Posted on 08/25/2012 12:09:20 PM PDT by kreitzer
Prediction: If the GOP establishment doesn’t follow Republican Rep. Todd Akin’s example with a big, fat apology – to Akin – the whole party goes down in flames come November.
I don’t mean every Republican will lose, but there is great political peril in not sealing the hole in Republican armor that has opened in Missouri and instead permitting it to remain a Democratic pressure point. Further, “for the good of the country” (the mantra accompanying the party-wide chorus of pleas to Akin to drop out of his U.S. Senate race), Republicans must resume funding Akin’s viable campaign ASAP, after cutting it off in a mad fit of political pique. Finally, every one of them – the party standard-bearer, party bosses, congressional delegations, allied pundits – should come together for a group smack on the head, as in, “What were we thinking?”
I can’t recall anything in public life more widely craven and uncalled for than the open panic and bullying set off across the Republican Party by the first replay of Akin’s perplexingly ignorant interview comments on rape and pregnancy. The veteran conservative lawmaker, former engineer, former businessman and grandfather of eight recanted these remarks. He apologized for them.
But as the left began to bay for blood over a Republican and, by preposterous extension, Republican Party it hopes to smear as “anti-woman,” Republicans across the board, incredibly, joined in. Rather than jouncing Democrats back into some semblance of decent behavior with a firm, party-wide reality check – comparing a dumb comment about rape from one among their ranks with, say, accusations of actual rape against Democrats’ two-term hero, Bill Clinton – Republicans obligingly cut off their own noses and handed them to their political opponents.
The headline in the New York Times this week said it all: “GOP is pressing candidate to quit over rape remark.” Funny how we never, ever saw anything similar in the 1990s, when bombshells about Bill Clinton’s serial sexual harassment and assault of women were a common occurrence. Something like: “Dems pressing president to quit over rape.”
Didn’t happen. In fact, far from “pressuring” the former president into a quiet post-presidency retirement, the Democrats are spotlighting the overexposed sexual reprobate with a center-stage role at their upcoming convention. There, Clinton will officially re-nominate Barack Obama for president.
What else can we expect from the party that still lionizes Ted Kennedy, the late Massachusetts politician who notoriously left a young female campaign worker to drown in a sinking car rather than get help? Just as serial sexual improprieties perpetrated by Bill Clinton don’t count in Democrat-land as “anti-woman,” neither does Kennedy’s unconscionable behavior at Chappaquiddick. Both men not only remained in office, they remain the Democrats’ ideal.
A muddled, recanted remark about reproductive biology, however, puts a Republican one or two steps away from Hitler. He must be shunned by “decent” society, his whole career destroyed, the primary votes he won nullified, to expiate his “sin.”
Worst of all is the Republican Party’s unified acquiescence to this illogical, unjust and amoral equivalence. In fact, without the GOP’s lockstep, take-me-to-your-leader obedience to the Democrats’ rigged rules, the pitch of this controversy would have died down already. Without the Republicans’ vigorous enforcement of the left’s double standards, Akin would probably still be facing favorable odds of winning the Missouri Senate seat.
But no, which is what deeply concerns me. Indulging ginned-up, hack hysterics is not the behavior of a leader or a winner. Worse, accommodating unjust attacks on a solid citizen in the name of practicality or the “greater good” is a very dangerous precedent, as totalitarian history tells us. That’s why the GOP needs to rethink Missouri and make amends with Akin before “moving on.” Otherwise, I fear that in its vital quest to prevent Barack Obama from winning a second term, it won’t be moving anywhere.
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In case anyone wonders what the PCA reference means, here are two posts on what it means that Akin is a conservative, a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America:
Todd Akin is a PCA member and Covenant Seminary graduate
(Vanity)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2921258/posts
Being a Pastor and Speaking Out in Today’s Culture
By Dr. Michael Milton, Chancellor, Reformed Theological Seminary
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2922254/posts
Personally, I'm a member of an even more conservative denomination, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The PCA is too broadly evangelical for me, but I'm the first one to say that both of our denominations have their problems.
To prove that Democrats can get some things right, go read Senator Webb's work on the Scots-Irish role on the settlement of the American frontier. One could make a good argument that Scottish blood makes Old School Presbyterians a pretty ornery bunch, and that's Webb's view. I personally think it has much more to do with a very high view of the role of the Old Testament that is shared by Calvinists whether they're Scots Presbyterians, English Puritans, Dutch Reformed, Swiss Reformed, Hungarian Reformed, Korean Presbyterians, or any of the other ethnic groups which have come to have large percentages of Calvinists either now or at some point in their history.
Too bad the Missouri Presbytery isn't one of the hard-core conservative presbyteries in the PCA. Akin might generate a lot of visitors to PCA churches when people realize the PCA is the Presbyterian equivalent of the Southern Baptist Convention -- a strongly conservative evangelical denomination that generally sticks to its guns about core beliefs. If he wins this election, I hope the PCA asks him to lead a seminar on Christian involvement in politics at the 2013 General Assembly, with all the media attention that will generate. Given the nonsense being done by the wacko liberals in the PC(USA), conservative Calvinists need some publicity, and Akin has overnight become the best-known Reformed political figure in the United States. Now we just need to be known for not eating baked feet for breakfast.
Fortunately most Calvinists are far more articulate than Akin was last weekend.
Other than Huckabee attaching himself to Akin b/c his show is failing to beat Rush and he needs Akin to pump up his show that’s getting demolished everyday
Nonsense, Huckabee was standing on the principle of not acting like callous jerks to somebody because you think it will help you win an election. Fellow Congressman Steve King also defended Akin as did radio hosts Mike Gallagher and Steve Deace, both who vigorously encouraged him to stay in the race.
What's more important, his staunchly conservative votes on social and fiscal issues that make him more conservative than either Romney or Ryan, or one sentence he misspoke on a talk show? If he stays in the race, what do you gain by having him lose? I'll take a Senator who says stupid stuff any day over one who's more liberal.
Good point. Even if they don't fund Akin, what's wrong with them pointing out McCaskill's record to the voters? The voters can still decide who to vote for in her place.
Wrong. He's got tons of conservative backers, especially Christian conservatives. But they aren't any RINOs and liberals like Scott Brown backing him.
Democrats are eager to paint all Republicans as medically ignorant and insensitive about rape, so Democrats want Akin to stay in, as a poster boy for right-wing Bidenisms, and Missouri Republicans want Akin out.
Missouri Republicans are running away from Mitt Romney more than they are from Todd Akin. They're disgusted with the way the national party has treated their Senate nominee.
Absolutely false. Unless you are a 'Rat looking for an opening and overjoyed to find help from a panicked, useful-idiot GOP-E.
Yea makes sense, let's lose Missouri and Massachusetts! Missouri because we're wimps, and Massachusetts because we're principled conservatives far too pure to support the likes of Senator Brown. You make such perfect sense! For the DUmp!
If he does not withdraw, I will support a write-in candidate.
Splitting the vote between Akin and a write-in will "cost us the senate seat". And it will be your fault!
First of all, I want to thank you for being civil in your comments even though we may disagree on this issue.
If he stays in the race and loses, he will have no vote to cast.
If there is no viable write-in candidate, I will be forced to vote for Akin and hope he keeps future blunders to a minimum. We cannot keep handing the DEMS these weapons to use against us. It may be a double standard, but it is the world we live in.
I am NOT having him lose, that is something he has inflicted on himself.
OK, blame me for Akin’s blunder, that makes perfect sense.
“She was 7-10 points behind before ... “ Todd Akin stepped in it. If you can get TIME, MSNBC, talk show hosts, Team Obama and Democrats coast to coast to STFU about it, be my guest.
They are the ones trashing Akin, and the rest of the GOP as well for it.
“He’s got tons of conservative backers,”
Latest poll from Mason-Dixon shows a near-majority of *Republicans* want him to quit.
“Missouri Republicans are running away from Mitt Romney more than they are from Todd Akin.”
Nope. Same poll shows Romney with solid Republican support and leading Obama by 7.
Akin has weak GOP support, trails 53-35 among independents and is down 9 versus McCaskill.
Quit blaming other people for Akin’s bad campaign and gaffes. Todd Akin needs to own up and be accountable and you need to quit bashing the party for daring to try to salvage this seat. Todd Akin through his own actions is losing to McCaskill.
Just replace the last word of your above quote with liberal, and you have Joe Biden and a DU quote.
Look in the mirror man, don't conservatives deserve better than a conservative gaffe prone Joe Biden clone.
Of course Akin's biggest backer is Claire McCaskill, along with her $2 million check.
Ditto.
Per your reply #203, I should have said conservative, so your quote in #203 should be,
I'll take a Senator who says stupid stuff any day over one who's more liberal.
And the italicized quote when you replace the last word with "Conservative", one gets a typical DU quote, basically saying that Biden and Akin are idiots and all I'm asking is that conservatives deserve better than a conservative gaffe prone Joe Biden clone, Todd Akin.
If I was a liberal, of course I’d support Biden over a conservative. Issues are what matter, not personalities.
We deserve better than pretty much our entire government. But the smartest, best-qualified people don’t go into government usually because the private sector offers better rewards for their talents. Just look at conservative talk radio. If you can find this magic line-up of brilliant, highly educated conservatives with great communication skills waiting to run for office, let us all know where they’re hiding.
“If there is no viable write-in candidate, I will be forced to vote for Akin.”
... and that’s my perspective as well.
Awww just gee, can’t you Akinites acknowledge he fumbled the ball, no change that to, he ran the ball into the wrong end zone. Of course we conservative must vote for him, just like we must vote for Romney... dosn’t mean we have to like it, and I sure as hell don’t like Akin, but I’ll get over it and vote for him. You better get used to the idea we conservative are not a homogenized group either... there are the snake handler christians at the edged of the far right cliff and then there are the amoral small government is better folks to the left of center, I preside somewhere in the middle. Make a deal with you I’ll vote for that idiot Akin if you vote for the etch a sketch Romney... Deal?
Yea makes sense, Senator Brown the faux tea party candidate, a wolf draped inWhat an hysterical statement as a reply to my comment describing how Brown got elected.
tea bags to get elected.
Yea makes sense, let's lose Missouri and Massachusetts!
If Brown is your kind of politician, fine.
I prefer conservatives.
What's with posters like you that if you don't like what another poster says, you insult them with ridiculous attacks?
Perhaps as you are not a principled Conservative and support liberal Congress critter that explains the hysterical attack.
PS like your cute little nickname "the DUmp!"
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