Todd Akin : Trumping Reid and Biden

Less than two weeks after winning the primary for the Missouri Senate race, Congressman Todd Akin decided to appear on the Jaco Report to discuss the election and a number of issues. When discussing his pro-life stance he was asked if he supported an exception for rape and incest. Instead of just asserting that he did not support abortion under any circumstances, Congressman Akin felt the need to justify his view. In doing so, he asserted that a woman's body somehow has the ability to prevent conception in cases of "legitimate rape."

Obviously, there are people who have a real problem with this idea. The following day Congressman Akin released a statement concerning the matter. In that statement he made no effort whatsoever to clarify what process he was alluding to when he made the remarks and simply noted his viewpoint that it is the rapist who should be punished in these cases and not the child.

Congressman Akin won the primary on August 7th with only 36% of the vote. Businessman John Brunner recieved 30% and activist Sarah Steelman received 29%. Given these recent remarks, one would have to wonder if either of those two candidates would have been a better opponent for Senator McCaskill in November.

Missouri is a must win state for Republicans in the Senate if they have any hope of getting a majority there. Congressman Akin has the benefit of a Democratic incumbent whose record is solidly with her party on the issues that most Missouri residents have problems with, including immigration, Obamacare, and the environment. His best strategy would have been to lay low, make the interviews and statements expected of him, and then let the state of Missouri get rid of Senator McCaskill. The fact that he can't seem to do this signals a long road ahead for Republicans until November.

Along with the sheer unabashed stupidity of Congressman Akin's remarks, the timing of the statements is also troubling. The media was finally being forced to cover the fact that Majority Leader Reid makes absurd claims on the Senate floor, and the unescapable fact that Vice President Biden says things that make Governor Palin look like a diplomatic genius. These statements by Congressman Akin have given the Democratic media a new scandal to shine the spotlight on.

Congressman Akin is hoping that this issue goes away after his last press release. It won't. He's going to have to eventually admit that he simply made up the idea that a woman's body can prevent pregnancy after a rape or face repeated questions on the issue.

The incident is being tracked as a controversy for Congressman Akin.