Posted on 08/20/2012 3:47:45 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Via BuzzFeed, it’s important that people like Hannity, Coulter, and the boss emeritus are leaning on this guy too, not just Romney and Reince Priebus. Without pressure from all-stars on the right, he can dig in and turn it into a “weak-ass establishment RINOs are selling me out to the Democrats” populist attack on D.C. Republicans. That might be enough to rally grassroots conservatives to his side and keep him in the race, but not enough to prevent him from losing to McCaskill and, just maybe, dragging the ticket down with him. How lucky do you feel? Want to bet the future of repealing ObamaCare on Akin’s ability to not only recover from his theory of the female body’s magical defenses against rape-sperm but to avoid other goofy errors between now and November? John Brunner, who finished second to Akin in the primary, is reportedly already angling to replace him if he drops; Sarah Steelman, who finished within a point of Brunner, is almost certainly interested too, especially since she’d be inoculated from Akin’s comments due to her gender. If the game’s on the line in the late innings and your pitcher’s getting shelled, why not go to the pen while you can? Even the Tea Party Express, imagining another Angle/O’Donnell nightmare scenario in November, is unsparing:
daveweigel✔ @daveweigel
Tea Party Express, which backed Sharron Angle, calls for Akin to go, based on "the lessons we learned in 2010" about bad candidates
20 Aug 12 Reply Retweet Favorite
Akin’s been consistent today about saying he’ll stay in, but I keep seeing reports like this from plugged-in pundits on Twitter:
Richard Grenell@RichardGrenell
Breaking: Senior GOP official: Akin advisors making preparations for a withdrawal tomorrow.
20 Aug 12 Reply Retweet Favorite
Erick Erickson✔ @EWErickson
Just to be clear one more time, consultants involved are telling me Akin will withdraw. Akin & his campaign deny he will withdraw.
20 Aug 12 Reply Retweet Favorite
David Harsanyi@davidharsanyi
Longtime Missouri GOP insider tells me that Akin is meeting with staff and having a prayer vigil tonight. Looking for way out "gracefully"
20 Aug 12 Reply Retweet Favorite
BuzzFeed’s getting mixed signals:
“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 court.
Could be that Akin hasn’t given any indication privately about quitting but that the consultants, who suspect he’s DOA if he stays in, are trying to shove him towards the exit by creating a false narrative in the media about him supposedly dropping out. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: The more the press reports that he’s on his way out and the more positive feedback those reports receive from the right, the more Akin might feel that he has no allies left and is better off quitting. The thing is, if he decided to stick with it, how likely is it really that the NRSC and Republican Super PACs would follow through on their threats and refuse to spend any money on his race in the fall? He may lag behind McCaskill, but probably not by so much that the race’s outcome will become a foregone conclusion; if we get to October and he’s within five or six points, the pressure on the NRSC and outside groups to come to his rescue will be tremendous, even though the money they’d be spending on him could also be useful in other races. The reason they’re threatening to withhold funds now is purely a bluff to convince him that he has zero chance of winning and therefore stands to gain nothing by staying in. But if he does stay in, and ends up being the only game in town for Republicans, will they really cut him off?
Two exit quotations for this one. The first, from NBC: “[A] source with ties to Akin’s political operation tells First Read that the GOP congressman most likely won’t quit the contest, saying Akin believes this race is ‘providential’ and even if Akin was ready to get out, his wife would never let him quit.” The second, from Philip Klein: “At this point, if Akin doesn’t drop, McCaskill can run ads all fall simply quoting Republicans condemning him.”
(VIDEO AT LINK)
“Sometimes it’s semi-consensual”
I’m sure that’s how Clinton regarded every one of his.
I always hate it when we always bury our own while the body is still warm. Meanwhile, it’s ok when the cold-blooded ex-senator from Illinois votes to allow babies surviving abortions to die without medical intervention.
I don’t know anything about this Aiken guy, but if he withdraws, I’d go down shouting about the creepy amoral president’s abortion record.
Just give this story a week being rehashed over and over and that 11 points will disappear faster than Obama’s College Transcripts.
BTW - It's already one of the top stories on our LOCAL Newscast. Enjoy the 11 point lead while you can. Akins has got to go, and I mean today...
“Akin didn’t say anything remotely like “magical.”
No, because he THINKS it’s scientific. But he admitted on Hannity today that he was “mistaken” about that.
Sure, it’s not likely you’ll get pregnant if you are raped, but it can happen. There is no natural defense against pregnancy when raped.
Not for nothing, but he’s even incapable of making a good apology.
He gave McCaskill, the sure loser, a lifeline.
The man is a moron.
WOW!!! So the RINO establishment is pulling away their $$$.
Now that IS good news! /s
I standby those adjectives in context of a political candidate running for statewide office with national implications...US Senate. The democRats will pound the republicans mercilessly from here on until November 6th if Todd Akin remains in the race, on women’s issues. Just watch! Of course they would be lying in extrapolating those views onto all republicans. But politics is a blood sport. Political competence is absolutely necessary to win. You can not unring a bell. Akin has already caused damage. He will magnify that damage tenfold by staying in. That would be stubborn, selfish and foolish. After he loses the election in November, he will have downgraded himself to a complete pariah in the GOP. He needs to MAN UP, admit his fatal blunder (worse than the Macaca moment which lost us another senate seat) and resign nomination. That action just may be the start of reviving his future.
You are correct in that there is a huge difference between the numbers of claimed rapes, and the number of court prosecuted rapes.
Even in the year 2012, and also in the USA.
There is a current case of a gang rape where the female teenaged victim is being prosecuted for publically naming her attackers.
Her rapists posted videos of the rape online.
Her name and face is widely known, but the admitted and convicted rapists were “protected” by our justice system, supposedly because of their age.
I wonder if Akin, or you Mach9, think this was a “legitimate rape” case?
Yes I heard him "admit" he was wrong. However, he was not. See post 54 above.
Why are some on the Right repeating the rhetoric of the Left? He is not an "idiot" or a "moron." He fumbled a phrase, and truth be told, it was a minor and non-malicious fumble.
I do not know the man, but Mark Levin and others say he is a good and decent man, and a good Senate candidate.
As someone else posted: We throw him overboard for THIS?
The grassroots have more sense than the blabbering class. What a surprise.
There is a real J.C. Willke,MD who served for 10 years as president of the U.S. National right to Life Committee.
I suspect he's in the distinct minority with his hormone/rape female psycho-trauma theory. Show me something from a peer-reviewd medical journal not some guy making his living from books, lectures and T.V.
I've read where the yearly pregnancy figure from rape is 34,000 - not the 340 ZipZap says.
Talk about shooting themselves in the foot. They really are determined to lose that seat, aren't they???
I don’t agree that’s it’s about competence but I do think he should drop out. The fact that he got so deep into a social issue like abortion shows he’s prone to fighting the wrong battles for this election. Dems thrive on distraction and with their current record that’s all they have going for them. I’m 100% pro-life but I know we can do more good if we take back the Senate than during a campaign.
We need someone who can stay on point.
And as for that sanctimonious putz Cornyn..rememebr, he was the guy who tried to shove Charlie Crist down our throats here in Florda, and wasted BIG $$ supporting him early on...
“We throw him overboard for THIS?”
Short answer: YES.
Slightly longer answer: I have no idea if he is a good man or not, but he is certainly a DREADFUL senate candidate.
I’m not going to be back and delve into post 54, because it simply isn’t relevant. I understand the chance of pregnancy from rape is very slim, but it is still there. You can’t really talk about rape without realizing that it is a frightening and upsetting subject for ALL WOMEN.
His fumble might have been non-malicious, but it was NOT minor.
He’s had a day or two to extricate his foot from his mouth and he has not been able to do that.
I don’t know why anyone thinks he is such a great guy, he only got 36% of the vote and McCaskill’s gang ran ads supporting him. It’s true what others have said, THAT should have been the true tip-off that he was a weak contender.
He’s unattractive in his photos, he’s inarticulate, inept, ungraceful and I don’t see why anyone wants to save him.
To put a stick in the eye of the dems? Give me a break, it’s we who’ll be rolled under the log.
Re: post 54, the article linked proves nothing. It’s just a back-of-the envelope calculation based on one doctor’s opinion. The guy admits that no one knows how much of an affect the psychological trauma has in terms of preventing pregnancy, but then turns around and just assumes that it must be at least 50%. And you’re using that to prove that this Akin idiot was correct?
Akin has just run a “wrong-way” touchdown.
/bingo
I think convicted rapists should be rendered dead, as the mandatory minimum sentence.
I also don't think convicted criminals, male or female, deserve to be raped in prison, in some kind of twisted perverted act of nonjudicial cosmic justice.
OTOH, you seem to think rape is merely a technical rules violation in some sporting game, supposedly of male versus female willing adult players.
Does it matter to you the age or sex of the “rape” victim?
At all? Or is rape all just fun and games to you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.