Posted on 08/24/2012 6:25:07 AM PDT by nathanbedford
This is an occasion in which the vituperation of the pontificators is exceeded only by their ignorance. The inescapable reality is that no one no knows whether Todd Akin could have survived his gaffe and gone on to win what should have been an easy victory in Missouri against a hapless opponent. Yet it is precisely that level of ignorance over what has blithely been assumed in this controversy that lent confidence to self-appointed pundits like Ann Coulter to venture onto national cable television and presume for all of America, not to mention all of Missouri, that Todd Akin was finished and must withdraw.
Suppose Coulter, who since her crush on Governor Christie which followed her unaccountable love affair with Governor Romney, has proclaimed the establishment side of every Republican issue, had instead gone before the cameras and used her undeniable charms and accomplishments to defend rather than bury Todd Akin? Suppose the whole of the Republican establishment had behaved the way we know the Democrat establishment behaves?
My point is there is no answer to these rhetoricals, because the behavior of the Republican establishment in the immediate wake of Akin's gaffe foreclosed all debate and every viable counterargument. Missouri is going Republican in this cycle and Akin would have won the election but for his gaffe-or but for the firestorm ignited in the wake of his gaffe by Republicans themselves. We will never know which is true.
It is obvious that there is really no viable option for Akin now but to withdraw. But that does not mean that we conservatives should condone what transpired here. Who gave these people veto over the choice of the voters in the primaries in Missouri? By what moral right does the Republican Senatorial Election Committee or Republican National Committee presume to renege on its promise of campaign funds as punishment for speech it regards, not as contrary to Republican platform being fashioned before the convention as we speak, but as an offense against political correctness?
Who decides whether Todd Atkins gaffe was so egregious that it was indefensible? Was there not a better than even chance that he could have survived in Missouri? How much of the certitude expressed by Republican pundits was the foundation of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Would not Todd Akin with the protection of a righteous Republican wall of support have been able to finesse this gaffe and recover in the next 75 days?
Does candor demand that we acknowledge that the Republican establishment threw Todd Akin under the bus not out of concern primarily for the outcome of the Senatorial race in Missouri but for concern for the candidacy of Mitt Romney? How can we know?
We have seen this phenomenon before. We have seen it applied to Republicans of all stripes but mainly against conservative Republicans. We have seen the way, Peggy Noonan and others abandoned Sarah Palin. We watch the Majority Leader the United States Senate destroyed over a birthday toast to a fellow Senator. We watched the Senatorial campaign of George Allen systematically destroyed by the Washington Post for uttering the indefinable term, "Macaca." The list is endless and it would include Republican after Republican who too often was abandoned in the crunch by his party. This pattern reflects a level of moral cowardice which must be remedied. It is one which I cited in my about page.
Talk jockeys are making much of the fact that the keynote speaker at the Democratic convention will be the rapist, Bill Clinton, the disgraced former president who was impeached and disbarred for resorting to perjury to fix a court case. How can the Democrats surmount the indisputable fact that Bill Clinton is a perjurer-we know this to be the fact not because the Bible tells us so but because the DNA tells us so-but we Republicans must fall on our swords if we utter an ill considered gaffe?
The obvious explanation for all of this is that every Republican faces a tsunami shit storm blown at him by the media which intimidates every other Republican away from the field of strife.
We have seen how the Romney/Republican establishment dealt with the foreknowledge that their vice presidential pick would be assaulted by the Democrat lie machine and echoed in the establishment media. They picked a candidate, Paul Ryan, who could take the Democrats and the media head on and substantively address the issues. But what were the issues over which Republicans were willing to make battle? They were willing to fight over fiscal issues. They are seldom willing to fight over social issues.
Too many of them run and hide, for example, on abortion. This kerfuffle is really about abortion and it is a fight for which the Republican establishment really has no stomach. If the Republican Party will not fight for the life of unborn innocents, what is the point of fighting to protect upper-class tax brackets?
This dilemma which, make no mistake, is a moral dilemma, is therefore one which the Republican Party must address and solve. But let us also recognize that we are in this moral dilemma precisely because we strive to be a moral party. The Democrats are free of this dilemma because they are not. They are a ruthlessly disciplined cult which, typical of a cult, brooks no "unauthorized" thinking much less dissent. Because Soros has taken the reins of communication and finance so completely in his hands, the Democrat party has become a Soviet with all the implications that contains.
Every Democrat officeholder knows his fate if he departs from the party line. Every Democrat knows that he is likely to be rewarded in his political life or in his post officeholding life by the Democrat machine if he stays in line. Every Democrat officeholder knows it is better for his career to be defeated at the polls them to depart from party orthodoxy. The Democrat party can command this "loyalty" because it controls finances and it controls the media. But it controls one thing more, as a cult it controls the thinking processes of its members.
We as conservatives abhor everything we see the Democrat party doing to itself and then, by extension, to our beloved nation and precious liberties. The solution which we conservatives find to the dilemma the Todd Akin affair has highlighted must be one which is congruent with our notions of personal liberty and individual sovereignty.
So far, our behavior does not inspire confidence that we are feeling our way to such a solution.
Thanks. I agree with every word.
Akin’s gaffe was much more egregious than “Macaca”; and we know that cost George Allen, and the GOP, a Senate seat. Maybe that’s why people, such as Ann Coulter, were quick to respond. History does repeat itself. (But, then so does histrionics.) McCaskill was down by 11 points before this happened. Now polls show the MO Senate Race “Leaning Democrat”. I’d say the odds of Akin pulling this out are astoundingly “against” that happening.
Loyalty is a virtue. Akin is a decent man who made a mistake and apologized. His sterling pro life record should have been celebrated and contrasted with the bizarre abortion loving Obama who even celebrates partial birth abortion. You have to wonder what good are these so called “conservative pundits” if they fold so easily. And just in case the pundits didn’t notice, the Democrat platform stands on endorsement of abortion and homosexuality. Afraid to notice the decadence Ann?
Akin’s gaffe was much more egregious than “Macaca”; and we know that cost George Allen, and the GOP, a Senate seat. Maybe that’s why people, such as Ann Coulter, were quick to respond. History does repeat itself. (But, then so does histrionics.) McCaskill was down by 11 points before this happened. Now polls show the MO Senate Race “Leaning Democrat”. I’d say the odds of Akin pulling this out are astoundingly “against” that happening.
Sorry for the double posting of my comment. Don’t know how that happened.
My point is that there is no way of telling whether the 11 point advantage disappeared because of the power of the gaffe itself or because of the friendly fire.
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Strangely enough, the “fire” was not very damn “friendly”. I still say, regardless, Akin should have dropped out, maintained his Congressional Seat and had a legacy of honor and respect. Now, he will never win another Election and his legacy will be one of disdain for a self-serving politician who put his own ambitions above his State and Country.
GOP has much to learn about the war that is politics.
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Of course, the two incidents you mentioned were committed by Democrats. So, you want the GOP to be like the Democrats? Ummmm...... Hopefully we won’t stoop that low.
The establishment has argued that this is not a matter of loyalty or honor but of practicality, one might say pragmatism. The Todd Akin affair is noteworthy because it highlights the vacuousness of the Republican Party when it is challenged for alleged breaches of political correctness.
In conceding the fate of Mr. Akin, we have conceded the argument. Does that argument in this case also include abortion? Why did we not mount an immediate counterattack on the Democrat support of partial-birth abortion. All one has to do is read the opinion of Justice Kennedy in the partial birth abortion case to have one's blood run cold by his graphic description of the deed. Are we incapable of being as effective in public speech on the stump as a justice of the Supreme Court is in his lonely chamber?
The personal fate of Todd Akin is not very relevant in itself except as a reflects on the Republican Party and its effect in intimidating potential candidates away from running for office and away from speaking out on social issues.
I still don’t think it’s necessarily too late. The people of MO are smarter than the MSM and the GOP.
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I make annual trips to MO. I have many, many friends and acquaintances there. Everyone of them that I have spoken with (and that is about a dozen of them) felt that to guarantee that McCaskill was defeated, Akin should have dropped out of the race. All of them are disheartened, disappointed and demoralized over this. And, most of them say they’re sitting out the Senate Election and voting in the Presidential Election and other down-ballot races because they feel Akin was selfish and self-serving. But, with 74 days (counting today) to go before the Election, they could change their minds.
A lot of pundits and professional noisemakers (who wag their tongues for a living) piled on Akin thinking he would collapse beneath their hysteria and spittle. But, Akin is a fighter and he more or less singlehandedly took on the whole establishment and whupped them. Pride will prevent many of the hyenas from getting back in line too quickly, but before election day they will come around. Akin has tamed them once again. Akin has provided young people with some important lessons in leadership.
This seat is bigger than Akin. A US Senate seat is serious business. This isn’t a cashier position at the local drug store. Akin’s career, his feelings, his ego, etc, are all absolutely unimportant compared to making sure this seat is taken away from the Democrats. Loyalty matters no more here than it does in the NFL. If a QB, RB or whatever in the NFL becomes a liability at his position for whatever reason, fair or not fair, he has to go. Same thing in politics. Akin’s comments were so ridiculous that he is unlikely to be able to recover from them. That means he is going to lose and that idiot Claire McCaskill is going to keep the seat. It also means that Obama has a better chance to win Missouri.
And Akin is not doing the pro-life movement any favors by refusing to step aside either. There are plenty of pro-life folks in Missouri that the GOP/conservatives could get behind and have a vastly better chance of winning that Senate seat and making sure Obama doesn’t win the state.
This sounds as it could have been copied and modified from the likely ravings of Adolf Hitler in his bunker as the Russian Army closed in.
No, this is not my fault. Nobody knows what we could have accomplished if only the German people had truly given their total support to me. If only....If only....If only.
The actual bottom line is that, when it REALLY COUNTS, Akin’s core “values” are on display-—and it’s clear that he HAS NO INTEGRITY, he LACKS ALL CONCERN ABOUT MISSOURI REPLACING CLAIRE MCCASKILL.
He will display any vestige of honesty he may still have if he shows up in November at the MCCASKILL VICTORY PARTY and loudly proclaims to the adoring and cheering crowds there “Mission Accomplished”.
Lol, your post is absolutely delusional - which makes sense considering you are wasting your vote on Tom Hoefling. Akin hasn’t whupped anyone. I’d hardly call Sarah Palin a professional noisemaker by the way - and she wants him out along with virtually every other thinking, rational conservative. By not stepping aside, Akin is just going down and taking everything he believes in with him. This is all about his ego and nothing more.
.......Akin has provided young people with some important lessons in leadership.
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Oh, it’s you again. Taking time off from your jihad against voting for the Republican Presidential team. Now you’re applauding tactics that defeat efforts to replace scumbag liberal Democrat Senators. Well, at least you’re staying in character.
.....the Republican Party and its effect in intimidating potential candidates....away from speaking out on social issues.
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Speaking out on Social Issues is fine. I’m a Pro-Life voter. But, damn, let’s do it intelligently. You don’t make a statement inferring that if it is a “legitimate” rape a woman’s body automatically shuts down and prevents a pregnancy. That’s like saying: “If you run a legitimate business, a thief will never rob your store.” If the guy is dumb enough to make this blunder, what else is he capable of? His statement was insensitive at best.
I understand. I doubt that the Dems even attack their own in private.
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