I won???t hate Todd Akin officially unless he refuses to withdraw from the Missouri Senate race. If he does withdraw, honorably sacrificing his personal interests to save the country, it will be time for all good men to rally around Akin as an American patriot.
Akin was one of nine GOP candidates in the primary to challenge Missouri???s left-wing, tax-cheat sitting Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill. McCaskill is Chuck Schumer in a dress. Totally out of step with the good voters of Missouri, her seat should be an easy win for Republicans this year.
Curiously, Democrats ferociously supported Akin in the GOP primary. McCaskill???s supporters spent $2 million to make Akin her opponent and also crossed over to vote for Akin in the Republican primary ??? and that???s been admitted in The New York Times.
Now we know why. The rape comment was a totally unforced error on a day that should have been a smashing triumph for the Romney-Ryan ticket.
Akin wasn???t asked some out of the blue question no Republican candidate has ever been asked: He was asked the most jejune, obvious question every Republican is asked in any race for any office. How can a Republican not have an answer for: ???What about abortion in the case of rape and incest????
The point I believe Akin was ultimately driving at was that this is a teeny-tiny percentage of all abortions, so why are we spending all our time taking about it? How about saying: ???Yes, it???s still a life, but more people are killed in drive-by shootings in Chicago every year. You give us the 2 million abortions that aren???t a result of rape and incest and we???ll give you the few thousand that are.???
Instead, Akin rambled about ???legitimate rape??? ??? violating an ironclad rule of politicians that the word ???legitimate??? should never appear within 15 yards of the word ???rape.??? And he talked about the medical possibility of becoming pregnant from a single traumatizing rape.
He???s not a talk radio host. He???s not sitting around shooting the breeze in a college dorm room. This is a politician who should have a clear, nonthreatening answer at the ready for the most cliched question in the MSM???s playbook.
This is no time for another foot-in-the-mouth, Trent Lott Republican to be dominating the national political discussion. The country is at stake.
On InTrade, Akin was winning by 75 percent before his ???legitimate rape??? comment. Afterwards, he was trading at 45 percent. McCaskill???s seat went from an easy win for the Republicans to a certain loss.
Not only that, but Akin???s staying in the race will surely have a spillover effect in other races ??? even the GOP???s presidential ticket. Mark Foley???s creepy emails to congressional interns cost us the House of Representatives in 2006 ??? and Foley resigned as soon as they emerged.
U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was completely innocent of the crimes he was charged with ??? as we now know ??? but because he refused to withdraw from the senate race while he was under investigation in 2008, Republicans lost a sure Senate seat in that election. If Stevens had stepped aside and let another Republican run, Obamacare would not have become the law of the land.
That???s how important a single Senate seat can be.
The U.S. Senate will confirm or reject the next president???s Supreme Court nominations. Roe v. Wade could be at stake in Rep. Akin???s decision.
I???m sure Rep. Akin worked hard and is probably a good Republican in many other ways. But Republicans can???t risk these kinds of mistakes. Not this year.
If Akin truly loves his country and genuinely wants Roe v. Wade overturned, he will step aside and allow another Republican to run in his place. If he is a narcissist who cares more about himself than millions of unborn babies and Obamacare being repealed, he will not.
This is why the great Christian, successful businessman and Tea Party-favorite, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, has called on Todd Akin to withdraw. This is not the establishment bullying a brave conservative. This is conservative patriots who fear for the nation???s future asking a recently-chosen Republican candidate who has mortally wounded his own campaign to step aside for the good of the country.
Republicans could still win this seat, especially by replacing Akin with Sarah Steelman, the Sarah Palin-endorsed candidate who came in a very close third in the primary. Right now, any of the other primary candidates would be a better bet than Akin. But an attractive, pro-life, Palin-endorsed Republican woman is a shoe-in to beat McCaskill. Especially after this.
