Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Okay… tired of Akin yet… well, you’ll have Todd Akin to kick around for the next ten weeks. See Combest for the dozens of headlines and articles on the epic saga.
The bottom-line: despite calls from nearly everyone, Akin hung tough and declared that he ain’t dropping.
We have a long road until November. Every week seems to take on a life of its own down the stretch, but this is a very bad omen for Republicans. This could really hurt statewide Republicans.
Akin Bits
Missouri Republican Assembly: Akin Was Right
Congressman Akin used the phrase "legitimate rape" in the sense of an actual, "forcible rape" as opposed to a claimed rape after consensual sex. He did not mean to imply that there is anything "legitimate" about some rapes compared to others or intend to be insensitive about the trauma that is experienced by women in a rape situation. We've all chosen a word with more than one meaning before and we censure those Republicans who refuse to call Bidden to task for his statements and yet throw one of our own under the bus by joining with Democrats in this misleading attack with ulterior motives…
Congressman Akin's comment on the rarity of pregnancy following rape was initiated by, "... From what I understand from Doctors." Whether or not this is true (and it probably is as indicated by well documented studies) is immaterial, as the Congressman was relating that which the experts had told him. And the Congressman should be commended for standing by his convictions and being better informed than the general public or liberal media…
The Republican leadership needs to grow a spine and disallow the Democrats, who always support their candidates even when they are wrong, to dictate our stance. By so doing we are now agreeing with the President that forcible rape and statutory rape are identical. While Todd may have been indiscreet in his word choice, he was not wrong in his facts. Todd can win despite this misstep. All Republicans will lose if they continue throwing their candidates under the bus because of a poor word choice….
Akin 1997 to Akin 2012: Time to Stop being a Distraction
In 1997, Congressman Todd Akin told then Missouri House Republican leader Mark Richardson that he should step down to stop the distraction to their legislation. Read it here. Akin 2012 is not so interested in that advice.
The Other PPP Questions
Yesterday we got the Public Policy Polling. See it here. But according to this account, there were some other interesting head-to-head match up questions (McCaskill-Steelman, McCaskill-Emerson). I’d love to see those numbers.
The Difference Between Butler and Boone Republicans
Butler County: The Butler County Republican Central Committee voted unanimously to release the following statement: The Butler County Republican Central committee has voted to ask Congressman Todd Akin not to attend the Reagan Days event planned for September 8, 2012 at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Missouri… As a committee we follow the lead of Sen. Roy Blunt, former Senators Danforth, Bond, Talent and Ashcroft in calling for Congressman Akin to step aside for the good of the very ideals that he is attempting to champion.
Boone County: Rudi Keller reports, “The Boone County Republican Central Committee provided clear evidence Tuesday that the controversy over Todd Akin’s comments on rape and abortion is causing damaging splits in the GOP. By a vote of 11-17, the committee rejected a resolution calling for Akin to quit the race…” Read it here.
St. Louis Politics
Wahby Steps Down
Brian Wahby, chair of St. Louis Central Democratic Committee for the last eight years, stepped down last night. He lost a bid for city treasurer last month. Wahby reinvigorated the Democratic infrastructure of the city during his tenure. The best measurement of his success is voter turnout. City turnout was 50.8% in 2000, before his ascension. Then rose to 51.4% in 2004 and rocketed to 61.4% in 2008. Wahby also led St. Louis City to finals in bidding for the National Democratic Convention. Wahby is expected to lead that effort again in 2016.
Alderman Chris Carter
Rep. Chris Carter was nominated last night to replace his uncle, Greg Carter, who died in a car accident. After the special election – for alderman – probably October 20, Carter would have to resign his state representative seat. That will open up a special – maybe February – for that seat.
Hubbard Back in News
I was surprised to see former Rep. Rodney Hubbard on the front page of the Post-Dispatch today. According to the article (read it here), Hubbard has received $56K from contracts with the troubled treasurer’s office as a “ghost worker,” that is without having to provide any services for the contracts.
Tweet of the Day
Brian Grace @BrianJGrace: “Here's a happy non-Akin tweet: Christine is pregnant. Baby due in Feb. #NoLegitimacyJokesPlease”
eMailbag
All Akin
“Another reason he stays in… what’s he gonna do? He’s basically been a full time politician for decades. Can’t go back to Congress obviously. He’s got no other personal options but to go forward.”
“Akin stays in. The Family Resource Center came out yesterday in defense of Akin. This is a sign of support from his 35% base voters --consistent with Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum and Mike Huckabee. He has consistently thumbed his nose at the moderate side of the party. Akin has always viewed himself as a maverick within the party and when the Tea Party came along, it was the perfect branding for him. If he caves now, as it would be seen by his stalwart supporters, it would be a blow to the heart of the tea party express. That would not be just reflected here, but nationally.”
“I say he stays, God asked him to run, not the Republican establishment.”
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
Corbin Evans added The Associated Students of the University of Missouri.
Jennifer Poersch added Dynamic Fitness Management.
$5K+ Contributions
Friends for Fallert - $25,000 from Democratic Sentorial Committee.
Missourians for Koster - $25,000 from Carey & Danis LLC.
A Safer Missouri - $600,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
MO Farm Bureau Statewide Farm PAC - $5,798 from MFB PAC.
Cash Commentary
The Fallert money appears to be a typo as it was probably from the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Glenn Burleigh (33).
Congratulations
To Sammy Panettiere who became engaged to Missy Palmer.