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Today's Poll!Mo. Senate candidate’s comments on rape stir outcry
Monday, August 20, 2012
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Congressman Todd Akin was keeping a low profile Monday, a day after he said women’s bodies are able to prevent pregnancies in “a legitimate rape” situation and that conception is rare in such cases.
Campaign spokesman Ryan Hite said the congressman was making no public appearances Monday, and did not plan any further comments on the issue. He canceled a scheduled Monday morning interview with talk show host Charlie Brennan on KMOX Radio.
The six-term congressman is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, opposing Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in the November election.
Asked in an interview Sunday on KTVI-TV if he would support abortions for women who have been raped, Akin said: “It seems to me first of all, 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.”
Later Sunday, Akin released a statement saying that he “misspoke” during the interview, though the statement did not say specifically which points.
“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,” Akin’s statement said.
Akin also said in the statement he believes “deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.”
Akin’s comments brought a swift rebuke from the campaign of presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his choice for vice president, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
“Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape,” Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said.
Romney went further in an interview with National Review Online, calling Akin’s comment “inexcusable.”
“Congressman’s Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,” Romney said. “Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.”
The Missouri Senate race is one of the more hotly contested, with control of the Senate up for grabs. McCaskill, who is seeking a second term, is considered vulnerable because of her strong ties to President Obama — she was an early supporter in 2008 — and the fact that Missouri is considered an increasingly conservative state.
In an emailed statement Sunday, McCaskill called Akin’s comments “offensive.”
“It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape,” McCaskill said. “The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive.”
This month, Akin, 65, won the state’s Republican U.S. Senate primary by a comfortable margin. During the primary, Akin enhanced his standing with TV ads in which former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee praised him as “a courageous conservative” and “a Bible-based Christian” who “supports traditional marriage” and “defends the unborn.”
Akin, a former state lawmaker who first won election to the U.S. House in 2000, also has a long-established base among evangelical Christians and was endorsed in the primary by more than 100 pastors.
Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, on Sunday called Akin’s remarks “flat-out astonishing.”
“That kind of rhetoric re-traumatizes sexual assault victims. ... That kind of talk, I believe, is intended to shame women,” she told AP Radio. The left-leaning organization supports abortion rights and already opposed Akin’s candidacy before his comments Sunday.
Akin was interviewed on KTVI’s “The Jaco Report,” and also talked about numerous campaign issues, such as voter ID laws, the economy and Medicare. KTVI said the interview was conducted earlier in the week.
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Comments
Crump 9 months ago
How stupid is this guy? I'm still voting for him over the Marxist.
asb 9 months ago
So you know he's just said something really really dumb; yet you'll vote for this proven meathead over a "marxist?" Really? Claire is a marxist? Until today I thought McCaskill was a centerist democrat with a slight leftward bias in her steering, but I also thought the trees in my backyard were asking me for water, so who knows. Akin, on the other hand, has said nothing out of character, it's what he does.
spelchek 9 months ago
I'm voting for the best slogan between the two of them regardless of experience and qualifications. If he told me in a town hall meeting that he was right and that I and the majority of his constituents were wrong about a bill he supported, I'd vote for him. If he told me he would lower sea levels, balance the budget, keep unemployment under 8% all in his first term and then didn't....I'd vote for him again. If he used tax payers money to fly jets around NYC and scare them half to death his first year in office, I'd vote for him. If he told me that he wouldn't raise my taxes and then did, I'd vote for him. If he told me he didn't support gay marriage to get elected then said he did support gay marriage to get elected, I'd vote for him. If he told me he was stripping liberties away from one religious group and not another, I'd vote for him. And on and on and on and on and on.........
asb 9 months ago
Yes Spel, we're quite familiar with you half-truth list of reasons to hate Obama, but, um, we're talking about Todd Akin.
dokeus6 9 months ago
This statement is the Republican ethos. That is why he is bashing Obama.
dokeus6 9 months ago
Speaking of silly, did you hear the universe was created 6000 years ago?
Sequoia 9 months ago
Somebody who claims to "defend the unborn" sure doesn't seem to know, or care to know, much about female reproduction.
The quality of Republican candidates is abysmal. I can't vote for them until they put forward a candidate operating above the level of a fraternity pledge.
A guy like this will blunder into doing all kinds of damage. You can just see it coming.
Are you really suckered into this guy? You know he's playing you for fools with all that "defending the unborn" stuff, right? You can see that. Right?
LuckNLove 9 months ago
I'm not sure if this is the funniest or the scariest thing I've heard from a political candidate.
kielhwl 9 months ago
Cool! Missouri just took the lead in the "stupidist politician" race. Texas was in the lead, but way to go big MO...you slipped in there and stole the race from them.
spelchek 9 months ago
When did Joe Biden become a Missourian?
JCLifer 9 months ago
Missouri has been at the very bottom of the other states for years. It sucks to be worse than Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, etc. Our polititicans have worked hard to make us in LAST PLACE #50.
him 9 months ago
If he misspoke or not. Everyone has the right to their own religion and own beliefs. Someone's view on abortion shouldn't be the reason for voting or not voting for them into a political office. Obama has fipped flopped on abortion several times. Even though Akin's views on abortion might be different than mine, I still believe he is the right person for the job over McCaskill.
Sequoia 9 months ago
It's not about whether Akin has adopted one of two manufactured "views" on abortion, it is about the overall quality of thought.
As a voter, you're not just chosing one product or the other off the shelf. You're making a decision between two people who display a different level of abilities and a different quality of thought. McCaskill displays a higher ability, a higher quality. Akin is a blunt object.
The right person for the job is the person who displays the highest ability. In this race, between these two people, McCaskill is that person.
Clearly so, right?
tonto_goldberg 9 months ago
Trying to spin a preposterous statement into empathy? I hope you don't agree with his statement on rape victims, no matter how you choose to vote. What you are doing right now is called doubling down.
You understand he was the Democrats' hand-picked opponent for McCaskill, right? You understand McCaskill is a former prosecutor and former Missouri State Auditor, right? Can you imagine the outcome if the two of them meet in a debate?
asb 9 months ago
This isn't a religious issue, it's a brain and education issue, and Todd Akin fails on both counts.
TickledPink 9 months ago
HIs stance on abortion is almost secondary to his noxious view on rape. Please, define "legitimate rape" and how it makes MY BODY protect against pregnancy. This is one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard. I'm so glad I didn't get pregnant when I was raped - this pig would think it wasn't legitimate.
You're most definitely a him. Why should you care about someone's view of abortion? You'll never be put in the position of making that decision. EVERY SINGLE WOMAN needs to vote against this man and the rest of the goons like him.
Gabrielle 9 months ago
what does this mean?
newone 9 months ago
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,”
It's not the fact that he is against abortion that makes him look like a fool it's statements like the above that makes him look like a tool, anyone who say's something like this is not smart enought to be in ANY type of office.
Sequoia 9 months ago
And it isn't just smarts, either. It's his willingness to learn something about a policy that could affect millions of people.
It reminds me of when Perry couldn't remember the three federal agencies he wanted to cut. He hadn't even given such a major decision enough thought and research to remember the very basics of his own view. He didn't even care enough to think about what he was saying. Just say it and the rabble will cheer.
It's not just intelligence. It's willingness to do homework. You don't have to be smart. You just have to CARE about getting it right.
Akin mouths the words "unborn," but he doesn't know or care what that actually means. Say the words and the suckers will follow right along.
These Tea Party candidates are like the kid who gets up in front of the class to wing it on a book report when he hasn't done the reading. The voters are the kids laughing and cheering him on, just 'cause he's the cool class clown.
Whether you're a republican or democrat, you should have a higher standard for your leaders than this.
It's about quality. It's about merit. It's about being careful. Those things will get you a lot farther than just being smart or clever. Conservatives are supposed to care about those things, right?
Gabrielle 9 months ago
It isn't clear what Perry has to do with this discussion - since you bring it up - I interpreted his momentary blank a result of intense campaigning. Sometimes people experience this. So why the big deal about Perry?
cinkisses 9 months ago
Wait.. are you claming he made these statements cause hes too wore out from campaigning? Thats reassuring, lets hope he doesn't get too wore out if he gets voted in and really screw something up?
Sequoia 9 months ago
People don't have a "momentary blank" about a decision they've made that is so serious, that would affect so many people, about something for which they take their responsibility seriously, about something they've spent years studying and thinking about.
People have a "momentary blank" about something they've crammed on at the last minute. That's the big deal.
Perry didn't "know" what agencies he wanted to cut and why. He was trying to remember talking points. He was an actor who needed his cue to remember the lines he learned, not a leader who seriously cared that he was suggesting truly radical, disruptive change that might carry enormous unforseen consequences. There isn't anything "conservative" about blithe carelessness.
Both these guys are flippant and casual and proudly ignorant about things that really matter. So-called conservatives cheer the person who can say the most careless thing. They cheer the guy who doesn't do his homework. What kind of leader do you think that creates?
That's the big deal.
Gabrielle 9 months ago
Sequoia - you provide a perspective that implicates total and complete disception. Is this something you identify with 'conservatives' only?
asb 9 months ago
Not to stick my nose in others' threads, but I don't see any implication of complete and total deception in Sequoia's perspective. Rather, a clear comparison between Perry and Todd regarding their willingness to gibber talking points without having real knowledge, and being proud of it. I heard a progressive guitar player do this once, but I'm sure she just misspoke.
Gabrielle 9 months ago
asb - you are welcome here and I am appreciative that you so kindly commented. Seems some clarification is important here - on my part. The comments sequioa made that I am referring to when I said 'implicates total and complete desception.' are the following:
-'Both these guys are flippant and casual and proudly ignorant about things that really matter. So-called conservatives cheer the person who can say the most careless thing. They cheer the guy who doesn't do his homework'.
In these paragraphs, she is saying Akins and Perry are deceptive - that they are phony. As I see it, this is a very serious allegation - that to the very core this is who they are. It raises questions for me - is this the view of all 'conservatives' - they are phony?
Sequoia 9 months ago
No, Gabrielle. I don't identify this with conservatives at all.
As you can read in my comments, I don't think there is anything "conservative" about being sloppy and careless with big ideas. These people may call themselves "conservative," but that's just advertising language. There is certainly nothing conservative about these men or their ideas.
Perry and Akin are reactionary... they want dramatic change based on abstract ideology, and they could care less about thinking through the actual unintended consequences. So, I don't identify that as "conservative." The problem is that true conservatives don't stand up and demand better.
Gabrielle 9 months ago
you answered my question, sequoia. This is progress. Yet, its almost same song second verse in that these are general statements you make of Perry and Akin that again sounds like you think they are phony. I can only conclude that after alot of reading, studying, analysing - you conclude this is who they are. Do you think at any time they were genuine about what they said?
Sequoia 9 months ago
I think Akin genuinely believes that a woman can't get pregnant from rape, and that there is some meaningful difference between "forcible" rape and date rape, statutory rape, or incest, and he seems to suggest he believes that if a woman gets pregnant, she must have enjoyed the rape (or else her body, in his words, would "shut it down").
This idea is related to the politics of abortion restrictions. Most people agree that women who have been raped should be able to receive an abortion. Anti-abortion activists have tried to create a legal definition of "forcible" rape to mean the rare stranger-drags-you-into-the-bushes rape, as distinct from the much more common occurrence, where the woman is raped by a family member or someone she knows, so that anti-abortion laws can contain an exemption for "forcible rape" that doesn't include a definition of how women are actually raped. That's what the President meant when he said "rape is rape." All rape is "forcible" rape. The distinction is a calculated, legally abstract way to prevent women from having abortions. I do think Akin genuinely believes that is a good thing, and so his view that a raped woman can't get pregnant is the product of confirmation bias. Nobody around him has ever called him on it, he's probably heard people repeat it, and so he's never felt the need to figure out if what he "feels" or "believes" is ACTUALLY true, because it all fits with the abstract ideological position that all abortion is evil. These days Republicans kick you out of the party if you say "Yes, well, but..."
I think it is simply easier for Akin to hold the view (or at least publicly proclaim the view) that abortion is evil, and to "believe" all the "facts" that support this premise, and to dismiss any nuance or critique of that view as "liberalism," instead of really trying to get his facts and policy right. It's politically convenient, and human nature.
I don't know what's in any person's mind or heart. But Akin's apparent willingness to "genuinely believe" instead of "actually know" that what he's saying is true is what bothers me.
JCLifer 9 months ago
This country is hopeless. Neither party can put up a decent candidate to run in any race.
I am so fed up with politics status quo and the very low quality of candidates. No wonder voter apathy is so low. Why should anyone vote when the choices are so bad? "Worst of the worst" is hard to tell anymore.
dokeus6 9 months ago
There is no incentive to be a good politician. You say what you want to please the masses. You get paid by the rich and corporations.
What sane, rational person in their right mind would want to be a puppet?
asb 9 months ago
Nobody owns Berny Sanders. That guy is a machine of wisdom, sanity, compassion, and a heartfelt sense of service to the public. Of course he's an Independent, with all the power of 10,000 butterfly sneezes (to quote Moody Blues lyrics).
connor 9 months ago
Anyone interested in how a person could form an opinion such as Congressman Akin rather foolishly put forth in his interview could read this link:
webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/news/20030605/how-stress-causes-miscarriage
Not saying I agree with the Congressman's leap or anything.
I doubt this will effect the people who were going to vote for the man anyway. They still will.
Gabrielle 9 months ago
Thanks, connor. This article is a good example of the mind-body connection. Personally, I don't see it as a stretch. I just don't know the details and from this article, seems the researchers don't know the exact details of stress and miscarraige. Thoughts and their corresponding feelings have biological responses. The lie detector test is probably the best example of this.
Sounds like you will not be voting for Akin. Are these recent statements the reason?
connor 9 months ago
Your welcome Gabrielle. I will be voting for whomever is running against ol Clairebear. Akin was not my first choice but I am not a republican so I had to wait and be satisfied with who they picked.
This minor issue will be blown completely out of all context (as it already is) even though it has little real bearing on the job that a Senator needs to be focused on. Especially in view of what I at least see coming down the pipe towards this country. We waste billions arguing over petty issues while the world around us burns and our debt spirals out of control.
tonto_goldberg 9 months ago
I believe you were looking for this earlier. It was posted in a different story about Rep. Akin's comments.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said a woman who is raped “has no control over ovulation, fertilization or implantation of a fertilized egg (i.e., pregnancy). To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.”
You're welcome.
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