Posted on 11/07/2012 8:59:01 AM PST by doug from upland
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill beat embattled Republican Congressman Todd Akin by a overwhelming margin in Missouri's Senate race Tuesday night.
With 99% of precincts reporting, the Democratic Senator lead Akin by a whopping 54.7% to 39.2%, according to the Missouri Secretary of State.
Akin conceded the shortly before 10 p.m. CST., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"Things don't always turn out the way you wanted," Akin said in his concession speech.
He ran on a platform that criticized incumbent McCaskill for supporting Obamacare, the stimulus act, and her family's close ties to federal money, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Romney won Missouri by 58%. Any other GOP candidate other than Akin would have won.
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Only good thing about this is with Aiken not in the Senate, the GOP won’t have the lodestone around its neck for the next 6 years of being the “pro-rape” party.
Did she win legitimately? Because the body has ways of shutting down disappointment if it’s a legitimate defeat.
What a tool.
The money McCaskill and the Dems spent making him her opponent was well spent. He succeeded in his mission. Since he lost this bad, I think it’s safe to say he would have lost even if he had never made those comments.
The pols would do well to just have a copy of a 4-D ultrasound at the third trimester handy and remind people that Democrats think it is OK to kill this.
Yep. Akin absolutely HAD to get out of that race. He dragged down the entire party. He’s not the sole reason for our situation, but he contributed a hell of a lot more than Christie’s antics did last week. Women outvoted men and went for Obama and the Dem Senators by too much to overcome.
There's a plan.
Lack of messaging discipline. Akin stepped in it huge and failed to recognize how badly. Mourdock the same.
Akin was intellectually shallow if he thought he could make a public statement like this before the election and it not cost him. He demonstrated that he was not politically savy enough to get elected.
We blew taking control of the Senatae in 2010 because of bad candidates. We did it again in 2012. When are we going to quit shooting ourselves in the foot?
Also, lack of party discipline. Akin was requested by everybody in the GOP to step aside and let another candidate carry the torch, but he was arrogant and stupid and thought it was all about him.
As long as abortion is the number one issue expect Republicans to lose. Too many women want to be able to end unwanted pregnancies by medical means. Whether they actually do that or not should not be the paramount issue in national politics. People opposed to abortion should not force the issue into the platform unless they want to lose. Values voters are more than willing to stay home if they think their candidate isn’t pure. Sorry Christians. We losw on principles that we can’t defend.
Actually, Missouri would have happily elected almost anyone *but* Claire McCaskill. Except for Akin. Once he opened his mouth, he was finished. If he’d have kept his mouth shut, he’d be getting ready for his new Senate seat today.
He went over the Crazy Line and paid for it. If anyone doubts that’s the reason why, find out just how much people disliked Claire after four years. Again, anyone but him would have beaten her, including Akin if he had kept his mouth shut.
But he didn’t, and probably some of that splatter hit the national election, too. Pissed-off (and rightly so) women in the ballot box voting against the Republicans in other states because of Akin and the other guy hurt us a lot.
He could`ve done a mea culpa and stepped aside after that gaffe... but no, he said God was urging him to stay in the race. No, Todd.. it was your ego. Thanks, turdball.
money down the drain...
Aiken shouldn't have been punished for one stupid remark...it wasn't fair...still, a team player and a patriot steps aside for such things....
which is the biggest problem with "patriots" and so called conservatives.....many of them are arrogant me firsters....the third party people...so many good people could have won their races had it not been for some cockamamie "constitutional" party candidate....
I hate them and their supporters almost as much as I hate the dictator..
We need some sort of Boot Camp for our future candidates. These guys are in need of some serious training on how NOT to take the bait when the media jackals start provoking them.
Nope Akin had a ten point lead ... He destroyed himself... and his massive ego wouldnt let him quit...
But he drug the party down with him and gave the Dims a great weapon to use in the general... thanks pal.
so in truth we are supporting MORE abortion, not less....
is that really what are intent is?.....
personally, I see the bigger picture..and we are failing miserably....
I am all for nominating and backing strong, solid Christian Conservatives. Unfortunately Akin was an idiot trying to play the part of a strong solid Christian Conservative.
People ... if we want to win the Senate we need to avoid nominating individuals who fit the negative stereotypes that define the Left’s description of Conservatives. Todd Akin may be a good man and may share the right values but he was an incredibly weak (and not too bright) candidate. We gave this one away!!
I am all for nominating and backing strong, solid Christian Conservatives. Unfortunately Akin was an idiot trying to play the part of a strong solid Christian Conservative.
People ... if we want to win the Senate we need to avoid nominating individuals who fit the negative stereotypes that define the Left’s description of Conservatives. Todd Akin may be a good man and may share the right values but he was an incredibly weak (and not too bright) candidate. We gave this one away!!
Oops, both did. Twice.
The problem is not opposition to abortion. It's not articulating your views on such in a coherent manner. If you get tangled up in the rape aspect of the debate (not that it shouldn't be mentioned, but both Akin and Mourdock mangled it) - you can sink your own campaign.
Just because one is a Christian does not mean you will be a good politician or even a good candidate.
I do not want someone running who is sooooo ego driven that he cannot understand a death inducing gaffe when he makes it. Politics may indeed be a dirty game but when one’s ego says I am the only one who can properly convey the message then you are so out of bounds as to be not useful.
Aiken’s loss was self induced and he was too ignorant to see it
I'm getting really annoyed by the doom-and-gloomers. The TEA party had an amazing amount of success in 2010, but let's focus on the handful of races that went poorly instead, shall we? Because, anything less than 100% victory means the whole movement is flawed, right?
From what I recall of the Missouri primary, there were three good conservatives running, and any of them would have been acceptable to the base. Akin won, but after he stepped in in, and then doubled down, he would have been wise to have withdrawn in favor of one of the others. He didn't and the result is history. No telling if either of the others would have won, of course.
But the original selection process went fine. Politicians are people too (all evidence to the contrary). They make mistakes. But an individual politician's foul-up isn't a reason to invalidate the philosophy that got them nominated or elected.
We are not celebrating. We are disgusted. Was there no other Christian to support here? Of course there was.
Being christian isn’t a free pass to be in idiot or a terrible candidate. Akin being a selfish moron will help allow gay marriage and more abortions. Sonds like a good christian to you?
I will.
If you live in the area, you saw the ads McCaskill had out there quoting all the GOP establishment types ranting on Akin. I think that ad did WAY more damage than anything Akin said. Their public statements were far more idiotic than anything Akin said, and they just kept doing it!
Also, the GOP refused to give him any money. (They may have kicked in a little toward the end, but no ads I saw gave them any "credit" at the end.) Okay, they were ticked because he didn't bow out. But get over it. What was more important - that he didn't do what they wanted, or that McCaskill get beaten. We have their answer.
That's the GOP establishment for you. Democrat lite.
The Democrats successfully beat Republicans over the head over the abortion issue and draw off women voters who believe Republicans want to end contraception. Putting “right to life” in the platform is not serving the candidates nor the people who oppose abortion. It would be better for Republicans to strike “right to life” from the platform and refuse to talk about abortion during campaigns. Take a page from the Democrats and use stealth measures to advance the agenda. Once in power vote for pro life legislation but don’t advertise it in the campaign.
Similarly, don’t talk about budget cuts. Talk about the federal budget as the family budget and the need to prioritize spending so we as a country can live within our means. Challenge the Democrats to meet after the election in a bipartisan way to bring spending in line with revenue. Romney came close to articulating this concept during one of the debates. He failed to capitalize on it by repeating it daily on the stump. It would sound good to all of the “feel good” voters who profess to value bipartisanship.
We have to face the fact that the demographics in this country have changed forever. A true conservative -— our point of view -— is a minority position. I don’t like it, but it is the way it is. Romney had more chance of winning than a true conservative, and we even lost with him. There are more takers than producers, and they will not vote themselves out of benefits. In the next two years, we will see many more California cities going bankrupt. And cities across the country.
“Pretty soon, you run out of other peoples money.”
“The pols would do well to just have a copy of a 4-D ultrasound at the third trimester handy and remind people that Democrats think it is OK to kill this.”
Exactly. When some reporter tries to pin you down on one extreme end of the abortion debate, such as an extremely early abortion after a rape, why don’t these candidates have sense enough to IMMEDIATELY answer that democrats enthusiastically support abortion a day before delivery. Or in the lunatic obamas case, AFTER delivery.
When they try to take you to one extreme, highlight the democrats extremeist position. The democrats are far more radical the what is accepted by swedish feminists. Check the law in Sweden and be amazed.
Christie, Akin and Mourdock,, thanks guys.
Some of the delusional crack pots and clinical psychotics don’t understand that people like Akin Mourdok and these other freaks of nature are killing this party with their “holier than thou” bs.
His problem wasn’t being a Christian. It was saying something incredibly stupid and not having the sense that he blew up his own candidacy and hurt other GOP candidates, probably even Romney. They even used his words in a congressional race in CA. Some martyr. Thanks in part to him abortions under 0bamacare will commence.
Akin was a moron and an idiot. Many of us BEGGED for him to get out while there was still time and let Steelman take over.
BBBUUUTTTT NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The deusional psychotics and crackpots thought his staying in was going to work out ok.
YEP -- McCaskill saved her most effective commercial for last and that featured the words of McCain and Romney and Priebus attacking Akin for his views. McCaskill sends her thanks to the GOPe for her most effective political commercial.
“Once in power vote for pro life legislation but don’t advertise it in the campaign.
Similarly, don’t talk about budget cuts. Talk about the federal budget as the family budget and the need to prioritize spending so we as a country can live within our means.”
Boy, you must not be very bright. Next thing you’ll be telling me i should use available cover and concealment in a gunfight rather than standing boldly in the center of the street, like a real man, like in the movies.
You’re probably one of those nuts who would rather get hits on a bad guy than posture for the bystanders.
Id rather have had that commercial than the one of Romney and the GOP agreeing with that idiot Akin. And don’t kid yourself, Akin doing that stunt a week before the convention breathed new life into the war on women thing.
It was a punchline for the democrats in theor coonvention.
And just as we recovered all we could by early October, along comes idiot boy Mourdoch, a few days before the debates, speaking for the lord about rape.
How about a commercial where they just keep their mouths shut -- like they said Akin should have done.
Thanks for all your brilliant political analysis.
This is the reason young men won’t follow you. You never say anything that is not politically correct. You all are knee-jerk enforcers for the wrong side.
“Political Correctness is Marxism, with all that implies: loss of freedom of expression, thought control, inversion of the traditional social order and, ultimately, a totalitarian state.”
Sarah Steelman would have been a better candidate, hands down.
If you actually made sense it might be more convincing. I am not a knee jerk anything (in fact my right knee doesn’t jerk at all since the pins were put in many many years ago)
You wouldn’t recognize a man driven by ego rather than faith if he had a God written sign over his head.
And by the by I am asking no one to follow me so get off your dumb soap box. It is drowning you in suds
BTW, Akin is quite the leader..
That’s some knot you tied, LOL.
Here’s the bottom line, America will decline until we ask God for help. We can’t do that while we kill babies.
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