My Take on the Todd Akin Fiasco

I have been following the Todd Akin controversy closely over the past week or so, even though I haven't posted anything about it until now.  I'm sure most of you have read or heard about the comments of Akin, the newly minted Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Missouri.  For those who haven't, here is what he said last week in response to an interview question regarding his position on the legality of abortion in the case of rape:

It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. 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.
 

Needless to say, this "legitimate rape" comment was quickly seized on by the Democrats and the media and became front page news in newspapers around the country.  Akin issued an apology for "misspeaking" but the damage was done and Republicans all across the country have had to distance themselves from him and his comments, including Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Despite calls from Romney, numerous Republican elected officials, Tea Party groups, and conservative pundits and publications for Akin to drop out of the race, he steadfastly refused to do so.  Despite cratering poll numbers and lack of financial support from the National Republican Senate Committee and SuperPAC's like American Crossroads, Akin (I am convinced) will stay in the race all the way to the end. 

While some Christian conservatives such as Mike Huckabee and the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins have been vocal in their defense of Akin, I think he made a very stupid and damaging error.  First of all, he used the truly awful phrase "legitimate rape."  Second, he made a statement about female biology that appears to be simply false, or at least has no scientific evidence to support it.  Third, he addressed one of the most controversial and emotionally charged political issues of our day in an incredibly dismissive and insensitive way that seemed to imply that he questions the validity of any rape claim that involves pregnancy.  Fourth, his comments have played right into the hands of Democrats who are peddling the idea of a GOP war on women and have helped to make the issue of abortion in the case of rape a key issue of the national campaign (which puts Republicans at a disadvantage and is extremely unhelpful for those of us who care about defeating Obama).  And even his apology seemed driven more by political necessity than genuine awareness of his error.

Now I don't deny that there is an outrageous double standard in how the media covers gaffes and inappropriate comments by conservatives compared to liberals.  Joe Biden (race baiting), Harry Reid (too numerous to mention), Barbara Boxer (a baby gets legal protection from being killed once it is brought home from the hospital), Patty Murray (Osama bin Laden is respected in the Muslim community because he has helped to build day care centers), numerous members of the Congressional Black Caucus -- all of these people have made comments far worse than Akin's and continue to be highly-respected members of the Democratic Party.  (And if we want to talk about people who disrespect women -- well, look no further than the man giving the keynote address at the Democratic Convention this year, Bill Clinton.)  Akin has been unfairly attacked as being pro-rape or anti-woman, and to claim that his statement disqualifies him from ever holding federal office seems pretty over the top to me.  Nevertheless, I think his statement was ignorant and insensitive, and he has no one to blame for this controversy but himself. 

This situation is about something much bigger than Todd Akin and his career.  It is about defeating a very liberal (and staunchly pro-abortion) Democratic senator in a conservative-leaning state, which is a key stepping stone to a conservative majority in the U.S. Senate that will enable our country to repeal ObamaCare and confirm judges that respect the Constitution.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the future of our country depends at least partly on the outcome of this election, and we cannot afford to throw away a winnable Senate seat because of a stupid comment like this.  Akin is suffering from a severe self-inflicted wound and should have stepped aside in favor of a stronger candidate who could win this seat.  His dogged refusal to do so demonstrates his own selfishness and arrogance.  He is putting his own career before the good of the country.

I think the aspect of this story that makes me most angry is the damage that Akin has done to the pro-life cause and to the conservative brand.  The Left has tried for decades to paint social conservatives as ignorant, extreme, and insensitive toward women, and they are taking full advantage of this opportunity to make Akin the face of the pro-life movement.  The Left wants to talk a lot about the 1% of U.S. abortions resulting from rape and incest and to ignore the other 99% of U.S. abortions.  Todd Akin is happy to oblige.  Also, he is now whining that he is a martyr for the pro-life cause and that he will stay in the race in order to make abortion the central issue of the campaign.  Akin is no martyr for the pro-life cause -- this uproar has nothing to do with the fact that he is pro-life and everything to do with his ham-handed approach to discussing rape and pregnancies resulting from rape.  And I don't want Akin basing his campaign on abortion because I don't think he is a good spokesman for the pro-life movement.  If we are going to change hearts and minds on abortion -- especially abortion due to rape -- we have to be able to talk about it with sensitivity and compassion.

Having said all that, the Democratic response to this has been ridiculous.  They have been falsely trying to tie Akin closely to the Republican presidential ticket, even going so far as to call it the "Romney/Ryan/Akin" ticket.  Their spokesmen keep saying that Akin speaks for the party and his views are representative of the party as a whole, even though he and his comments have been condemned by the entire party leadership and most GOP officeholders and candidates.  If you were listen to media coverage and Democratic talking points over the past week, you might conclude that Todd Akin was a bigger issue than the economy, the budget, and the national debt! 

Democrats have claimed repeatedly that Paul Ryan is anti-woman and shares identical views to Akin's.  They are referring primarily, of course, to the fact that both Akin and Ryan are pro-life without exceptions for rape and incest.  These Democratic claims are misleading in a couple of ways.  First, they are trying to unfairly associate Ryan with Akin's statements about pregnancy resulting from rape (statements which Ryan has condemned).  Akin's problem was not that he is against abortion in the case of rape -- that has been and continues to be the position of many Republican politicians including Ronald Reagan -- but rather in the way that he spoke about pregnancies resulting from rape.  It would be like someone claiming that a random senator was the equivalent of David Duke because he happened to hold the same position on illegal immigration that Duke does.  The second reason these claims are misleading is that they attribute false positions to Ryan.  For example, Ryan has not supported a bill that would ban abortions due to rape or incest.  His positions on abortion-related issues are completely mainstream pro-life Republican positions.  Ramesh Ponnuru provides more details about these distortions of Ryan's record here and here.

As I mentioned in a previous post with that video of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Romney has made it clear he is pro-life but supports exceptions for rape and incest, which puts him well within the mainstream of American opinion on abortion.  According to Gallup, nearly 60% of Americans think abortion should illegal under most circumstances.  Yet, in the wake of Akin, the Democrats are trying to portray the Romney/Ryan ticket as extreme when it comes to abortion.  Democrats have attacked the Republican platform on abortion as extreme because it does not specify an exception with regard to rape or incest and have blamed Romney for this, even though the language in the platform about abortion is the identical language that has been in the platform for many years. 

And apparently, the Democrats have decided to make Todd Akin and abortion a major focus of their convention.  (Or as Debbie Wasserman Schultz would say, "women's right to make their own reproductive choices."  Democrats are so clever with their abortion code!)  They have given Sandra Fluke and the presidents of the National Abortion Rights and Reproductive League and Planned Parenthood key speaking slots.  (And they say Republican are the ones obsessed with abortion!)  All these women believe, like Obama, that abortion should be legal at any time, for any reason, up until the date of birth.  And this viewpoint is shared by a grand total of 12% of the American public, according to Gallup.  Also according to Gallup, less than 1% of American voters list abortion as their most important issue .  But don't worry -- the Democrats are going to make it a centerpiece of their convention.  It's pretty easy to see how this could backfire on the Democrats, big time. 

By the way, I do believe abortion is the killing of a human life, even if the baby was conceived as a result of rape.  Since abortions due to rape are such a tiny percentage of the overall number of abortions, I am comfortable with an exception for rape in pro-life bills.  But I enjoyed reading National Review's symposium on the topic of abortion and rape.  There is an argument to make against abortion in the case of rape, and it is a compassionate one.