Republicans on Rape

[SoonerCoug]

In honor of Congressman Akin, distinguished member of the Subcommittee on Science and Technology, I thought I'd highlight views on rape from a few other prominent republicans, most of whom believe that women should be forced to carry the rapist's baby to term:

Rick Santorum:

As horrible as the way that that son or daughter and son was created, it still is her child. I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created -- in the sense of rape -- but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you.

As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life. We have horrible things happen. I can't think of anything more horrible. But, nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation.

Ron Paul:

If it's an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room.

State Rep. Steve Brunk (KS):

Kansas lawmakers are currently considering a law that would bar insurance providers from covering elective abortions — unless a woman pays extra for a special plan...The bill "wouldn’t apply to abortions performed to save the life of a woman, or to pregnancies resulting from rape or incest." However, in the latter case, women would first be forced to file a police report.

"You’d have to have a report that someone stole your car," said Rep. Steve Brunk, a Bel Aire Republican. "This is kind of the same thing."

Clayton Williams, and almost-fundraiser for John McCain in 2008, until this past comment got him in trouble:

Clayton Williams stirred controversy during his 1990 campaign for governor of Texas with a botched attempt at humor in which he compared rape to weather. Within earshot of a reporter, Williams said: "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it."

South Dakota state Sen. Bill Napoli explaining the one and only time abortion might be acceptable for a woman who has been raped:

A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.


Todd Akin:

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview posted Sunday. "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

[oxcoug]

That's all you cld find?

Everyone knows Santorum is Santorum. Ron Paul - who knows that the hell he means by "honest rape" - a Kansas state rep ...oooo national implications!! -- a guy who has never had any role w/ the Republican Party after said Party booted his ass to the curb for being an idiot - and then another state rep, this one from South Dakota.

Underwhelming.

[Indy Coug]

I'm pretty sure Bob Knight is a Republican.

[TripletDaddy]

I'm pretty sure Bob Knight is a Republican.

You are too late for that one.

[YOhio]

Who was the one who said, "Better put some ice on that."? I forget.

[SoCalCoug]

I bet this is where he got his information from: http://articles.philly.com/1988-03-2...gi-mastroianni

[SoCalCoug]

Or maybe he got it from here: http://forward.com/articles/7642/in-...#ixzz1plP1PLrR

[SoCalCoug]

Of course, it could have been from Henry Aldridge: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/L...#ixzz1plYb6Vjh

[calicoug]

That's all you cld find?

Everyone knows Santorum is Santorum. Ron Paul - who knows that the hell he means by "honest rape" - a Kansas state rep ...oooo national implications!! -- a guy who has never had any role w/ the Republican Party after said Party booted his ass to the curb for being an idiot - and then another state rep, this one from South Dakota.

Underwhelming.

It's even more fun if you go to abortion quotes. Romney has at least 5 taking both sides (and even creating new sides) on the topic; Ryan co-sponsored legislation attempting to limit abortions even in cases of rape (he was at least consistent- until he joined with Romney and now he has moved to the new Romney position). After that you can pretty much pick your Tea Party candidate for amazing abortion quotes.

[YOhio]

Meanwhile in Minnesota a state legislator has oral sex at a public rest stop with a 17-year old boy he found on Craigslist. Thus far he's been non-responsive to calls for his resignation. Age of consent is 16 in Minnesota so he's not being charged for statutory rape.

[calicoug]

Meanwhile in Minnesota a state legislator has oral sex at a public rest stop with a 17-year old boy he found on Craigslist. Thus far he's been non-responsive to calls for his resignation. Age of consent is 16 in Minnesota so he's not being charged for statutory rape.

Unreal. Not a great defense to lead with "but he was legal... At least in Minesotta!"

[LA Ute]

Jim Geraghty of National Review:

Go watch the video of Representative Todd Akin, the GOP candidate for Senate in Missouri, uttering his infamous comments. Go ahead.
*
The query is pretty straightforward: "What about in the case of rape? Should it [abortion] be legal or not?" This is not a "gotcha" question or some sort of poorly worded trap. Pro-lifers can feel confidence that we've seen polling numbers showing the public incrementally shifting to the pro-life cause, but rape, incest, and the life of the mother are usually three circumstances where the public wants abortion to remain legal. According to Gallup, 20 percent support the "illegal in all circumstances" position.
*
This isn't to say no Republican Senate candidate should hold this position; only that he should know he holds an unpopular position and he needs to be prepared to defend it in ways that reassure, rather than alienate, the other 80 percent.
*
Akin's answer begins, "Well, you know, uh, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, 'Well, how do you*-- how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question.'"
*
So far, so good; Akin begins by suggesting a bit of humility.
*
"It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare."
*
Perhaps Akin was thinking of the statistic of how small a percentage of abortions performed are on fetuses who are the result of rape and incest. (Here's a*2005 study by the Guttmacher Institute*indicating that only 1 percent of women who had abortions said the reason was that "they had been victims of rape, and less than half a percent said they became pregnant as a result of incest.") The problem is he didn't say that; instead he indicated that rape-related pregnancies are "really rare."
*
About 31,000 pregnancies are the result of rape in America every year. That's a small fraction of the 6 million pregnancies nationwide, but . . . that's still an ungodly number and a number few would call "really rare." And whether Akin intended it or not, the term "rare" is going to be interpreted by a lot of voters, particularly women, as dismissing the issue.
*
And then Akin really gets himself in trouble: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
*
I have no idea what Akin meant by the term "legitimate rape," and I don't care to try to translate that.
*
As for the notion that women's bodies can somehow subconsciously interrupt their fertility during a rape experience... well, no.
*
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine,*writing at CNN:
*

The body doesn't differentiate between "legitimate" rape and "illegitimate" rape -- whatever that is. The body doesn't know whether the rapist is known to a victim. The body doesn't know if a knife or a gun, or alcohol or drugs (or any combination of them), were used.

Every sexual encounter does not lead to pregnancy, but every sexual encounter leads to the possibility of pregnancy. Period.
*
Now, researchers are always looking to see if there are other indicators of a woman's peak fertility, and thus you'll see light-hearted news stories that men are more attracted to dancing women when they're most fertile, and so on. So while a woman may be more or less fertile at any given time because of a lot of factors, there's no research indicating that "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
*
Akin wraps up his awful statement, "But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know, I think there should be some punishment but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."
*
Look at that phrasing: "that didn't work," "ways to shut that whole thing down." He sounds like he's discussing an assembly-line safety mechanism or something. The moment the word "rape" enters the conversation, everyone's blood runs cold and women are involuntarily forced to momentarily contemplate one of the worst things that could ever happen to them. This is why some people flipped out when CNN anchor Bernard Shaw asked Michael Dukakis in a 1988 presidential debate, "If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" and even more voters recoiled from Dukakis when he offered an antiseptic* policy answer. (Watch the exchange, even more breathtaking 24 years later; Dukakis doesn't even flinch, recoil, or blink when Shaw asks that question.) Akin suggests that rape victims don't really need abortions, because he believes in their bodies' "ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
*
This is a candidate who is astronomically ill-informed, and epically unprepared for the difficulty of the general-election campaign ahead.
*
So in this circumstance, frustrated conservatives can cite the dumb comments of Joe Biden, Juanita Broderick's accusations against Bill Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg's claim that Roman Polanski's acts weren't really "rape-rape," and a million examples of mainstream-media bias and hypocrisy, but it doesn't change the facts: Republicans have a candidate in Missouri from whom a lot of voters, particularly women, are going to recoil once these comments get blasted full-force by a well-funded Claire McCaskill campaign.
*
Here's Akin's exchange with Hannity Monday afternoon transcribed by the folks at Real Clear Politics:
*
"As a political observer I see it differently here. I think for the next week all you're going to hear from Democrats is your comments. And, look, I'm a Christian so I believe in forgiveness. And I can just tell by the sound of your voice that you're very sincere in your apology. But I also -- I think there is one political reality that I think has to be faced by you and your campaign and that is that you know, the reality here is that Democrats now have a ton of ammunition and they are now going to try to use these remarks to hurt everybody they can. And if I was put in that position, I would at least be thinking about what is in the best interest of the party. hat is in the best interest of, you know, Mitt Romney in this case. What is in the best interest of the people of Missouri, are they going to be able to hear a campaign about issues or is this going to be the distraction of the campaign. Are you -- you're not even considering that?" Hannity asked.*
*
"Those are all legitimate points, Sean, and you know I'm trained as an engineer and you look at both sides of the equation and you say, 'You know, what are the pros and the cons?' On the other side, here you have somebody who is a conservative, unabashed pro-lifer where as Claire McCaskill is the exact opposite. And you got a real contrast and a simple choice for the people of the state of Missouri. And I think that strong voting record and that record that is the exact opposite of hers -- the question is, does that overcome, you know, the question of people that are upset over one word spoken in one day in one sentence. And I think that there is an awful of people that believe in mercy and forgiveness and God's love. I made a single error in one sentence," Akin said.*
*
"But I think that the people of Missouri are big enough to take a look at the whole package and say, 'Hey, this Obama is about to break our country and Claire McCaskill is a rubber stamp for him and so we need somebody who is going to take the fight to them. And I believe that we're going to do that," Akin added.
*
*This morning, Akin released an ad featuring an apology:
*
"Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize. As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault. I pray for them," Akin says. "The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims."
*
Akin continues: "The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness."
*
The controversy over his comments has led many conservatives, including NR's editors, to call for him to drop out of the race.

[calicoug]

More great news from Republicans today on rape:

1. The RNC is about to adopt a platform opposing abortion in all cases, including rape. Good timing by them, not that there is a great time to have such a stupid position.

2. Rep. Steven King (Tea Party extraordinaire) had this to say in response to the Akin fiasco:

King supports the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act." It would ban Federal funding of abortions except in cases of forcible rape. Right now, Medicaid also covers abortions for victims of statutory rape or incest - for example, a 12 year old who gets pregnant.

Congressman King says he's not aware of any young victims like that.

"Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way, and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter," he said.

3. Akin appears to be determined to stay in the race.

Wow.

[il Padrino Ute]

The Democrats have zero moral high ground here, especially when the man giving the keynote address at this year's Democrat convention has a history of sexually abusing women.

[Tim]

The Democrats have zero moral high ground here, especially when the man giving the keynote address at this year's Democrat convention has a history of sexually abusing women.

I wanted to know more about the allegations you're making here about Julian Castro, so I went to Google to find out about his history of sexually abusing women. First search: "julian castro accusations." None of the top 10 results mention him being accused of sexually abusing women. Second search: "julian castro rape." Again, nothing on the first page mentioning him raping women. Third search: "julian castro history of sexually abusing women." Yet again, no relevant results.

Google is really smart, IPU, but it knows nothing about Julian Castro's history of sexually abusing women. You've now made a very damning accusation that appears to have no evidence to back it up and no articles discussing it. Would you like retract your statement? Accusing someone of sexually abusing women is pretty damn strong.