Many Conservatives favor privatization of Social Security, that’s not an extreme position. Neither is getting the government out of the business of health care or setting minimum wage (which has gone a long way into killing jobs and increasing the cost of goods and services). A good Conservative can articulate these visions.
As for his district, with those known positions, if they were that “unpopular” or “extremist,” he could’ve been defeated (either in the primary or general).
As I said, again, McCaskill took a risk. I might remind you that Steelman had her own baggage. Did you forget the lengths to which the MO GOP sandbagged her primary candidacy for Governor ? I think more than a few establishment types in the party would’ve more than helped McCaskill to eke out a win in the general, so the result would’ve been the same.
I’ll say that based on the information I had at the time, I endorsed Akin as the most Conservative candidate with an electoral history of winning. Steelman was too risky and Brunner an unknown. There was no reason to think Akin couldn’t win, and the polling data AFTER his nomination showed he united Missouri Republicans behind him. This was an “X” factor that sank him that no one could foretell, otherwise you are ascribing supernatural clairvoyance to McCaskill, and that’s really a stretch. I’ll say it once again, it was a risky bet, and it paid off. Absent Akin’s gaffe, it could have easily seen her end up with a 15-20% blowout loss, and we’d be hearing no peeps from the after-the-fact critics of Akin.
Bachmann and Huckabee endorsed Akin, Palin and most of the tea party was against him.
For many conservatives, no. But you can't win a state wide election on the conservative vote alone. Akin's comments would have cost him big time among older voters, independents, moderate Democrats, and some Republicans.
A good Conservative can articulate these visions.
Akin couldn't articulate his way out of a wet paper bag. He proved that with the mess he did get himself into.
As I said, again, McCaskill took a risk. I might remind you that Steelman had her own baggage. Did you forget the lengths to which the MO GOP sandbagged her primary candidacy for Governor ? I think more than a few establishment types in the party would’ve more than helped McCaskill to eke out a win in the general, so the result would’ve been the same.
And yet McCaskill actively supported Akin's candidacy. Not Steelman's. Not Brunner. She knew. And after Akin stuck his foot in it so did the rest of the state. The money McCaskill spent in support of Akin in the primary was probably the best money she spent in the entire campaign.