logo

Criticism of Todd Akin's Rape Comments Crosses Party Lines

image
Created: 22 August, 2012
Updated: 21 November, 2022
3 min read
Photo: Gage Skidmore

Missouri US Senate candidate Todd Akin's rape comments have ignited a firestorm of criticism that has crossed party lines. While critics see his comments, which included the clumsily-worded and medically dubious assertion that a woman's body has mechanisms that prevent pregnancy in the case of a "legitimate rape," as exemplifying the insensitivity of Republicans toward women's issues, many prominent Republican leaders have crossed party lines to agree with Democratic criticisms of Akin and his remarks.

Republican repudiations and even calls for Akin's withdrawal from the Missouri US Senate race were swift and widespread. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in a statement: "Today, [Todd Akin's] fellow Missourians urged him to step aside. I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race."

As reported by ABC News: "Among the big-name Republicans asking Akin to quit are his would-be colleagues, including Missouri's junior senator Roy Blunt, who issued a joint statement together with former Missouri U.S. senators John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth, and Jim Talent."

Other Republican Senators critical of Todd Akin's rape comments included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Olympia Snowe (ME), Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH), and Senator Richard Burr (NC). McConnell called Akin's comments a "deeply offensive error at a time when his candidacy carries great consequence for the future of our country... To continue serving his country in the honorable way he has served throughout his career, it is time for Congressman Akin to step aside."

Additionally, Senator Scott Brown (MA), Senator Ron Johnson (WI), and Senator John Cornyn (TX), head of the National Republican Senate Committee, asked Akin to withdraw from the race.

On Tuesday, CBS Pittsburgh published an interview with Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), in which Ryan said: "[Akin's] statements were outrageous, over the pail. I don’t know anybody who would agree with that. Rape is rape period, end of story."

Criticism of Todd Akin's rape comments also came in droves from the Republican Party's sympathizers in the media and blogosphere. The editors at National Review wrote:

"[Akin's] remarks combined several mistakes with brutal efficiency. There is no evidence for Akin’s biological claim. The frequency with which rape results in pregnancy has no bearing on whether abortion should be allowed when it does. And while it is not completely clear what point Akin was trying to make with the phrase, 'legitimate rape' should not appear in any good one."

Michelle Malkin wrote: "I don’t know what kind of biology classes Akin took, but rape-related pregnancies occur with significant frequency. No ifs, ands, or buts about it." In addition, William Kristol and Ann Coulter have called for Todd Akin to withdraw from the race.

IVP Existence Banner

The bipartisan excoriation of Todd Akin's rape comments does not come without qualification. Though Republicans have been swift to cross party lines and criticize one of their own, many of these same Republicans share Akin's substantive policy position on abortion in the case of rape, as attested in several of the sources hyperlinked above, and certainly Akin's electability after making his remarks is explicitly at issue in many of their criticisms.

Still, their willingness to criticize a fellow party member for making inaccurate remarks in his discussion of policy is a welcome sign when the common knee jerk reflex of politicians and commentators is to stand behind their colleagues rather than emphatically disavow them. Another silver lining in this story for Independent voters is the fact that their influence and voice are strong enough to swing the Republican Party in their direction in tone, if not in policy.

Policy is in many ways, a lagging indicator of popular ideas and beliefs. This controversy and the Republican response to it has normalized and legitimized popular opposition to comments like Todd Akin's and has set a climate and tone for future policy discussions with more rigorous standards for accuracy and sensitivity from candidates for public office.

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read