 31 states had parental rights for rapists. This issue could very well tank the GOP. That vitriole you hear is FEAR. Women just need to keep pushing and letting GOP voters know that if Uncle Joe diddles 14 year old Janie that it is totally within the GOP platform to force Janie to compete for her bodies nutrients with a fetus. No exceptions is NOT a rule most feel comfortable with.