Free Republic

Embattled Senate candidate Todd Akin just told reporters in Chesterfield that he is staying in the Senate race against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. Akin repeated the kinds of statements he'd made previously to national media, asserting that he's never had the support of the Republican party establishment anyway. [...]

"I think he's been a great leader but I don't want my daughter near him." McCaskill said this a few years ago while in a hotly contested senate race against Republican Jim Talent. In light of the recent discussion on rape, does the Senator feel the same way today, and will she be in attendance cheering on an accused rapist at the DNC?

Rasmussen poll made me laugh out loud. If anyone believes that, I just turned 29. Sneaky stuff. bit.ly/SscVZf— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) August 23, 2012Oh, good grief. Sneaky, heal thyself. Senator McCaskill’s attempt at reverse psychology is incredibly lame; is she trying for yet another terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day? What Rasmussen poll is the Democrat Missouri senator trying, and failing, to discredit? Oh, only the one that has her now up by ten over Rep. Akin. In her desperate attempt to bitterly cling to her senate seat, she is trying a pitiful Jedi Mind Trick: “You’re fine, Akin....

It's trapping season. The targets are Republicans, whom the Democratic-friendly media (the trappers) hunt in order to smear -- especially the Romney-Ryan ticket -- forcing them off message. The bait in the latest case is the issue of abortion in cases of rape. The hunter's target was Rep. Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican, who is running for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. Thirty-nine years after Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court rulings legalizing abortion, one might think a pro-lifer like Todd Akin would be able to see he was walking into a trap when a St. Louis...

Nobody’s perfect. Sometimes this statement is used to ridiculously minimize a huge problem (cf. Joe E. Brown’s closing line to Jack Lemmon, in “Some Like It Hot.”), and sometimes it’s used to fairly state an undeniable fact: that there is certainly something imperfect about everyone. No matter whether you’re selecting a spouse or friend in your personal life, or a vendor or employee in your business life, or selecting a school or tutor for your children’s education, you’re forced to make choices in life. There are certainly some issues that are absolute deal-breakers – a too-dangerous location, an unaffordable product,...

The deadline for Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) to withdraw from the Missouri Senate has passed. This has led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst conservatives, myself included. Despite seemingly every prominent Republican and conservative in the country condemning his comments on rape or calling for him to exit the race, he ultimately refused. Could he still do so? Yes, through petitioning a Missouri court in what appears to be a fairly simple process. Some have suggested that the left would try to impede this process, but I'm not sure how they could. If that's the case, will he...

I say that with a heavy heart, but we NEED to win the Senate, Missouri was supposed to be easy, this guy makes sure it isn't...

Since PPP decided it can't help itself, I've done you all a service. I went through their ridiculous R+9 sample and ONLY changed the D/R/I proportions to match previous elections, and an even turnout. With R+9, PPP's headline screams Akin up by 1. It is an obvious, sick ploy to get this delusional Bio101 flunkie to stay in and cost us a seat. Here are the real numbers: If turnout in November matches 2008 (it won't): McCaskill 49.25% Akin 39% (this is a D+6 turnout model) If turnout in November is even, an incredible feat for the GOP considering heavy...

Missouri Republican Todd Akin has begun moving toward ending his candidacy after his remarks on rape and abortion provoked a firestorm, a top Republican said. "Akin is taking concrete steps to withdraw by tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.," a senior Republican told BuzzFeed, adding that Akin could still change his mind. But a Republican close to Akin said his position hasn't changed: He's still in the race. Tomorrow afternoon is an important deadline: If he files papers to end his candidacy in Jefferson City tomorrow he can end his candidacy unilaterally; after that, he would have to file an application in...

“Legitimate rape” became a Twitter trending topic in the U.S. this afternoon after liberal blog Talking Points Memo posted a video of Rep. Todd Akin claiming that victims of “legitimate rape” are unlikely to become pregnant.

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Wildwood is leading in the hard-fought battle of conservatives for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, according to early statewide returns. With 515 of the state's 3,428 precints reporting, Akin has 32,050 votes, or 34 percent; followed by 29,675 for former state treasurer Sarah Steelman of Rolla, at 31 percent; and 28,463 for businessman John G. Brunner of Frontenac with 28,463 votes, or 30 percent. Five other candidates trail far behind. There will be much more to count as the night goes on. The winner will face Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is seeking re-election to...

ST. LOUIS • A television ad shows U.S. Rep. Todd Akin sitting in front of an American flag, talking with constituents and generally looking serious, as a narrator declares him "Missouri's true conservative." Akin is "the most conservative congressman in Missouri," says the recent spot. He's "a crusader against bigger government" and has a "pro-family agenda." The commercial sounds as if it came from the Akin campaign. But it didn't. And it isn't from any of his conservative supporters, either. In fact, it was paid for by Sen. Claire McCaskill — the incumbent Democrat and the ultimate opponent of whoever...

Interestingly, if they really cared about the middle class, they’d call for a reduction in taxes on those making less than $200k individual/$250 joint (Washington Post) The Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved a plan to preserve tax cuts for the middle class while letting them expire for the wealthy, a powerful if largely symbolic victory for Democrats who have been pushing to raise taxes on the rich for more than a decade. The measure is dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled House, where leaders are preparing to vote next week on their own plan to extend the George W. Bush-era...

Congress: The Senate Majority Leader hasn't proposed a budget in three years, won't bring tax cuts to the floor, yet adds Olympic uniforms to a priority list that includes boxing rules, cowboy poetry and a train to nowhere. It's been more than three years since the Senate of Majority Leader Harry Reid last passed a budget, and a tsunami of tax increases threatens to swamp the economy in 2013. So on Thursday Reid decided to take on the critical issue of the U.S. Olympic team's Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms. It seems the uninspiring uniforms are being made in China. So are...

Republican John Brunner's U.S. Senate campaign is acknowleging that Brunner's former company was more than two months late paying property taxes on a company-owned plane in 2006—an admission that Democrats hope will take incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill's own tax problems off the table as a campaign issue. Brunner is one of three major candidates vying for the GOP nomination in Missouri's Aug. 7 primary. The winner will challenge McCaskill, D-Mo., in the Nov. 6 general election.

"It's one of the few issues that's considered fatal in campaign filing," said Jackson County Clerk Larry Reinhardt. "In essence the law says if these are not permanently bound the candidates will not be allowed on the ballot." That is why four republican candidates won't be on the ballot in November. The Jackson County Electoral Board said paper clips on the candidates' filing papers weren't permanent enough.

BY KEVIN McDERMOTT > kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com > 314-952-9667 stltoday.com | Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 2:21 pm Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is confirming that she will not attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September. A statement from her office says it's standard practice for her when she's running for election. But one Republican official is calling it "a pathetic attempt to distance herself from Barack Obama." In an emailed statement attributed to an unnamed aide, McCaskill's office said she is declining to attend because she's is running for office herself.

Missouri Democratic senator Claire McCaskill is "hiding" from reporters after the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision yesterday, according to a local news report:  VIDEO McCaskill won't say where she stands on Obamacare, though she voted for it. And she won't make her self available to members of the press curious to hear her thoughts.  "There's only ever been one goal for Claire. Affordable, accessible health care for Missouri," a spokesman for the senator told the local news outlet.  The Missouri senator is in the middle of a close reelection battle. Her past support of Obamacare is thought to pose a great...

With the news now that MO Senator Claire McCaskill will probably be skipping the Democrat convention in Charlotte, she is joining other politicos also doing the same including the West Virginia Democrats. This could be the trickle of no-shows that turns into a flood. Okay, so who do you think will be the NEXT Democrat to bail on Charlotte? My prediction is that Florida Senator Bill Nelson will be the next to announce that he will be too "busy" to show up in Charlotte. What are your predictions?

Senate Democrats balk at ending Bush-era tax rates for wealthyBy Alexander Bolton - 06/19/12 05:00 AM ET A growing number of Senate Democrats are signaling they are not prepared to raise taxes on anyone in the weak economy unless Congress approves a grand bargain to reduce the deficit. At least seven Democratic senators have declined to rule out supporting a temporary extension of the Bush-era income tax rates, breaking with party leaders who have called for letting the rates expire for people earning more than $1 million per year. That gives Senate Republicans a chance to push a temporary extension...