Akin is far afield, beyond most in his the Republican Party, but the party itself continues to move outside the mainstream of modern American thought.
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Missouri, is maintaining his Senate campaign even as members of his own party turned against him and a key source of campaign funding was cut off in outrage over the Missouri congressman's comments that women are able to prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape." (AP Photo/St. Louis Pos-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)A renewed debate on abortion following U.S. Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks shows Akin’s problems are the Republican Party’s problems.
No, we’re not talking about his greatly diminished electoral prospects, and we aren’t considering his suddenly immense financial difficulties. What we’re referring to are the statements that got Akin into the news in the first place. While they were truly outrageous, unbelievable, more like the random mutterings of some wacko on the street than pre-election assertions from a contender for a seat in the U.S. Senate, they are, at the end of the day, remarks that spring from the thinking inside today’s Republican party.
After the initial news accounts, reports on Akin tended to sum up his statements by noting that he had referred to “legitimate rape.” While there’s no denying that the locution marks the congressman as somewhere between completely out of touch and a man who has taken leave of his senses, the sad truth is that the phrase itself only touches on the whole disturbing mess.
What Akin actually said was that a woman who is raped does not tend to get pregnant. This, he asserted, is a truth he learned from doctors.
There is not a single legitimate medical professional anywhere who believes such a thing. None. It is important to note that the would-be senator made his statements in the context of a discussion of abortion. As the Republican Party has once again put forth a platform that is so anti-choice that it does not even allow a woman who was raped to terminate her pregnancy, the question is not merely an academic exercise, a difficult moment in a debate. It is terrifyingly real.
Yes, Akin is far afield, beyond most in his political party, but the party itself continues to move outside the mainstream of modern American thought.
The candidate’s problems, big as they are, are an extension of the party’s problems.