I was hearing some reports of local support during lunch. Since it seems to be decided that he will be in the race, we might finally see what happens when someone fights back (referring to Foley, Maccacca).
You mean Foley the child predator? What should he have fought back against?
The Macacca issue was nonsense from the beginning. George Allen should not have apologized for it.
Akin’s comments were idiotic, and he should step aside. Sometimes you gotta know when to fold ‘em.
I live in Missouri. Let's not forget that Rush Limbaugh is from Missouri and his brother is still living here. I will be interested in Limbaugh's take on this ... and I'm quite aware that both Limbaughs (or at least their staffs) read Free Republic.
I will also be interested in World Magazine's take on this. Rep. Akin is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. Those who know my own background know that I'm a hard-right Calvinist, and while Akin moves more in broadly evangelical circles than I do, World Magazine will take some special interest in Akin as not only a Christian conservative but also a Calvinist politician. World Magazine has the ability to do a lot to either organize Christian conservative support for Akin (including dollars) or convince him to back down and drop out, despite his initial statements that he's in for the long haul.
14 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 12:46:44 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by PhxTM06: “I’ve heard that left-leaning groups provided him ad money, making him feel like he still has some sort of support base out there. What a tool.”
Not exactly, but close. Shortly before the primary, McCaskill authorized official ads saying Akin was too conservative for Missouri and listing all the conservatives who supported him and his various conservative positions.
You can't control it when your Democratic opponent correctly describes you as the most conservative man in the Republican primary race. It's obvious that McCaskill wanted to face Akin, but it is not at all obvious that Akin did anything wrong to deserve McCaskill’s “endorsement.” In fact, she was quite correct in describing his conservative stances and endorsements.
20 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 12:48:47 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by Ingtar: “I was hearing some reports of local support during lunch.”
You are absolutely right that there are local people in Missouri trying to convince Akin not to drop out. The concern is not that Akin did something smart — his comment was really, really bad — but rather that Akin supporters are not sure they can trust the Missouri Republican leadership to put up the kind of candidate who won in the primary.
275 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 15:00:06 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by Emperor Palpatine: “This election is about jobs and the economy. NOT ABORTION.”
That, Sir, is precisely the sort of opinion which causes social conservatives fear what the Republican Party leadership will do if Akin pulls out.
Personally I could live with Akin, Steelman, or Brunner (the three main Republican candidates).
I've heard all three of them speak at various events, including Sarah Steelman at a neighbor's home (there are certain benefits of living in a neighborhood of bankers and lawyers and retired colonels and real estate developers) and have met both Akin and Steelman at several different events in our county. Sarah Steelman was our state senator; I've seen Brunner at some events but don't know him beyond the standard political coverage. But we're now getting pummeled with “all real Republicans want Akin out” rhetoric.
20 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 12:48:47 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by Ingtar: “Since it seems to be decided that he will be in the race, we might finally see what happens when someone fights back (referring to Foley, Maccacca).”
At least we can be glad this happened in August and not two weeks before the election. Akin may be able to survive this, and if he makes it through with Christian conservative funding and no national party support, he'll then make an **EXTREMELY** strong case for what happens when social conservatives accept an apology, move on, and fight for our guy.
As Kabar and others have noted, if Akin wins he will owe the Republican leadership absolutely nothing. (And by the way, every feminist and conservative can be pretty sure he'll have to spend six years being a huge advocate of increased penalties against rapists and increased help for rape victims.)
85 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 13:13:26 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by PhxTM06: “Do you people never learn? People were saying this same crap about Sharon Angle and Christine O’Donnell when many people saw that they were basically unelectable. Akin is unelectable. What you’re not counting on is that a man who said something SO stupid, won’t say something equally stupid that will further hurt himself and the GOP. It’s what stupid people do, stupidity is a habit, not a one-time isolated event and Akin is about as dumb as they come.”
There's one difference between Akin and either Sharon Angle and Christine O’Donnell — he has years of experience in state and national elected office. He's an experienced Congressman seeking to become a Senator.
However, I agree with you about how bad this stupid comment is. This absolutely **MUST** be the last gaffe of this type. I am not convinced you're wrong about stupidity being a learned habit.
The problem here is not Akin opposing the rape exception, but bringing biological inaccuracies into an extremely explosive and emotional fight. He's got to know better, and if he doesn't, that's his own problem. Christian conservatives supported Akin for a reason. It wasn't so we could get something that with one slip of his tongue on an obvious issue would blow up the whole Republican agenda on a national basis.