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The Public Stoning of Akin…A Foolish Strategy

By: westcoastpatriette (Diary)  |  August 24th, 2012 at 10:41 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Just when I was feeling more hopeful about Romney’s chances to win the White House due primarily to his decision to put Paul Ryan on his ticket, the Republican Party shows its propensity to be just as petty, vindictive and cruel as the liberals we so despise.

I am still stunned and saddened as I watch prominent party spokesmen, as well as many on RedState, try to shame and destroy Todd Akin until he is unable to continue on.

COMMENTS

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  • commonsenseobserver

    He brought this on himself, and he almost dragged the party down with him. We needed to distance ourselves from him as soon as possible.

    Republicans ought to expect that candidates not to make stupid comments that would almost certainly cost us perfectly winnable races, and that is another reason why party leaders called on him to withdraw in public, since he was apparently hiding from them.

    His stubborn refusal to withdraw also points to his inability to comprehend the situation and understand the best interests of the pro-life, conservative cause.

  • sayoung80913

    However, after FINALLY getting the narrative and media talking about the economy and Medicare-and making great HEADWAY- Akin came along and destroyed it all. Maybe his comments weren’t meant as they came across, Others who know him have stated that this IS his opinion(science and all) and was not a gaffe. WHY did he have to go there so close to the election? The statements to me were not that bad, it was the behavior afterwards that sealed it for me. Stubborn,egotistical,a complete deaf and tin ear, and a “me first” attitude. It just smacks of an entitlement mentality that so many from D.C. share, that THEY are the only ones who can do the job, voters opinions in their state be damned, people from their party who are appalled be damned, the country be damned- as long as they get elected, these so called supermen and women can save the day. Reminds me of Murcowski in Alaska”But daddy said the senate seat was MINE” I have no respect and can’t stand people like that. He’s proven through his own actions that he has to go, the last thing I want to hear about 24/7 (and have to defend) his his whack a doodle theory on legitimate rape and the crackpot science he used to justify his opinion. It will be wall to wall abortion from here on out until Nov, if people cannot be made to understand that our party is not waging a war on women, AKIN, himself caused this entire debacle with his stupidity, and the behavior afterwards made me dislike him intensely. There is no way I will send him a dime or do any kind of volunteer work on his behalf what so ever. A write in replacement-yes, him-time to take your massive ego and retire.

  • JX12

    We cannot afford to risk losing an opportunity to pick up this Senate seat. I don’t care what’s “fair” or “not fair” to Akin at this point. All I care about is repealing Obamacare. If there’s even the possibility that Akin staying in this race causes us to end up missing our window of opportunity to repeal Obamacare, then that alone is reason enough for him to go. Beyond this, I plug my ears and say “La la la la la” to any other argument.

    He has to go. If that means a write-in candidate, then so be it. If it means he has to get a court order to withdraw now should he suddenly see the light and so choose, then great.

    Akin has to go. Period.

    • westcoastpatriette

      Can’t “plug your eyes” and say “la la la la la.”

      I’m teasing. Clearly, you see this as the only way to go. We shall soon see what happens next. And I stand by what I wrote.

      • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

        “Can

        • westcoastpatriette

          and polls are as fickle as a politician desperate for a win.

          How do you know people aren’t calling on Akin to withdraw out of personal animosity or dislike of his pro-life views?

          The answer is you don’t.

          Just callin’ em like I see em. There is plenty of blame to go around for how poorly this has been handled by the whole party not just Akin. And if you cannot see that, you have blinders on.

        • Freiheit

          Whenever the kid with a cellphone catches the teacher going off on the hour long profanity rants about how Republicans are destroying America.

          The teacher’s union is always the one beside itself, blaming some other circumstance for the teacher’s behavior (“Oh, he just had a bad day”), and that the teacher should remain the teacher just for the simple fact that he was the teacher; just as Akin needs to remain the Republican nominee for the simple fact that he was the nominee.

          I personally am relieved that the Republican Party as a whole presented such a united front in calling Akin to fold. Granted we’re now underwater in Missouri with respect to Romney v. Obama, but I’m glad that Romney was able to get on top of recognizing Akin’s toxicity and disavowing him and the ‘illegitimate rape’ before we lost Missouri.

          • Xasteius

            “He will announce he’s staying in the Missouri Senate race, multiple news outlets are reporting.”

            http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/245387-akin-to-hold-press-conference-this-afternoon

            Hopefully the media is not right on this one…..

          • acat

            Damage is done. Move on, whether he’s in or out.

            Firewall it off. “Akin who?” “Of course I’m opposed to abortion, I’m a Republican.”

            Let him stand or fall on his own.

            Mew

  • Finrod

    Akin has gone in a week from winning the MO Senate race to being down 10 points (Rasmussen). Also via Rasmussen, Obama is now leading Romney in MO by 1– a state that went for Bush twice and McCain.

    It’s not the fault of the rest of the party that Akin is too stupid to realize that he’s mortally wounded his own campaign, and the only way for Republicans to win the MO Senate seat is for him to withdraw and another candidate to run. If you don’t care that Akin is threatening to keep the Senate and the Presidency in Dem hands, then let me club you over the head with these two words: ObamaCare Repeal. We can’t do that without Congress and the Presidency, and Akin has just made that job that much harder.

    • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

      that recognizing that Akin and his defenders are dumber than a box of rocks simply recognizing reality and is not a negative position on “social issues.”

      Akin is our mental equivalent of Debbie WS.

      • tnfriendofcoal101368

        He went to Tampa to get some cash from the “SoCon” leaders and the only one who encouraged him to get out on the record was Dr. Land. He is going to try to weather this – I don’t know what more could be done to get him out other than threatening to shoot his dog. The choice is going to be Akin or McCaskill.

        At this point our only hope to get the seat is the voters turned off by Akin remember why they hated McCaskill so much. We can only hope they vomit and vote for Akin instead of vomitting and voting for McCaskill.

        • Finrod

          The sin of Pride is a tough one, and Akin seems full of it. Why else would he continue in a race that he can’t win but other Republicans can? Pride has blinded many an idiot to their own idiocy, and this is no exception.

          • Lucas Black

            Akin has been acting in a most unchristian manner. And I’m very disappointed by the SoCon leaders who are sticking by him – they could simply demand that someone else who has similar positions to Akin get the nod instead of him, but no, they refuse to see how toxic he has made himself.
            This is not a rush to judgement – there are some mistakes that you make that are simply so bad, they cannot be recovered from and this is one of them. I wish I lived in MO so I could protest in front of his HQ.

          • Jack_Savage

            Please be specific.

          • Lucas Black

            I think many people have stated they feel he is committing the sin of Pride, though that’s hardly unique to him in that profession. Still, I find his hubris mixed with denial to be off the charts.
            But I found his initial comment so horrific that I cannot accept his apology and extend forgiveness until he is prepared to show real remorse – and in this case, it means dropping out of the race. Everything he has said since then makes it clear he doesn’t understand just how offensive his comment was. Just saying ‘sorry’ is not a get out Jail free card – that’s clear in scripture. You must mean it. Rep. Akin’s comments were some of the most unchristian things I have heard from a GOP politician – until he is able to get past his sin of pride and fully accept responsibility and repent for such hateful words, I find myself unable to extend forgiveness to him.

          • Lucas Black

            I think many people have stated they feel he is committing the sin of Pride, though that’s hardly unique to him in that profession. Still, I find his hubris mixed with denial to be off the charts.
            But I found his initial comment so horrific that I cannot accept his apology and extend forgiveness until he is prepared to show real remorse – and in this case, it means dropping out of the race. Everything he has said since then makes it clear he doesn’t understand just how offensive his comment was. Just saying ‘sorry’ is not a get out Jail free card – that’s clear in scripture. You must mean it. Rep. Akin’s comments were some of the most unchristian things I have heard from a GOP politician – until he is able to get past his sin of pride and fully accept responsibility and repent for such horrible words, I find myself unable to extend forgiveness to him.

          • Lucas Black

            I typed a long reply. For some reason, it won’t post. Not sure why – I’m not using bad words or anything…

          • Lucas Black

            I think many people have stated they feel he is committing the sin of Pride, though that’s hardly unique to him in that profession. Still, I find his hubris mixed with denial to be off the charts.
            But I found his initial comment so horrific that I cannot accept his apology and extend forgiveness until he is prepared to show real remorse – and in this case, it means dropping out of the race. Everything he has said since then makes it clear he doesn’t understand just how offensive his comment was. Just saying ‘sorry’ is not a get out Jail free card – that’s clear in scripture. You must mean it. Rep. Akin’s comments were some of the most unchristian things I have heard from a GOP politician – until he is able to get past his sin of pride and fully accept responsibility and repent for such horrible words, I find myself unable to extend forgiveness to him.

          • streiff

            Just how is Akin being “unchristian”? Your answer is important.

          • http://boldcolor.blogspot.com/ Paula

            I’d also like to know when it became the GOP standard that speech gaffes (even really stupid ones) are grounds for sudden, immediate career death.

            I maintain that this became the huge issue it did because our side made it that way. The first rule of campaign crisis management is to call a press conference, apologize, and then pivot and say, “But do you know that my opponent….”

            Instead, our side turned it into some weird kind of navel-gazing exercise, sheepishly apologizing for being pro-life and trying to make the case that we’re only mostly pro-life. We’ve completely muddied the waters on this issue and instead of using it to skewer Claire McCaskill who is a pro-murder zealot, we’ve conducted a public autopsy on Akin, who was apparently found with the murder weapon in his hand.

            Bizarre.

          • streiff

            I’m really interested in how Akin is being “unchristian”. The answer is important.

    • ddawg

      If someone had asked you last Saturday if severe trauma can cause near immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything to base it on scientifically (i.e. besides your intuition)?

      The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

      The continued savaging of Todd Akin by conservatives and Republicans is only making things worse.

    • ddawg

      If someone had asked you last Saturday if severe trauma can cause near immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything to base it on scientifically (i.e. besides your intuition)?

      The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

      The continued savaging of Todd Akin by conservatives and Republicans is only making things worse.

    • ddawg

      If someone had asked you last Saturday if severe trauma can cause near immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything to base it on scientifically (i.e. besides your intuition)?

      The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

      The continued savaging of Todd Akin by conservatives and Republicans is only making things worse.

    • ddawg

      If someone had asked you last Saturday if severe trauma can cause near immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything to base it on scientifically (i.e. besides your intuition)?

      The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

      The continued savaging of Todd Akin by conservatives and Republicans is only making things worse.

  • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

    to STFU. Actually, it’s way past time. Or at the very least it’s time for the rest of the party to stop paying any attention to them.

    This election – and the last two – are not about “social issues” they are about leaving our kids either a free country or Greece.

    In point of fact, virtually any Republican candidate will take the necessary measures via EO to marginally reduce the number of abortions and if it makes a difference, have the DoJ defend the DoM. That’s all a President can do and a first term Senator can’t do anything.

    I really hope Romney shuts these idiots completely out of the convention, not only no speaking slots, no tickets. We’ve got a Bishop doing an invocation, let it stop there. And I really hope somebody publicly takes Akin and especially Tony Perkins and his ilk to the woodshed. They have absolutely no understanding of reality or priorities and should be shut out of any and all policy discussions.

    Nothing is going to happen with regard to “social issues” without a major change in SCOTUS, everything else is nothing but a public display of mental masturbation. If Perkins and Akin want to continue to make public fools of themselves and stay home because they their panties are in a permanent wad, let ‘em. They’re no better than the RuPaul nutcases.

    • Finrod

      .

    • westcoastpatriette

      It really strengthens the Party when a person such as yourself who claims to be a Christian tells other Christians to STFU.

      Not that I am surprised. But, obviously I disagree and do not appreciate your attempts to paint this as a “socon” issue because it really isn’t.

      My point has to do with the strategy being used to deal with a problem inside the party which affects all of us and I fail to see how turning this into a battle between social conservatives and others helps us move forward. You are only going to alienate many allies by taking such a harsh, polarizing stance.

      Maybe you would do better by trying to find common ground instead of blustering your machoism all over the place. But then that would require a more nuanced approach than you are used to, I am sure.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        And I’m not at all surprised to see that you don’t think this is a “socon” issue either.

        This is not a battle with “social conservatives”, I’ll reserve that for people like Santorum and Huckabee supporters who think those two are in any “conservative”.

        This is a battle with people who understand how the electoral process works, including the absolute fact that a huge percentage of voters get their “information” from the media who are in the tank for Obama and who are desperate to talk about anything but the economy. Akin, etal have handed them the perfect foil. Our only hope is that they’ll overplay it on national TV. This from Byron York today…

        If you stand on the floor of a Democratic convention when a speaker is discussing abortion, you can feel the depth of the emotion that many Democrats feel on the issue. Conservatives like to say abortion is a liberal sacrament. Maybe that’s going too far, but it is very, very important. And when something means so much to a group of people, they can easily convince themselves that it means that much to others, too.

        Meanwhile, the voters continue to say, overwhelmingly, that they want their president to focus on the economy and job creation. By choosing to spotlight abortion and gay marriage at their national convention, Democrats could give voters the impression that they’ve got their priorities all mixed up.

        In point of fact, a strong plurality of Americans back limits and/or a ban on most abortions, and voters routinely back traditional marriage. Those are winning issues when they’re presented in a rational manner.

        Todd Akin, Tony Perkins, Huckabee and Akin’s defenders are about as irrational a group as you will find. They deserve to be castigated, and, in your words, stoned. Not because of their position on abortion, but because they are unable to recognize rank stupidity.

        With respect to your point about “battling with social conservatives”, you’re absolutely wrong. It’s a battle against stupidity. The people who are defending Akin are refusing to understand that Democrats are beyond desperate right now and we need to capitalize on that. What we don’t need to do is live up to our “Stupid Party” moniker and that’s exactly what you’re encouraging.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        “blustering masochism” over rank stupidity that completely ignores the reality of the situation every day.

        Akin isn’t going to recover from this. The media isn’t going to let up on him and obviously isn’t bright enough to find a trail out of the deep woods. The guy is in this for his ego, pure and simple. He’s the one who has distanced himself from the Party and from the overall election.

        As far as “alienat[ing] many allies”, anybody stupid enough to not figure out that Akin is an enormous anchor to this election nationally isn’t an ally. And as far as “polarizing”, it’s Akin, Perkins, etal who are doing that. They’re also the ones who are cuing this up as a battle of “party v. social conservatives”.

        In this instance, “nuance” is declining to throw Akin off the St. Louis arch. We’re on the verge of a huge win and Akin and his defenders are a major distraction from that. They deserve all the shunning that anybody can come up with.

        • westcoastpatriette

          See, you’re so angry you can’t see straight. I have nothing further to say to you.

      • tnfriendofcoal101368

        is they are inept at politics and since they are employed at being the political arm of evangelicals (of which I am one); they are inept at their jobs. Let me give just a couple of examples, first with Akin. Congressman Akin is a good Christian, has been a dependable soldier in Congress for SoCons and he used the words “legitimate rape” in public. Politicians by and large don’t recover from that unless they are highly skilled. At this point, Akin made McCaskill’s re-election possible. I’ll say this a couple of times – getting your butt kicked in an election changes nothing.

        Now, the moment this was out there as “political arms of the socon movement”, Perkins and the Huckster should have known there was a problem. Erick Erickson sure did. Here is what he wrote: “By 5 o

        • aesthete

          There is nothing wrong with being a committed Christian who has no idea how the political game is played — plenty of wonderful and influential Christians out there who are either blissfully ignorant of, or who wilfully avoid, politics as a team sport.

          However, once you’re in the political arena you should recognize what that entails — and the hamfisted way that social conservative leadership has handled this issue is just one more example of how terrible social conservative “leaders” are at practical politics. They have been saved solely by the fact that the rank and file of the social conservative movement is energized and numerous enough to make up for the utter incompetency of their leadership — in some cases, anyways.

          Mind you, I’m not a social conservative — but as someone who has a vested interest in unity wrt shared goals, and a generally stronger conservative movement, it would be nice to see social conservatives kick their self-appointed “leaders” to the curb when they act as ineptly as they have with this debacle.

        • acat

          I have a rather strong objection to them doing so … poorly at it.

          If y’all want to work together, then send people who understand the rules…. and one of those rules is that the media cheats.

          Mew

    • Bill S

      My fuse is about a millimeter long right now. The social conservative bashing is going to stop. Now. The social conservatives are the most reliable segment of the GOP. Period. Continued crapping on them is not advised.

      If you wish to do more socon bashing, do it elsewhere. I have had quite enough of your comments and diaries beating this drum.

      And believe me, mbecker, I am not the only one behind the scenes here who holds this opinion. This is not a suggestion and it is not up for debate.

      Stop.
      Now.

      • Aaron Gardner

        n/t

  • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

    “I am still stunned and saddened as I watch prominent party spokesmen, as well as many on RedState, try to shame and destroy Todd Akin until he is unable to continue on. ”

    This is about as wrong as you can be. The people in the Republican party have said about Akin’s comment more or less what AKIN HIMSELF ENDED UP SAYING IN HIS APOLOGIY. That it was a wrong thing to say. They have not ‘shamed’ Akin; rather Akin brought this on himself with his statement.

    Nobody on the Republican side is ‘out to get’ Akin. The media and the Democrats are out to get ALL Republicans and are using Akin’s words as their weapon. Nobody on our side is doing anything other than trying to reality injected into a campaign that has gone off the rails.

    “And I have already made clear in discussions here at RedState that Akin

    • westcoastpatriette

      and we risk splitting the vote in Missouri to ensure McCaskill’s win?

      I am not defending Akin so much as I am criticizing how this has been handled. I think we could have defused this early on by taking control of the narrative and publicly supporting Akin’s pro-life stance while trying behind the scenes to get Akin to see the damage he caused and withdraw. That way we save face publicly while taking the risk to get Akin to leave — and it is a risk because he has the final say on whether he stays or goes.

      The public stoning will not be perceived in a good light by many no matter how justified you think it is. Especially to those who don’t follow politics that much. That’s all I’m sayin’.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        The reality of political life is that one outrageously stupid comment will end a politician’s career and this is Akin’s moment.

        Any defender of the unborn should be able to navigate the questions that Akin flubbed so magnificently without batting an eyelash. If he is so unprepared, he’s got no business being a major candidate. My worry is what else he isn’t ready to talk about.

        As far as your commentary about “how it’s been handled”, you’re obviously not paying attention. Every leader in the Party, from Romney on down, has called on Akin to withdraw and his ego and his alliance with midgets like Perkins and Huckabee are not serving him or this whole election cycle well.

        We are not going to be able to put this behind us and move on to the REAL issues in this election – jobs and the economy and the role of government – as long as Akin is still alive and breathing as a candidate. The guy is the political equivalent of a zombie-vampire. He sucks the life out of any forum or discussion where his name comes up and he’s done enormous damage to the MO party, the national party and the abortion movement.

        Stoning is too good for him.

        • jamesm

          except last sentence.

      • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

        I dont know what strategy you refer to.
        Akin stays in, we lose; Akin quits, we win. The strategy to get him out WONT split the vote.

        ” I think we could have defused this early on by taking control of the narrative and publicly supporting Akin

        • westcoastpatriette

          such as yourself who think they know it all and are incapable of recognizing the same. You would do well to learn how to listen to those outside of your echo chamber. Until then, discussing this with you is a waste of time.

        • westcoastpatriette

          yourself who are incapable of listening to others outside of your own echo chamber.

          You would do well to recognize that you do not know it all and until you do that, it is waste of my time discussing this with you.

  • lineholder

    I’m just going to copy and paste a comment I put in another thread….

    “I don

    • westcoastpatriette

      we have to do better. But then, maybe we’re expecting the impossible. Just look at the hostile reaction to this diary by some. They just don’t get what we are trying to say.

      • lineholder

        Every single cotton-picking one of them, Moderate and Conservative alike!!!

        Dems are beating us on hands down on the psychological aspects of warfare. And it doesn’t have to be that way!

        But unless and until Repubs wake up and start recognizing this side of it and dealing with it more appropriately…it won’t change. It will continue to happen repeatedly.

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          understand that supporting rank stupidity isn’t furthering their pet cause Obama will have the opportunity to replace a couple of more SCOTUS justices including maybe a conservative one. That will give them the ability to continue to be unproductive whiners for another generation and another 50 million unborn.

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            Ruth Bader Ginsberg – 79 and in failing health
            Antonin Scalia – 76
            Anthony Kennedy – 76
            Stephen Breyer – 73

            That is 4 judges in or approaching their 8th decade by the time the next President leaves office. You can bet your last dollar if Obama gets re-elected, Ginsberg and Breyer take that opportunity to lock in those chairs for the Dems by retiring. Then we better pray for Kennedy’s and Scalia’s good health because they would be all that stands between a court with a Barack Obama appointed majority for 2 generations minimum and maybe up to 3 generations.

            Barack Obama’s re-election with a Democratic Senate will
            have the potential of effectively ending the abortion debate in America            .

    • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

      And second, Akin and his supporters deserve to be under the bus. See above.

      If the “social conservatives” want to stay home because they’re not bright enough to understand the problem is Akin’s stupidity, so be it. I frankly don’t give an damn anymore. If they’re too stupid to realize what four more years of Obama will do to the nation – and to their pet causes – we deserve what we’ll get.

      And I fully understand what’s being said here. It’s just that WCP doesn’t have a clue that defending the indefensible is a bad war plan and this is war. We’ve actually got – or had – the opportunity for a big win until Akin opened his mouth. We can still resurrect a win, but Akin is a self-inflicted casualty and it’s time to triage him and let him die on the field. And frankly, I’m really good with his defenders dying with him, in a political sense.

      I’m a believer in a “big tent”. A big tent that is driven by conservative ideals. And no tent is big enough for rank stupidity and that is Akin and his defenders, especially Perkins and Huckabee.

      • lineholder

        What’s happening right now behind the scenes is the same ridiculous scenario we see happen repeatedly…it’s a social issues, with all the bells and whistles for Pavlov’s dog that the left and the MSM has attached to it.

        The so-called SoCon leaders are already on the defensive that Repubs had a knee-jerk response out of fear and decided to throw Akin under the bus. It was dealt with publicly rather than privately (which only made matters worse).

        Huckabee is the link between many SoCons and Romney (and it’s a fragile link at this point).

        Make what could be perceived as a betrayal/attack on SoCons at this point, and what kind of response will we get? Based on past patterns of behavior, becker, what do we get?

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          who looks likes he’s got a win on the horizon, or give it to somebody who’s in a tough race and could eek out a win.

          As far as the “socon leaders”, they can go off to political hell. All they’ve done for the party is try to foist off jackasses like Huckabee, Santorum and Akin on us, when there were great alternatives who were every bit as strong on life and marriage issues.

          Right now, I’m fine if “socons” go down with Akin. I too old to tolerate institutional stupidity anymore.

          • lineholder

            those so-called SoCon leaders also include potential donors.

            They’re already setting up the narrative that they have to do this in order to maintain their credibility on social issues (and to a certain extent, given the way this situation has been dealt with, they’re right about that)

            I don’t like it either. I don’t like any of it. But at this point, I think the first rule of holes should apply.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            hell. It’s about time somebody challenged their self-appointed “authority”.

            Please note, it’s Akin and the “self appointed” who are making this into a make or break issue when it’s anything but that.

            In this case I’m a fan of the second rule of holes. Akin, Perkins, etal have dug themselves into a deep hole. Bury the bas**rds in it. And pour concrete over the top.

          • lineholder

            That’s the problem, becker.

            We’re less than 2 months from the election.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            is approached. You have to pick the least damaging.

            In my view, shunning the stupid is the least damaging both in the short and long term. Especially the long term.

          • aesthete

            at least in the long term:

            “those so-called SoCon leaders also include potential donors.”

            The amount of money and potential donors that these “leaders” have access to is 1) declining, 2) related to how many rank and file social conservatives follow them, and 3) goes away if the social conservatives pick new leaders. The social conservative movement isn’t following Dobson; it’s the other way around.

  • Common_Cents

    Chick fil A backfired on the propaganda media.

    Blowing up Akin’s comments in the faux outrage (like Macaca stuff) did sting because Republicans took the bait and went public with their gripes.

    Why in the H.E. double hockey sticks would you call for him stepping down when you don’t know he will step down? Like an attorney should never ask a question they don’t already know what answer will be given. Now we have Republicans ON RECORD and the guy is still in the race. the only stepping that was done was Republicans stepping on their own $%^&s.

    The media hounded every Republican to get them on record. The propaganda media uses the “divide and conquer” technique very well.

    All anyone had to say was, “I don’t agree with his comment, and I’m sure he didn’t mean them that way, he’ll clear it up, by the way, the larger issue is how many people are out of work by Obama’s terrible economic record.” BOOM.

    Now because of this terrible reaction(i’m not defending Akin’s remarks in first place) Republicans will either not help him win against McCaskil who is a much larger danger (esp for control of senate), or they will be called hypocrites for helping him win after their idiotic public comments about stepping down.

    When will Republicans realize Alinsky tactics being used on them? Why do Republicans have to be perfect human beings and run perfect races? and DEMS do not???

    When will Republicans realize the entire MSM propaganda media has waged war?

    • Common_Cents

      Lesson #1. Handle your own crap internally.
      Lesson #2. if you disagree, read rule #1.
      Lesson #3. If media hounds you about it, read rule #1 and pivot to a real topic such as obamaconomy.

      • Common_Cents

        the media stooped so low as to blow up chick fil a comments from a freakin church radio program, not some politician making public comments.

        If it wasn’t Akin’s comments, the media would dig hard and deep for someone elses macaca moment to blow up.

        Big picture folks.

        The propaganda media punked everyone on our side.

        • Xasteius

          1) Akin IS wrong in his biological facts.

          2) Media bias against R’s is something to be expected.

          3) The first rule of politics is that if you have to explain your comments, you’ve lost the majority of the battle.

          4) Any ridiculous comment concerning highly emotionally charged item has sticking power. Yeah the voters may cool off, but they probably won’t be coming back (if we do end up winning this seat, it will be in spite of Akin).

          • Common_Cents

            We sit there and take it.

            No talk ever of countering the media, challenging them, alinskying them, shaming them. No plan of attack at all. No strategy.

            #2 propaganda media has a stranglehold on half the country

            I love how RSers just laugh and poo poo the biased media and say oh its great they spew lies, let them. really? Gee, that’d be ok if everyone was a learned critical reader like RSers but half the country is not.

            #2 is a great problem but represents a great opportunity for tremendous gains if we make a minimum of effort to combat it.

            Just sitting there ceding biased media to let DEMS have cover for all their gaffes, lies, and letting them control the agenda is just terrible.

            We perpetually bail the boat of media bias fallout, when we should be thinking about plugging the dang thing at least partially.

          • Xasteius

            If I could get people to contribute to a fund designed to buyout and take over the NY Times or NBC, I’d do it. But as I do not have a few hundred million dollars to burn, I’m limited to blogs and social media.

            Every Republican should tattoo the mantra “the traditional media is not your friend” on their eyelids, and not make really dumb, factually incorrect comments on emotionally charged issues. Akin, as stated elsewhere, has had opportunity to frame this debate into something other than it has become. He has chosen to hunker down instead of going on the offensive (i.e. “I said a stupid thing; however, the Democrats are giving a primetime slot to Bill Clinton, who has raped multiple women. or something like that).

      • acat

        The Senate does NOT “hang in the balance”.

        We are well within striking distance to pick up a 51-53 seat majority *WITHOUT* Missouri.

        Akin would have, had he not gut-shot himself, given us a 52-54 seat majority, perhaps forcing some of the RINOs to behave better, but putting Harry Reid & Co. back in the minority.

        Akin *may* have voted for a majority leader other than McConnell .. but I’ve seen *nada* indicating that’s the case. There’s nothing showing Akin to be in the mold of DeMint or Lee… from Akin’s record, I expect someone in line with Shelby (R-AL) .. squishy on everything except certain religious-right issues.

        As for “handling crap internally”, do show me where that didn’t happen. Akin made the statement, then Akin tried to defend it. *HE* chose to go on Hannity, *HE* chose to blow off whats-his-name .. Piers?

        I don’t give a rat’s left testicle about his *comments*, it’s his completely incompetent handling of the fallout that persuaded me that Akin must go. He’s not up to the job.

        Mew

        • Common_Cents

          If Akin stays in he must get support, at least funding/advertising etc…

          I’m on board with any internal pressure to replace him at this point. Not public.

          But why paint ourselves in a corner publicly? It’s stupid!!

          Big picture is McCaskil will do far more damage and I doubt you or anyone can confidently say we don’t need to make an effort in a winnable MO, even if he stays in.

          OMG, so the media might call some of us hypocrites!!!! oooohhhhh the shame!!!

          I know nothing about this guy and I don’t have to. If he stays in, he should get support. Conservative in the primary, Republican in the general.

          Would you abandon Romney if he said something equally stupid and spot the DEMS a POTUS spot?

          We have been punked by the propaganda media faux outrage into unforced errors. If it wasn’t Akin, it’d be some other macaca moment they’d be digging around for.

          his comments were dumb and stupid, gee, the DEMS dont have any of those? Handle the crap behind the scenes, period. Replace him, I’m on board. Just not publicly.

          It’s classic divide and conquer tactic by the propaganda media. Blow up faux outrage on whatever comments, quickly get in faces of ALL Republicans to denounce it publicly, now we are painted in a corner.

          The easy answer was” They were unfortunate comments and I’m sure Mr. Akin will adress them, now, onto more important topics that threaten America, obamaconomy.” BOOM.

          • Common_Cents

            nt

          • Common_Cents

            a setup for failure.

            The propaganda media has been rewarded by this divide and conquer tactic. So they will do it more and more.

          • acat

            Romney has made plenty of mistakes, they are well documented here on Red State. Akin also made a mistake.

            This is where it seems to get hard for you to grok. Romney is a competent politician. Where the mistakes required it, Romney changed his tune. (Leon got a whole diary out of Romney’s pivots between 2008 and 2012) Where the mistakes didn’t require it, Romney has ignored the objections. Where the mistakes required it, Romney has gone on the attack and ripped up his opponents.

            If you actually bothered to read what I write, you would know that I took your “the comments were poorly phrased, let’s see what Akin says” approach initially. Unfortunately, Akin first doubled down, and now seems intent on ignoring this one rather than either changing his tune or ripping up his opponents … and that’s the wrong call.

            Again, the what and why of the views behind the statement do not matter – what matters is that Akin’s political instincts are *wrong* here… and will be *wrong* once he’s a Senator.

            I am not “spotting the Dems a seat”, I am saying that we will have control of the Senate with or without Akin… contra to your false assertion that “the senate hangs in the balance”. Your appeal to emotion fails.

            Let me ask you this. What in this politician’s record makes him worth defending? Is it simply that he’s not McCaskill? If so, just about any other MO GOP candidate meets that requirement. Is it that he’s adamantly anti-abortion* ? If so, at least 75% of the MO GOP candidates will sail over that bar.

            Why *this* fight, Common’? Or .. is it just reflexive?

            Mew

          • Common_Cents

            #1. i have not defended Akin’s comments, his reaction, his doubling down at all.

            #2. fine to replace him. just get it done in private.

            #3. going public with anything more than “i dont agree with his comment, a gaffe does not make a man, he’ll address it himself, now on to the poor obamaconomy”…..

            anything more like calling for him to step down paints you in a corner unless you KNOW he will step down.

            #4. we fell for the media punk and we do nothing about the media blowing up anything, if not Akin, it’d be anything else. And we fall for it and procede to self mutilation and own every dumb comment any individual made PARTY WIDE. why? idiocy.

          • acat

            if that overture is/was rejected, what is *your* second step?

            You have concluded that private consultation is the first step. I have agreed with you.

            The trouble is, without a “step two”, your “step one” is easily answered by “no, and what are you going to do about it, punk?”…. This appears to be a reasonable approximation of Akin’s reply.

            I do agree with your proposal to firewall off MO-SEN. “He spoke poorly” is a good start, and couple it with either a reassertion of the economy as the major issue, as you propose, or in more socially conservative areas, a solidly *political* anti-abortion stance.

            Mew

          • aesthete

            Limiting one’s options to behind-the-scenes work after an overture is offered and then rejected amounts to providing a heckler’s veto to any fool who stumbles through a primary.

          • JSobieski

            In any case, vetoing (by the winner) of changes to primary results is precisely what primaries were designed to do

          • aesthete

            Sean Hannity is not the person you go to for finesse on much of anything, and the situation seems to have snowballed since then.

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            no text

          • acat

            If you want to cast stones over the public overtures, please make sure you hit the right targets, eh?

            Look, this is not even complex! Akin gut-shot himself, and rather than try to brazen it out with an anti-Obama offensive, or a political-arena justification for his position, he tried to make it work on religious grounds.

            That may fly well enough in a statehouse or a representative race, it does not work above that level.

            Mew

          • acat

            Of the two, Hannity is the friendlier interview.

            Mew

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            More people watch the Andy Griffith Show reruns on TV Land….

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            More people are watching the What’s Happening! reruns on TV Land

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            more people watch the Andy Griffith reruns on TV Land…

          • JSobieski

            The issue is that all of the alleged “non-boobs” (including but not limited to Hannity) also helped to create this stink.

            Did Hannity tell Akins that his entire appearance would be Hannity trying to convince him to quit?

            Did Hannity think a politician would turn down publicity in what would have to be the most friendly media environment for him?

            If people are going to conclude that Akins is an idiot, then they should be prepared when he acts like . . .. an idiot.

            If Akins was smart and cared about the conservative movement—he would quit.

            If Hannity was smart and cared about the conservative movement—he wouldn’t have put Akins on the air like that.

            I think week know Akins is a dolt, so what is Hannity? A very bad tactician who inadvertantly shot us in the foot? Or someone who just didn’t care?

            One thing I have learned in being a lawyer is that you have to be extra careful with people who aren’t than bright. You have to try and help “manage” the situation.

            All those people on our side were grandstanding in my view—Hannity more so than the rest, but not just him.

    • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

      This too will pass.
      McCaskill is loathed.
      Missouri wants Obamacare repealed and the boot of ObamaDems off their necks.
      Akin will do that and over time, after this puny matter dies down, the voters will see that.
      Never have we had a conservative refuse the pleas of the MSM and timid Repubs after a gaffe is blown into WWIII.
      Maybe if Akin shows some backbone, stays in and wins, Republicans will see that if we, collectively defy the MSM, we can win substantive arguments. If we had that kind of courage last year, maybe we could have called Obama’s bluff on a government shutdown and got the budget under better control.

      More here

      http://www.redstate.com/gamecock/2012/08/23/2822/

      • acat

        is no more a qualification than showing brains but no spine.

        You may be right, this may die down enough for Akin to eek out a win… and even if he loses, the senate should still flip. (we have good candidates in many races and I think we both agree Romney/Ryan should have coattail effects)

        While we do agree that conservatives should stand up against this, I don’t see where Akin is notably conservative; from my POV, and given who his allies and backers are, he looks more like a .. how did Erick put it .. pro-life statist.

        Mew

        • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

          how Missouri goes.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        ntn

      • Cyndy Hinkle

        which was an unacceptable ad hominem, this Akin verbal storm will certainly pass. (How quickly, we forget the etch-a-sketch tornado that we conservatives funneled into a fury).

        The social issues, however, will not fade away, not with a Fed Audit, or fiscal reform, or the repeal of Obamacare, nor a thousand cuts to over a trillion dollars of national debt raked up each year by this current administration. As long as we have fallen people interacting in a fallen society, we will have social issues to face. God knows they won’t be fixed with mammon frugality or massive entitlements.

        The Democrats aren’t afraid to make their social positions known. Why does the Grand Old Party often run from social issues to hide under a bushel of fiscal conservatism. After all didn’t the Republican party form to oppose slavery? Yes, money was involved, but it was out and out a social issue.

        Now that Romney has upended the convention rules, it will be interesting to see how the platform tilts this year and beyond, and if the Grand Old Party survives.

      • onedirection

        if you think Akin has or had any chance of recovering from that.

      • arthurjake

        Personally I think he should have stepped down. His comment was insanely stupid and probably cost him the election. Not the first time a politician made a comment that stupid and got off the hook but I dont think he will get a pass on this one. That being said if he doesn’t step down then we all need to quit arguing about. Conservatives shouldn’t bring up the comment unless directly asked. When asked they need to just say it was insensitive and stupid, make the moral argument against abortion Akin should have stuck with in the first place(life begins at conception and should be protected no matter how it was conceived), remind people that he is still a thousand times better than his opponent, and move on to more winnable less emotional topics of discussion(IE Obamacare or a horrible ecomonmy). Directly defending his gaffe on statement involving something as emotional as rape is stupid.

  • jamesm

    He would have withdrawn already and Missouri could have another candidate that is 100% pro-life who would defeat McCaskill. This is made me realize that being pro-life does not innoculate many from emotional idiocy. When Akin carries the abortion cross many people lose their ability to think clearly. I am 100% pro-life but Akins words “legitimate rape” in the same paragraph are idiocy. McCaskill is playing his supporters like a fiddle. She is laughing her head off.

    • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

      Well said.

      And yes, MCCASKILL is the one person who most wants Akin to stay in.

      To those who want Akin to stay: WHY would you agree with proabort McCaskill on this?

      • JSobieski

        So McCaskill could be wrong.

        Not saying she is, I just dislike the D supports X so we should be against X. McCaskill is no rocket scientist herself.

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          nt

          • JSobieski

            So just because some D thinks X is an easier target than Y does not make the assessment correct.

  • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

    We’re at a ball game. World Series. Game 7. Reds and Blues. Blues up by one, Reds up to bat in the bottom of the … 44th. The game started under clearing skies at 1:00, but has seen rain delays, brawls. shootouts, throwing of bottles, breaking of bottles, and infield dust storms, so it’s now pushing 4:00 … in the morning. The Stadium itself has seen better days: the bunting has been trampled, there aren’t 3 blades of grass left in the outfield, bored spectators long since oozed over the foul lines to get away from the vomit in the boxes, and scattered fires have broken out in the bleachers. The hoarse chants from both dugouts differ in content, but a shared vocabulary–always stressing the dignity of the game–intersperses the curses, which inevitably coalesce in the chillingly cresendoed “the ring is ours! the Ring is Ours!! the RING is OURS!!!”

    As Akins trudges out of the on-deck circle with runners on 1st and 3rd and the Blues pitcher clearly winded, Reds fans are thinking there might, just might, just may be a chance he could at least tie this thing up and get to the top of the order in the 45th. But before he enters the box, he extends his bat toward the bleachers, Ruth-style. True, he could have done it with more grace and less panache: the ump had to pivot out away from the theatrical, mid-stride swing and it nicked the side of the Blues catcher’s mask. But in that silent beat, everyone in the Stadium heard him scream: “Coach! They’s throwing babies into the fires! We gotta make ‘em stop!”

    Second beat.

    Then the Stadium erupts with a single voice: “KILL THE BATTER!!!!”

    When the grounds crew has finished mopping up, the Reds coach scratches Akins, curses as the pencil breaks, and looks down the bench.

    • westcoastpatriette

      Hands down.

      • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

        Heading out to the bleachers.

        • westcoastpatriette

          Nothin’ like a ballgame hotdog. :)

    • cbartlett

      Brilliant display of creativity!

  • conservativemusician

    And I agree, for the most part, in principle with Becker’s comments on this diary. I don’t live in MO, but if I did, I would be livid at Akin’s stubborn refusal to accept the reality of his dire situation. He is a total and unequivocal bonehead and he looks more and more out of touch and stupid as the days pass.

    I am pro-life and I was offended by Akin’s comments on a number of levels. I believe that Akin’s decision to thumb his nose at a wide spectrum of conservatives (including Erick Erickson) and also speak publicly about his internal feud with Romney on Hannity’s show last week are unforgivable and inexcusable. Akin, in my view, is in it for himself. He can say all he wants that this is about promoting the pro-life position, but it is more about his ego than principle and doing the right thing by stepping aside. To me, his refusal to step down is no different than what we see with liberals when they are caught spewing their absurdities.

    Also, Romney has now lost his lead in MO because of Akin’s pride and arrogance. The only way I see us winning that state is if Akin steps aside so someone else can run against McCaskill. Many mentioned Kit Bond as his replacement, and that would be fine by me.

    • aesthete

      What’s going on is not a public stoning, but rather a reiteration and emphasis on the position and rhetoric that pro-lifers have been successful with, and will continue to be successful with going forward.

      To provide a bit of context, in the aftermath of Roe v Wade there was a counter-reaction from evangelicals and other pro-lifers and conservatives which was heartfelt, grassroots, and broad-based — perhaps not a majority, but close. As with any grassroots movement, there was some confusion about who, exactly, was running the caboose — and a general attitude which discouraged criticism of any excess, since the goal was to foster an attitude of unity. There is nothing wrong with that sentiment within reason, but what happened in practice was that a few televangelists and other religious figures took it upon themselves to use their bully pulpits to inform the world that anti-abortion statutes are there to stop promiscuity, and that there is no need to be concerned about or to empathize with women seeking abortions — after all, they’re just a bunch of sl*ts! Never mind that this was a very small portion of the pro-life movement — these folks caused tremendous damage to the movement by associating it with a hidebound view of government as an arbiter and enforcer of proper sexual etiquette, and had the effect of making pro-choicers seem like the empathetic and reasonable ones. This image was engrained and to some extent reinforced by well-meaning (but tone-deaf) pro-lifers who made explicitly religious arguments without attempting an argument for a secular audience.

      Sometime in the 90s, this changed (for the better) and the pro-life movement began to make serious inroads, as well as having significant public policy victories. Due to the disastrous experience at the movement’s inception, however, many pro-lifers are very sensitive to rhetoric which could undermine the work that we’ve done to make a case for life which has nothing to do with the moral status of the person having an abortion, or the nature of that person’s sexual liasons. In much the same way that scolding a child for putting his hand in fire is not intended to shame, the intent of the rhetoric surrounding Akin’s statement is not to denigrate him personally, but to distance ourselves from some statements which invoke a time when the pro-life movement, through apathy and a mistaken sense of camaraderie, allowed itself to be defined by the worst possible spokespeople.

      • aesthete
      • westcoastpatriette

        as it helps me put all of this into the current context. I wasn’t involved in the pro-life movement in the nineties and what you are describing would explain some of the near hysteria taking place over Akin right now.

        And believe me, I don’t always agree with some of the socons either and am able to see faults and blunders from some of the most prominent leaders that frustrate and infuriate me, too. This one just took me by surprise.

        Thanks for taking the time to write this.

  • demsaresatanic

    banging it for them, and made things much worse. We hear the Drats claim that Repubs hate women every day, they routinely twist what Repubs say to that effect, trumpet it, and hope that it sticks. The public is used to that, it is not big news. It became a major story because the beltway elitists rushed to outdo the leftist scum in public condemnation of Akin.

    If the Rovites were worth a spit, their immediate response would be to attack, demand that McCaskill condemn Drat support of partial birth infanticide, or abortion for sex selection, for example. Instead, they validated the Drat/ leftist scum media.

    • avgjo

      that Karl Rove and so many others, who told so many people leery of Romney that they needed to get in line behind the Republican candidate and suck it up, can’t seem to bring themselves to do so? No, they go after their own.

      Also, if the Rasmussen poll on Mo is to be believed ,I am very disappointed in the people of that state. Give Barack ‘Baby-killer’ Obama and Clare ‘Death Panels’ McCaskill more time to destroy the country because a man (admittedly egregiously) misspoke? I really don’t get it.

    • avgjo

      nt

    • volunteerstate

      Excellent point. Add your recommendation to the post. I want to exchange names…not that I dislike my moniker, but yours is AWESOME…. :) They always side with EVIL, CRIME,Bankruptcy, anything BAD. Nice name !

  • ddawg

    If someone had asked you last Saturday if severe trauma can cause near immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything to base it on scientifically (i.e. besides your intuition)?

    The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

    The continued savaging of Todd Akin by conservatives and Republicans is only making things worse.

  • halger

    All he has to do is run against Obama, Romney, RINOs, Wall Street and the party establishment.
    Stand for real conservatives and Main Street against the card sharks and spongers. Missourians would carry him to victory on their shoulders.

  • onedirection

    I think there’s a fringe of conservatives who doesn’t understand this because to them Akin’s blunder was no big deal.

    As Rush says, they live insulated in an echo chamber. So they don’t get how the rest of the country can be so horrified by Akin’s statements and find the man so repugnant that apologies won’t be enough.

    Plus, you are factually wrong in your diary. People like Malkin or Hannity asked for Akin to step down before those. In fact, Romney was arguably one of the last to suggest he should stop down and only did it when asked to comment on the Ashcroft/Danforth/Bond/Talent statement.

  • onedirection

    …over America. Including the presidential ticket.

    It’s amazing some people don’t understand the magnitude of what Akin said and how toxic he became from that moment.

    Not really surprising: as Rush has said recently, many SoCons live in an echo chamber. That’s why they can’t understand what happened to Akin and believe people are overreacting.

    Those who believe Akin was still a viable candidate after that blunder, or that somehow protecting him wouldn’t be very pricey to the GOP brand, don’t know the country they’re living in any more.

    And your post is factually wrong. Romney was one of the last to suggest Akin should withdraw and only did it indirectly. The reaction was basically unanimous among movement conservatives and to try to blame Rove and Coulter for it is laughable. What about Michelle Malkin? Sean Hannity?

  • acat

    He will, henceforth, not discuss his poor word choice.

    This is a decent strategery, although one he should have followed sooner.

    He *might* have enough time, between now and November, to get past his poor word choice. The media will be working against him, however, so it’s really up to him to see if he can accumulate enough donations (cat glares at Perkins*, Robertson*, and Huckabee*) to provide enough ca$h and GOTV to overcome the media megaphone.

    Mew

    * these guys put Akin up to this, they are on the hook to fix it.

  • runner12

    I feel that the Conservatives reaction to encourage Akin to get out was warranted and appropriate. Even many fellow social conservatives, myself included, think he should go. This election is just too important.

    But in this whole debate there are two things that trouble me. First, I think a major point is being missed by many who are claiming that there has been an overreaction to Akin’s comments. That point is that Akin got into this trouble by actually avoiding simply standing up for his beliefs in a straightforward manner. Instead, he tried justify his position. You will never succeed with the Left-wing media machine by doing so. Because he chose to go this route, he spouted off phony science and made an incredibly offensive remark. His persistance in staying in the race thus far gives the appearance that he is more concerned about his own position and power, than actually taking back this country. Needless to say, I do not have a high opinion of him at this point.

    That being said, the second thing that equally troubles me is the vitriol against Socons that has been expressed because of this issue. Many social conservatives have called on Akin to step down. Yet because three prominent figures choose to support him, it is open season. Though I do not personally care for two out of the three, the hatred and ire for these men is uncalled for. I do not believe one of them has tried to defend the offensive comment OR even the phony science (I know Perkins did not), they simply support him because of his past pro-life record. I respectfully, yet strongly disagree with them and think that their support is damaging to the cause they so rightly support. But it is a free country and they have a right to their views.

  • onedirection

    …over America.

    It’s amazing some people don’t understand the magnitude of what Akin said and how toxic he became from that moment.

    Not really surprising: as Rush has said recently, many SoCons live in an echo chamber. That’s why they can’t understand what happened to Akin and believe people are overreacting.

    Those who believe Akin was still a viable candidate after that blunder, or that somehow protecting him wouldn’t be very pricey to the GOP brand, don’t know the country they’re living in any more.

    And your post is factually wrong. Romney was one of the last to suggest Akin should withdraw and only did it indirectly. The reaction was basically unanimous among movement conservatives and to try to blame Rove and Coulter for it is laughable. What about Michelle Malkin? Sean Hannity?

  • runner12

    I feel that the Conservatives reaction to encourage Akin to get out was warranted and appropriate. Even many fellow social conservatives, myself included, think he should go. This election is just too important.

    But in this whole debate there are two things that trouble me. First, I think a major point is being missed by many who are claiming that there has been an overreaction to Akin’s comments. That point is that Akin got into this trouble by actually avoiding simply standing up for his beliefs in a straightforward manner. Instead, he tried justify his position. You will never succeed with the Left-wing media machine by doing so. Because he chose to go this route, he spouted off phony science and made an incredibly offensive remark. His persistance in staying in the race thus far gives the appearance that he is more concerned about his own position and power, than actually taking back this country. Needless to say, I do not have a high opinion of him at this point.

    That being said, the second thing that equally troubles me is the vitriol against Socons that has been expressed because of this issue. Many social conservatives have called on Akin to step down. Yet because three prominent figures choose to support him, it is open season. Though I do not personally care for two out of the three, the hatred and ire for these men is uncalled for. I do not believe one of them has tried to defend the offensive comment OR even the phony science (I know Perkins did not), they simply support him because of his past pro-life record. I respectfully, yet strongly disagree with them and think that their support is damaging to the cause they so rightly support. But it is a free country and they have a right to their views.

  • runner12

    I feel that the Conservatives reaction to encourage Akin to get out was warranted and appropriate. Even many fellow social conservatives, myself included, think he should go. This election is just too important.

    But in this whole debate there are two things that trouble me. First, I think a major point is being missed by many who are claiming that there has been an overreaction to Akin’s comments. That point is that Akin got into this trouble by actually avoiding simply standing up for his beliefs in a straightforward manner. Instead, he tried justify his position. You will never succeed with the Left-wing media machine by doing so. Because he chose to go this route, he spouted off phony science and made an incredibly offensive remark. His persistance in staying in the race thus far gives the appearance that he is more concerned about his own position and power, than actually taking back this country. Needless to say, I do not have a high opinion of him at this point.

    That being said, the second thing that equally troubles me is the vitriol against Socons that has been expressed because of this issue. Many social conservatives have called on Akin to step down. Yet because three prominent figures choose to support him, it is open season. Though I do not personally care for two out of the three, the hatred and ire for these men is uncalled for. I do not believe one of them has tried to defend the offensive comment OR even the phony science (I know Perkins did not), they simply support him because of his past pro-life record. I respectfully, yet strongly disagree with them and think that their support is damaging to the cause they so rightly support. But it is a free country and they have a right to their views.

  • Viet71

    Akin is not up for a vote here.

    He’s up for a vote in Missouri.

    In politics, it’s votes that count.

  • runner12

    I feel that the Conservatives reaction to encourage Akin to get out was warranted and appropriate. Even many fellow social conservatives, myself included, think he should go. This election is just too important.

    But in this whole debate there are two things that trouble me. First, I think a major point is being missed by many who are claiming that there has been an overreaction to Akin’s comments. That point is that Akin got into this trouble by actually avoiding simply standing up for his beliefs in a straightforward manner. Instead, he tried justify his position. You will never succeed with the Left-wing media machine by doing so. Because he chose to go this route, he spouted off phony science and made an incredibly offensive remark. His persistance in staying in the race thus far gives the appearance that he is more concerned about his own position and power, than actually taking back this country. Needless to say, I do not have a high opinion of him at this point.

    That being said, the second thing that equally troubles me is the vitriol against Socons that has been expressed because of this issue. Many social conservatives have called on Akin to step down. Yet because three prominent figures choose to support him, it is open season. Though I do not personally care for two out of the three, the hatred and ire for these men is uncalled for. I do not believe one of them has tried to defend the offensive comment OR even the phony science (I know Perkins did not), they simply support him because of his past pro-life record. I respectfully, yet strongly disagree with them and think that their support is damaging to the cause they so rightly support. But it is a free country and they have a right to their views.

  • tlhoward

    at himself.

  • ennaneko

    - He’s 65.
    - Akin was dog piled by Republicans
    - Akin was dog piled, that sort of muffled the flames of scandal… now media is focusing less on trying to bury him because the GOP has basically disavowed him.
    - Establishment saw an opportunity to replace him with Sarah Steelman,,, better looking,11 years younger. She would hold that seat for two decades because of her age.
    - If Akin won… would he seek re-election when he’s 72 and 79?

    • westcoastpatriette

      ennaneko…this diary is over 500 words long so you only read the first couple of sentences and there is no way to access the rest. Also, the comments below are from someone else’s diary three years ago. In fact, none of my diaries have the correct comments to them. “Sigh.” Be glad when all the bugs get worked out.

    • conservativemusician

      Wrong ennaneko. This has nothing to do with Akin’s age and everything to do with the fact that he made an outrageously stupid comment that may very well cost the GOP an easy Senate seat pick up. I find it interesting that Romney is still polling well in MO in spite of Akin’s stumble. Are MO voters now dog piling as well?

      • westcoastpatriette

        You are prophesying doom when it is just as easy to prophesy a win. Change the narrative and support the Republican nominee. He is not leaving the race. Time to get over it.

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          Better to understand the situation as it is on the ground that suck up a happy pill and completely ignore realty, which is exactly what you’re doing – again.

          • westcoastpatriette

            Projection is valid, mbecker. And in case you don’t get it, that’s the same as saying “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            What I get is that you zero common sense and even less political sense.

            And this little pass at a windmill is every bit as stupid as your little fit about Perry.

          • westcoastpatriette

            Gee, a grudge holder, too? Why do you keep bringing up Perry in this discussion? Get a life, becker.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            I have a wonderful life, thank you. I’ve also got a very long memory for abject stupidity.

          • westcoastpatriette

            I would appreciate it if you keep your foul, abusive language off of my diaries in the future. You are a boor and an oaf whose opinion I am not the least bit interested in hearing.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Be happy to. Just stop with the stupidity. I have no interest in you one way or another and as far as your opinion, I would claim that as a badge of honor.

            As long as you continue with indefensible BS you can expect to hear from me. Have a nice day.

          • westcoastpatriette

            If you have no interest in me then just shut up and stay away from me. Get it?

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            I have an overriding interest in stopping the proliferation of stupidity in the guise of conservative “thought”. Get over it.

            You’ll note that when you post stuff that is not over-the-top pointless, I either agree or just don’t bother. Post on stuff you’re ignorant about – like political reality for starters – you can expect me to rebuff you.

          • garfieldjl

            @redstate-c705112d1ec18b97acac7e2d63973424:disqus Oh really, after all the stupid comments and false accusations you directed towards me over the past several months? mbecker908, you really don’t have a leg to stand on when accuse someone of proliferation of stupidity. In case you haven’t been paying attention (which you probably haven’t) there have been some new factors thrown into the race, and while Akin’s comments were stupid there is a possibility that it can be salvaged.
            Particularly since it hauls Obama’s extremist pro-abortion views into the spotlight. I for one am fed up with the double standard, in which Democrats get away with all kinds of garbage, but if a Republican says one stupid thing they get kicked to the curb.
            We have the guy that made a few stupid comments as senator or people that are so pro-abortion that they are okay with things that even most pro-choicers would consider to be infanticide.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            garfield, you’re an ignorant idiot and everybody knows it. You’re lucky that pretty much nobody pays attention to your rants anymore.

        • conservativemusician

          Not gonna happen WCP. Akin needs to change HIS narrative and man up and do what is best for the party, not for himself. Preibus had it right today when he made it official that Akin would not receive another penny from the RNC. It shouldn’t take this kind of shot across the bow for Akin to wise up and see reality for what it is. He screwed up royally and he should be man enough to take responsibility for it. He’s making it worse for himself by airing his differences publicly with the GOP leadership. It makes him look small and petty and obscures whatever misguided stand he is trying to make in regard to pro-life issues (which aren’t what most people care about right now anyway). Becker is right in that there are now several purple seats in danger now because of the arrogance and pride of one man. There’s lots of verses for these sins as well, BTW.

          • westcoastpatriette

            As the title of my diary indicates, what you are advising is a foolish strategy, IMO. Nothing more to say that I haven’t already said. And it is nothing personal.

            Also, conservativemusician, I do not know if you read this diary in its entirety as it has been truncated since the redesign of the site. It could shed more light on why I see things as I do and hopefully, you will read it when it gets restored. In any event, be blessed and we will just have to agree to disagree.

          • conservativemusician

            I did read the entire diary before the site upgrades and I respectfully disagree with your views. Generally, I agree with what you have said in your other diary posts, but not this time. We are still on the same side even though we disagree, so nothing personal is intended toward you either.
            Please know that I am not against Akin personally and I hope he can pull out a win, but I’m not as hopeful as you are because MO voters reacted so negatively to his comments. It’s just a crying shame he had to say this at all when a win was easily in the bag. People are so fickle when it comes to stuff like this. If I’m wrong and Akin wins, I’ll gladly rejoice in my error and that we have another GOP Senator to help turn back the liberal tide. May God bless you as well, WCP. Regards, CM.

        • votemout2012

          Thank you for your post. I wish I could read the whole thing. I live in MO will be voting for Akin. He has been an excellent conservative congressman in my district. This has all been blown out of proportion because of republican leadership pile on. Senator Blunt has been out there calling for Akin to step down. I wonder if we compared Blunts heritage action rating 62% with Akin 82% how all those conservative pundits would react. This is nothing but a power play to replace Akin with a more moldable republican establishment lap dog. Funny all those freedom loving constitutional conservatives are ready to nullify my primary vote because of a gaffe. They are all being played.

  • rightlane1111

    WCP…it comes down to this…we can’t repeal anything unless we take the Senate. If Akin goes down and McCaskill (sp) get back in without a fight…the Republicans have shot themselves in the foot.

    • westcoastpatriette

      Yeah, I get that, rightlane1111. I was mainly addressing how I think we could have nipped this in the bud by taking control of the narrative as soon as Akin committed his faux pas, downplayed it and moved on. I think it was a mistake to overreact to the whole episode and showed weakness wrt worrying about how the Dems paint us as the evil, woman-hating party.

      • rightlane1111

        Maybe I didn’t follow the entire thing because I am sick and tired of people making a women’s rights issue out of everything. We are not some inferior waifs and therefore should not be given special treatment. The problem I have with the media and the redefining of Akin’s message is this. Of course more people get pregnant from consensual sex rather than rape….duh. Akin, after he heard Fluke or whatever her name is..talking about women’s rights…that was the new Obama mantra. So Akin…LEAVE THE WOMEN SUBJECT TO THE WOMEN. Right WCP :-)

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        You want to nip this in the bud? Put Akin on a canoe and float his ignorant a$$ down the Missouri river. This wasn’t a “faux pas”, this was an objectively ignorant display of total stupidity.

        • westcoastpatriette

          Stupidity is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

          • conservativemusician

            Well then WCP, Akin is stupid in the eyes of this beholder and I still hope that he gets out of the race so we can salvage this seat.

          • westcoastpatriette

            Too late for that boat, conservative musician. Time to move on and support the nominee that Missourians chose. Counter-productive to do anything else.

          • kcdude

            WCP – Your last comment nails it. Time will tell with this senate race. I do not think it is productive that some folks keep digging up his original statement and position and continue to try to beat him up with it. I have said and will continue to say that I wish he had never said what he said and wish he had been better prepared but he does seem to be a person of Faith. I can support contrition in any person.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Stupidity is stupidity. Akin is utterly stupid. The guy is a professional politician and pros – or for that matter even amateurs – have canned answers for obvious questions. They don’t fluff stuff like this.

            And your scripture is totally out of context.

            Maybe you write a diary about how crushed you are that Rick Perry was forced out of the campaign because he certainly would have stood by Akin. Or something.

        • rightlane1111

          Mr. Becker…you want to talk about stupidity…think about the Romney camp deciding that they want to leave the grassroots out of the Convention…that…my friend is STUPID.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            That’s also a separate subject.

        • ddawg

          To all who are comfortable calling Akin ignorant, stupid, idiotic, etc., if someone had asked you two Saturdays ago if severe physical trauma can cause near-immediate menstruation, would you have known the answer? Would you have had anything more than your intuition to base it on?

          The human body does many unbelievable things. The research shows that Akin’s claim is not one of them, but that does not make him stupid for having thought it. Wrong, yes. Stupid, ignorant, moron, and all the other names he has been called? No.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            He brought up the medical stuff. He’s an ignorant moron. The question itself should have been a teed up softball. He managed to make a complete fool of himself with it. He doesn’t have the qualities of a decent school board member let alone a US Senator.

          • edintexas

            You do such a great job of name calling. Have you ever wondered what other people, constrained by following the RS rules about personal comments, think of you?

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            No.

          • retrocon87

            Personally I wouldn’t have known it, no. Akin has been in elected office FOR 25 YEARS, though, and you’d think he would have had a pretty solid (or at very least factually-correct??) answer down by now on what he thinks of abortion. There are gaffes and there are gaffes… screwing up a simple question on abortion in a way that even people generally turned off by political correctness find blatantly offensive is pretty legitimately bad. At the end of the day all that really matters is winning the seat and the way to do it is without him. I am not standing up for this idiot when it means risking Harry Reid being able to block virtually everything that we all know needs to be done for the future of this country.

          • ddawg

            I’ve been following the issue closely for more than a decade, and I can’t ever remember this particular question coming up of how a woman’s body responds in such circumstances.

            Since Akin’s comment and ensuing uproar, I have looked into this specific issue more, and stress does sometimes alter a woman’s cycle, and I’ve been generally aware for a while that physical trauma can cause a miscarriage. With just those data points, the other seems reasonable, even if it has been shown to be incorrect.

            I would tend to think most of Congress wouldn’t have had a solid basis for offering a correct answer to that question, if only because that particular aspect hasn’t been part of the public discussion. Even now, the available information seems to be somewhat limited in scope.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Again, Akin brought up the medical stuff. All he had to do give them Haley’s answer and walk away.

      • http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/holders_revenge.html John T. Bennett

        Control the narrative? Are you kidding? You don’t control the narrative when a man minimizes rape. You don’t control the narrative that a woman’s body rejects a rapist’s sperm. We can control the narrative on controversial issues. We can’t control the narrative when what we’re trying to control is utter heartless ignorance on the part of a Senate candidate.
        Only hacks would try to “control the narrative” when someone says something objectively disgusting. Hacks get no respect, and then they lose elections.

        • westcoastpatriette

          Hmmm. so whose team are you on, John T. Bennett? Sound like a Democrat to me. Heartless ignorance? Hmmm.

          • Finrod

            Sorry, but I agree with John Bennett. Trying to spin what Akin said is like trying to clean up diarrhea with a solitary wet-nap– the only solution is to clean out everything (including the candidate).

          • westcoastpatriette

            Then support McCaskill openly because that is your only alternative. Duh.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            He, like Finrod and I and every Republican leader, are on the side of taking the MO seat for Republicans and seeing Romney carry MO. Both of those things, along with some purple Senate and House seats are in jeopardy because of Akin.

            The problem here isn’t pointing out the fact that Akin is a clueless idiot, which he certainly is. The problem is not marshaling forces to get him out of the race.

            I hope this is the last dying gasp we’ll ever hear from the “social conservative ‘leadership’” side things. Note: I didn’t say “side of the Republican party”, because they’ve got their own schtick and it has nothing to do with winning, it has everything to do with being able to lay claim to being victims.

            Frankly, the arguments that keep getting put forth here defending Akin sound like the “hurt feelings” crap when it obvious that Gov Perry needed to get out of the race. Except they make even less sense.

          • lineholder

            So, you’re comfortable with the “friendly” fire on the Social platoon of the Conservative division of the Republican party, becker?

            Do you ever read columns over at Hot Air? They have column up today about Priebus’ comments that is very similar to the one posted on RS earlier today. If you were to read through the comments in response to that column, you will find comments along the lines of Akin/Huckabee and their supporters (last two words being significant, especially given the fact that a broad brush is being used) described as “cancer to the cause” and “right-wing extremists”. These are not liberals, becker. They are not trolls either. They are members of the Republican party.

            You will find the same kind of comments at Town Hall, Big Government, and P J Media, all of which are Conservative to right-of-center websites.

            So, supposing that SoCons make it through this battle in November, do you think Repubs will actually win the war in the long run if the kind of “friendly” fire you seem to be supporting continues indefinitely?

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Huckabee is nothing but a populist masquerading as a conservative. He led the socon voters down the garden path in 2008 with his support for a Constitutional Amendment on Human Life. He didn’t bother to note that a President has about zero power to accomplish that and he never did define which of the seven versions he preferred. His blather about the FairTax was even worse. He took up FairTax only because they had some form of national organization in place and he didn’t have to fund one.

            Santorum is not much better.

            I think if SoCons want to implement an agenda they’re going to have to define and and develop a long term strategy to implement it. the problem isn’t so much people who are politically active who identify with SoCon issues – namely folks like you – because you’ve got a basic, solid understanding of how retail politics work.

            The problem is the “high level” non-political people who are co-opting the SoCon rank and file who only pop their heads up every four years and know zip about politics. They get led off a cliff because they believe the crap that calling out utter stupidity equals being against “social issues”. I specifically don’t use terms as you’ve illustrated, but there’s no question that Akin is an idiot – and a really lightweight politician – and the people who are pushing him don’t have a clue.

          • lineholder

            Okay, becker, I’m going to say this one time and one time only. If you’re a Christian, you’ll understand it. If not..may God forgive me but I don’t have the patience right now to go into it.

            This isn’t just political warfare. It’s also spiritual warfare. Those of us who are Christians in the SoCon branch of Republican army are trying to stay focused on defeating a political enemy on the left, while getting pummeled with “friendly” fire, and still hold our ground on the spiritual warfare battlefront.

            If the stakes weren’t so high, I would be abandoning the political battlefield today without question, shifting my entire focus to the spiritual battlefield, because with all the damage that is being done, a fair amount of it by “friendly” fire, it’s going to be necessary. I’m waiting until November. Love of country is the only thing keeping me here right now.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            I understand spiritual warfare. My wife and I started a pregnancy counseling and adoption agency. We’ve worked with addicts and inmates for 30 years. I understand.

            I also understand that if you’re going to be successful in the battle you have to have a strategy and a solid battle plan. It’s going to change when the shooting starts, like any battle plan, but the problem with the SoCon movement overall is that there’s never really been much of a plan and almost no coordination between groups.

            In this particular instance, while I would never say there is no spiritual solution possible, the battle is political. There isn’t really any “leadership” on the SoCon side of things that does much but drive publicity and look for reasons to have their feelings hurt and threaten to stay home on election day. That’s not productive.

            Real SoCon leadership would get the fractions together and work out a game plan. Work the game plan within the party and I’m pretty sure you’d find a good reception that could work for everybody.

            No leadership is also not a problem that is unique to SoCons, FisCons have never really had a plan either but this year Ryan seems to have made a good start with that.

          • lineholder

            I’m glad you understand. Simple truth is that I’m much more in “tune” with the spiritual warfare front than the political warfare front, becker. Having people on our own side adopt the rhetoric of the left, directed at SoCons, many of them Christians, describing them in the terms that have been used….yeah, I see the spiritual enemy’s hand at work in that.

            After today, I no longer believe that there will be any working together in the Republican party. Too much old baggage, and neither side seems willing to put it behind them. Too much game playing going on behind the scenes, and none of it exactly as they attempt to portray it as being to the public.

            As to the subject of leadership…I don’t believe there is any such thing as “no leadership”, becker. Poor leadership, maybe. There is always some influence involved that provides a lead. Take the “friendly” fire scenario…one group opens fire, and everyone starts following the example of the lead provided for them.

            I’m stronger on the spiritual warfare front, becker. It feels like I’m spinning my wheels on the political front, getting nothing accomplished right now.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            You can’t fight a battle like this on just one plane. With respect to leadership, there isn’t any. Actually, there’s lots of it and they seem to never talk and have never developed a coordinated policy or strategy.

            There’s no “friendly fire” with respect to Akin. He’s an incompetent fool and deserves to be fragged. He’s costing us the battlefield, we were fighting on our terms and now we’ve got to defend against the completely pointless monologue that he dropped on us. He’s like a sentry who sleeps through his watch.

            On day one, I was willing to give him a pass and then he kept digging. Pass is gone.

            As I noted someplace, the only way this doesn’t really hurt us is if the Democrats overplay it like crazy, and they’re desperate enough they just might. The bad part of that is that you’ve now handed your fate into the hands of the enemy.

          • lineholder

            I don’t see those in positions of leadership attempting to find any common ground. It would be better for all of us if they did, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

            My general concern about the comments about Akin are that a broad brush is being used, catching SoCons and Christians directly in the line of rather heavy fire. That isn’t coming from you, but it’s out there. Plenty of it.

            I’m not sure about your last paragraph, becker. Politically, that’s another point I’ve found interesting…the way our side is projecting failure rather than confidence. For months on end now, the Dems have used strategical maneuvers one right after another to try to make gains. But the kind of maneuvers they are using are nonsensical to the point of defeating the purpose. And given what we’re up against, people are rejecting it, plain and simple. I think it’s possible that the people of Missouri could end up choosing Akin, in spite of his comments. And I think we’d better off projecting confidence than we would be projecting failure.

          • jamesm

            @ lineholder. I have followed your comments and I agree with both you and mcbecker on the substance. I don’t see mcbecker arbitrarily wanting Christians portrayed in a negative light. Quite the contrary. Christians are commanded to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”. Can we discern if Akin was a wise in his interview? Can we discern if Akin was “wise” staying in the race? Is he benefitting Christianity? The answer to all of these appears to be no. Has he caused a rift within the party? Yes. Are his actions harmless to the party? He has been forgiven but that is not the issue. Would not it be wise to have another pro-life candidate win Missouri? Akin gives ammunition to all the opponents of conservative values. If Akin had made his beliefs known prior to the primary he would not have been the nominee. He does not have he backing of the majority of the Republican primary voters in Missouri. A poll shows a majority want him to step aside. Why is he better candidate than another pro-life Christian who would most likely take his place? This is about politics and we are to be “wise”. This is about “Truth” not spinning or projecting anything.

          • lineholder

            I’m not meaning “projection” as in “spin”, jamesm. I mean conveying an air of confidence that we may not necessarily feel at the moment.

            As to the situation in MO, what I’m hearing as of this morning is that the means that may have existed for delegates at a state level to try to persuade Akin to withdraw were rendered moot in the rule changes that were made yesterday with Boehner being the deciding the vote.

            I haven’t been able to confirm that just yet, but if it is true…then this is now to the point where it should be left up to the people in MO to decide rather than continuing on with the behind-the-scenes political game playing and circular firing squads.

          • edintexas

            I think you might be reading an awful lot into the only RS post of a person. You could be correct in believing Bennett is a Conservative and not a troll. Or not.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Ed, I have no clue who Bennett is. He could be anybody or anything. On this particular point, he happens to be right.

          • http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/holders_revenge.html John T. Bennett

            Sure, I’m really a Democrat. Tell yourself that while Akin plummets in the polls and he is used as a tool for Democrats. Democrats funneled money into his campaign. Are you even aware of that? How can you possibly claim that Akin is good for conservatives when his strongest supporters are liberals who can see how toxic he is?
            I don’t appreciate you saying that I sound like a Democrat. Tell me if this sounds liberal to you: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/holders_revenge.html

          • westcoastpatriette

            You sound like a Democrat when you exaggerate and demonize a Republican nominee for a Senate seat. And you don’t speak for me, that’s for sure.

          • http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/holders_revenge.html John T. Bennett

            Did you know that liberals support Akin more than conservatives?

      • garfieldjl

        @redstate-f1c141186baf37e7e95e9a00b0e0ef0f:disqus Then our job is to point out how Democrats hate children, that they think pregnency is a disease, etc. There is plenty of material to throw right back in the Democrats’ faces.

  • rightlane1111

    Well, I have now read up on Mr. Akin. So here is my take. First of all…all of you men need to realize that women can be extremely cunning and premeditative. So…therefore, the word “legitimate” comes into play. Not all women are victims…some just like to play that role and use your egos to get what they want. So sorry guys…that is the real world. Secondly, whether you are with Akin with full rights of the unborn…it says something about the guy…he stands by his convictions. Look, I believe in abortion when the mother’s life is at risk, rape and incest…but I have NO RIGHT that he assume my position.

    So…his big mega sin…of which we could lose the Senate…have bills sent over there only to have Reid put them up on the shelf..is this…less pregnancies occur from “legitimate” rape. Well, guess what…he is right. Compare consensual sex to rape and you have more babies…because it (the act) occurs more often.

    So, you would throw him under the bus only to lose the Senate, lose America, have us pay through the nose for Obamacare…and the rest of the junk that is not even being discussed that is in that bill. All out of “odds” and the word “legitimate”. Yes, there are victims of rape and that is terrible. There are also many women who claim rape when it fits their needs.

  • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

    Here is the perfect example why Akin is a total idiot and should be sent into the outer darkness of politics. From Hotair comes Nikki Haley:

    Haley was asked repeatedly about abortion during this brief encounter with the press. Her response:

    “What I want you to know is that women are not one-issue voters,” she
    said. “We care about the economy. We know someone who’s lost a job. We
    care about health care and what it means for our children. We care about
    the deficit and about whether our children are going to have to pay for
    it. I know women who are pro-choice in the Republican Party. I know
    women who are pro-life in the Democratic Party. Women, in general, look
    at the whole picture. They decide what’s best for their families in both
    the short term and the long term. They’re very thoughtful, and these
    issues that you fellas keep talking about and the Dems keep talking
    about is just not where women are.”

    THAT is how you address this question. You don’t make the question and the point about abortion, you answer to your messaging and your strength. Like it or not this election is going to won or lost on our ability to communicate a strong message and plan for the economy, EVERYTHING else is chaff.

    Haley addressed the question but she turned the answer to our message.

    There is exactly nothing a US Senator can do about abortion. There is very little a US President can do, beyond Executive Orders reinstating Mexico City, etc. The only really important thing a President can do is nominate Justices to SCOTUS and I’m confident that Romney will issue the EOs and any nominee he comes up with will be better than any nominee Obama tosses out.

    Akin is totally tone deaf and I have a hard time imagining he’s bright enough to dress himself, given his 15 minutes on the national stage. There are 28 days left to get him out of the race and it should be a priority for the party.

    • westcoastpatriette

      We will just continue to disagree so there is nothing further to say for either of us that I can see. We shall see how things unfold in the very near future.

    • ddawg

      “THAT is how you address this question. You don’t make the question and the point about abortion, you answer to your messaging and your strength.”

      I would suggest that this principle should have applied when the media first began to ask Republicans what they thought of Akin’s comments. There was no need to so publicly and emphatically throw Akin under the proverbial bus.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        Akin deserved to thrown under a steam roller. Real political candidates don’t need schooling on this stuff when they get to the level of running for US Senate.

        Abortion is one of Akin’s real hot buttons, it happens to be one of mine too and I figured out a whole long time ago that you need to expect to be asked slanted questions and you have to practice giving the answer YOU want, not the answer THEY want. I’m no candidate for US Senate, but I could have blown that question off without batting an eyelash.

        If the idiot – and I use the term in every derogatory way you can imagine – couldn’t handle this, a real softball, what kind of fool is he going to look like for hard questions. If they’ve got debates scheduled he’ll come off as a total dunce, he’s already doubled down on the foolishness.

        It’s time to back the bus up and run over this fool at least a second time.

        • ddawg

          Why do you feel comfortable savaging Todd Akin with “idiot” “in every derogatory way you can imagine” and “fool”?

          Have you ever done a live interview or been put on the spot in an uncomfortable environment? You say you could have blown the question off without batting an eyelash, and perhaps you have live interview experience and have always been at your best in those settings. However, this is true for few people, even many politicians at high levels (otherwise, why would we constantly hear about gaffes of congressmen, senators, and presidents)?

          Could you at least allow for the possibility that the live interview setting contributes to mental flubs in a way that more friendly environments do not?

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Actually, I have. And I was prepared. I shouldn’t have nearly as much interview and public speaking experience as Akin, he’s a professional politician. He obviously doesn’t have the goods to handle this kind of campaign or campaign at this level.

            This wasn’t just “a gaffe”. This was a simple question on a subject that Akin is passionate about and should be well versed on. To say he wasn’t is the understatement of the year. Had he blown a question on economic theory or on Medicare funding or on pulling the troops out of Afghanistan or a myriad of other subjects, he’d get a pass with decent explanation. On a subject that is his passion he not only completely makes a fool of himself with his initial answer, he doubles down when he gets the opportunity to dig himself out.

            The guy is an idiot who has no business in the Senate. And no I absolutely can’t allow for a pass on your last version. In point of fact, I’ve spent most of my professional life either owning financial services businesses or as an operations executive working on organizational turnarounds. The latter business required me to be able to speak in public, and in front of employees who were being directly impacted by what I was doing. There was frequently press around if there was a crowd. Nobody ever told me I was going to have to be prepared and I never stood up if I wasn’t. I also refused to answer some questions on the spot if I was unsure.

            With respect to the financial services businesses I dealt with state and federal regulators. Screw up an answer with those folks and your business is shut down and you may end up in jail as a result of a law you and your lawyer have never heard of.

            Akin is an idiot.

          • ddawg

            Have you never stated anything factually wrong in your entire career of public speaking? Even if you’re batting 1.000 in this regard, I don’t understand your harshness. Akin has a very conservative record in Congress and would provide a solid vote in the Senate.

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            Yeah, I’ve screwed up once in a while, but NEVER on stuff that really mattered. I did my research. I worked my tail off and knew not only what I was talking about but who I was talking to and what they expected.

            Communication is everything. If you can’t communicate – and Akin clearly can’t – you can’t accomplish anything.

          • garfieldjl

            @redstate-c705112d1ec18b97acac7e2d63973424:disqus Somehow I doubt that, you certainly have made some pretty wild accusations directed towards me, you’ve also made remarks directed towards me that were uncalled for in the past, rather frequently I might add. mbecker, you actually have a tendency to personally attack anyone you disagree with.
            I’ve explained I’m on the spectrum before:
            1. That means my natural instinct is to be truthful
            2. That I have a pretty rigid sense of right and wrong, and what peers think really doesn’t enter into my decision making…
            While many psychologist idiots think that someone like myself has no empathy, we actually do. That said it’s tough to understand neurotypicals like yourself. However even those idiots that think someone like myself lacks the ability to have compassion for others among other things, they acknowledge that people like myself are very rule oriented, very concerned about what is right and wrong.
            We may agree Akins is an idiot, but I really don’t think the Party of Joe Biden has a leg to stand on when they bash Akin.

    • patsydecline

      I hope you are ready to eat your crow come November.
      http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-akin-regains-lead-in-missouri-latest-polling-shows

      Todd Akin is a good man who said a stupid thing, and then apologized.
      Will you?

      • M_Becker

        Sorry, crow isn’t on my diet.

        If Akin wins that doesn’t make him any less stupid. The guy is a backbench jerk. Has always been a backbench jerk. Will always be a backbench jerk. That’s a Family Research Council poll. Credibility = zero.

        Akin is a pathetic politician who’s in way over his head. The ONLY thing he’s got going for him is McCaskill is every bit as dumb as he is. That’s not a good qualification for a US Senator. The best thing that can be said of him is that he’s old enough he should be able to be convinced to retire when this term is over so we can elect a real man – see Rubio, Ryan, Paul – in his place and hopefully the party will start a search in January.

        And no, I won’t. I see no need whatsoever to “apologize’ for pointing out the obvious.

        • streiff

          I don’t really agree with this. Akin did say something stupid. If that was a disqualifier for office there would be a lot of openings on Capitol Hill. What happened is that so many people on our side are so freakin spooked by the “war on women” that they ran like scalded dogs rather than saying “it was dumb, he apologized, and now we’re going to kick your ass.” As a result we may lose a very winnable seat and lose the Senate. For what?

  • garfieldjl

    Well Akin might still be in this:
    http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/08/sba-list-to-launch-missouri-ads-against-obama-on-abortion-133435.html
    Considering that is running in Missouri, and it is an abortion survivor that is talking in the ad that’s damaging enough for the Democrats. When you add in Obama’s radical pro-abortion positions of it being okay for abortionists to kill a baby outside of the womb, and you put the Democrats in a pretty difficult position.

    Akin’s idiotic comments pale in comparison to politicians actively supporting infanticide.

    • ddawg

      Thanks for the link. Powerful ad.

      • garfieldjl

        No problem if I could figure out how to post up a diary in the new setup, I would make a diary concerning this. I think this ad could be a game changer.

    • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

      The only way this doesn’t turn into a total disaster is if the Democrats completely overplay it. A case could be made for that because they do seem to be increasingly desperate.

      That doesn’t change the fact that Akin is an idiot and it gives complete control of the issue to the enemy. Never a good position to be put in.

      • garfieldjl

        Considering that ad isn’t from the Akin’s campaign, has an actual survivor of an abortion doing the talking, I’m sorry but I don’t think the Democrats will have control of the narative for much longer.
        If I had been asked a question about abortion, I could have handled it better than Akin did, however I probably could handle the question better than you could as well…

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          Wrong. People don’t vote for ads, they vote for individuals. It’s an excellent ad, but Akin has made such a poof of himself on this subject he’ll get chopped to pieces if he addresses it.

          Again garfield, your lack of understanding about retail politics is glaring. Let me remind you that you were 100% wrong start to finish about the primaries, you kept claiming that your research had turned up “stuff” on Romney that would destroy him. You really should take a time out and learn something about what you’re spouting about because you simply make yourself look a fool with this crap.

          The Democrats absolutely should be able to control the narrative in MO with respect to Senate race. Mitt may have pounced on Akin’s stupidity directly enough to inoculate himself, we’ll see. Then there are other purple state Senatorial races and we’ll have to see on those.

          We’ll start to see where this will go at the Dem Convention.

          As far as you “handling a question”, your a big FAIL on that one. You are the Chevy Volt of Redstate. Poorly designed, poorly built, no range and no market to sell to.

          • garfieldjl

            @mbecker908 Considering the “conventional wisdom” is we should cave to the Democrats on everything in the name of “compromise,” I think I speak for every other conservative when I say this:
            To hell with “conventional wisdom!”

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            It’s not “conventional wisdom” you idiot. It’s simple facts on the ground.

            Can we assume you’re going to be quoting the FRC poll that has Akin up 3 as a source that proves some point or another?

            And don’t kid yourself, you barely speak for yourself.

    • westcoastpatriette

      That’s the perfect way to handle this, garfield. Expose Obama for the radical pro-infanticide “extremist” that he is. Thanks for the link.

  • http://www.RightonMainSt.com Mike Merrill

    Akin isn’t the first politician to say something stupid. Witness Obama’s 57 states, Hilary landing under sniper fire, Joe Biden’s 3 letter word: J-O-B-S, or Chuck Schumer talking to his imaginary friends while he bikes around the neighborhood. I’ve had my moments of hoof-and-mouth disease, where your brain and your tongue just won’t cooperate. It happens.

    For that matter, Akin needs to somehow try to turn it around by making fun of himself, not digging deeper trying to defend his stance. He could use humor, like Al Gore, talking about staying up all night inventing the Internet. A stupid, inane comment doesn’t have to mean the end of his political career. I don’t think the GOP should burn Akin at the stake over a stupid comment.

  • ubii2001

    Agreed. http://yankeeinexile.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/shark-week-attack-on-todd-akin-gop-eating-their-own/

  • westcoastpatriette

    Thought I would leave a brief update since this diary has now been “stuck” here since the redesign. Just a note to any more passers-by that the diary has been truncated and I am unable to access the rest of it. In the meantime, I am glad to hear that Akin is making a comeback and still stands a good chance of beating McCaskill. Would be very disgusted with our party over this if I lived in MO.

  • rsu65

    The “Public stoning of Akin” is no surprise to this conservative. The Republican party is what it has always been…well…the Republican party. And Romney, at his core, is a Republican just like his dad. If I could qualify that. He is a Republican like his dad save one important difference. His dad was a consistent and dogged advocate for his principles. Hils son remains an empty suite and will lose this election.

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