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Updated 10:53 a.m. - Mitt Romney called a Missouri Republican's comments this weekend about rape "inexcusable," calling on Rep. Todd Akin to "correct" his remarks.
"Congressman’s Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,” Romney told the conservative National Review Online. “Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.”
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee joined a growing chorus of Republicans in condemning Akin's comments Sunday that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy for victims.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., joins Morning Joe to discuss Rep. Todd Akin's, R-Mo., statement that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy.
"I have an entirely different view," Romney told NRO of Akin's remarks. “What he said is entirely without merit and he should correct it."
Akin's comments threaten to shake up his effort to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill this fall. That race is a key stepping stone in Republicans' effort to achieve the net gain of four seats they need to retake control of the Senate.
The controversy has already sparked national reverberations, however. Romney has lagged versus Obama with women voters, according to polls; his comments this morning follow on a spokeswoman's comments on Sunday quickly distancing Romney and presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan from Akin. (Ryan, Democrats note, did co-sponsor with Akin a bill that would have redefined rape under portions of law.)
Evan Vucci / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives at Hyannis-Barnstable Municipal airport on Aug. 18.
Other Republicans have similarly denounced Akin.
Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) called on Akin to resign his Senate nomination.
"While Congressman Akin may have addressed his statement, like many men and women I strongly disapprove of his original comments — and the sentiments behind them," said former Virginia Sen. George Allen (R), who's trying to reclaim his old seat this fall.
In a statement and a Tweet, conservative congressman Todd Akin says he "misspoke" during a local TV interview in which he made comments about "legitimate rape" and abortion.
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I was waiting for Romney to say, "Those aren't the words I would have used."
He could care less about what Akin said. The blowback on his campaign is what concerns him.
I always wondered what words Romney would have used when Limbaugh called that girl a slut ...., Would Romney have used have used whore, freebanger, harlot, ...?
The reporter who posed the question should have been quick enough to ask the all-important follow up question, "So, Mr, Romney, what word would you have used"?
Do not blame the Republican party for the comments of one ass-ole.
Sorry ...., we do. He just had the gall or stupidity to actually say it out loud. The others just keep it to themselves.
No. I blame all of them. They're referred to as the GOP.
Who else? Mr father-in-law?
The entire party should be blamed because the party platform reiterates the misogynistic views held by Ryan and Akin.
If you believe Romney is telling the truth when he denounces Akin's statements then you believe Romney's Mormon religion is is not a fabrication by a charlatan named Joseph Smith 180 years ago. All religions have some unbelievability to them but LDS takes the cake, and I am not just talking about magic underwear.
How will right-wing fundamentalist Christians walk into the voting booth to pull the lever for Romney? Whith closepins firmly attached to their noses? It will be interesting to see th epost-election numbers on Evangelicals and how they voted. Will they or won't they vote against their principals?
In your mind what are the principals of the Christian faith? By your statement basing Christian's salvation on their voting record creates many questions on your reasoning and motivation to make the statements themself. You need to understand Christian salvation is based on Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance and Resurrection.
Many Christians have voted for Obama who believes in collective salvation, abortion and marriages of sames sexes. Under your princpals of the Christian faith where does it place these voters?
Christ said much much more about helping the poor than he said about abortion, or homosexuality. But some Christians block that out.
Church and State do not belong in politics
Not exactly the words you would have used, right Mitt-wit?
"Romney finds Akins comments inexcusable."? Surprising since he is on record saying that he supports personhood bills which would FORCE THE WOMEN WHO IS RAPED TO CARRY THE PREGNANCY TO FULL TERM..
Was Todd Akin stupid for quantifying rape, sure. Was
it more stupid than a vice president of the United
States equating Republican tax policy with slavery,
with "trying to put blacks back in chains"?
As insulting as the Biden comment was to
Republicans, ain't it just a tad bit insulting
to black people that the vice president of the
United States thinks so little of the economic
and business prospects of black Americans; that Joe
Biden thinks so little of the ingenuity, aspirations
and ambitions of black Americans; that the Vice
President of the United States thinks that no black
people, whatsoever, could possibly ever benefit from
Republican economic policy and tax incentives? And
worse, Joe Biden thinks that no audience of black
people could recognize those benefits, for
themselves and others?
If'n I was black, I might infer that the honorable
Mr. Biden might think we'as still back in Ol'
Virginny awaitin' fo' Marse Democrat to bring us'ns
our guvment care packages, 'cause black folks
couldn't possibly take care of themselves without
the Democrats' handouts. Maybe I'm wrong, but the
self reliance of Bill Russel, Bill cosby, Colin
Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Oprah Winfrey, Barbara
Jordan and Chris Rock among many many others, have
lead me to believe that Black America was above MR.s
Biden's and Obama's brand of poor mouthin'
Democratic politics.
Whose policies and attitude is it, really, that is
trying to put and keep black Americans in that old
self limiting and defeatist state of mind? It sounds
to me like Joe Biden is the one who doesn't believe
in the prospects and capabilities of black people.
That wasn't just some thrown out, off the cuff
comment, either. That was a thought out, rehearsed
speech, written by the vice president's own
professional speech writers, all of whom, along with
the vice president, believe and meant exactly what
the vice president said. This truly is their view of
black America, children who can't stand on their own
without the handouts of Granpa Joe and Uncle Obama.
Are you kidding me? Akin's an diot, but he's only a
nominated idiot, nobody has elected him to anything.
Biden is an elected idiot, and only a bullet away
from becoming president. Biden is the more dangerous
idiot, by far.
Atkin is not just a candidate ... he's a member of the House of Representatives who also happens to be running for Senate. He is also the author of a bill, cosponsored by Paul Ryan which also redefines rape.
And Atkin is not an idiot, he said something that most elected Republicans believe.
Hey JERRY, Biden was NOT speaking of "TAX POLICY" when he made the y'all in chains comment. He was speaking about REPUKE PLANS TO FURTHER DEREGULATE WALL STREET SO WE CAN HAVE A GREAT DEPRESSION ONCE AGAIN. And yes, I agree his choice of words was patronizing and poor-- but at least BIDEN'S POINT WAS ACCURATE, it will INDEED harm AVERAGE FOLKS if those on WALL STREET HAVE NO REGULATORS! As is the RETHUG wet dream.
Not a thing is more stupid than what this Akin believes and what he said with strong conviction.
Your whole speech doesn't make sense. Are you a racist as well?
JERRY
Are you Black......I haven't heard of many Black people being upset with Biden?
Romney is the BIG WHOPPER and Ryan is Flip Flopper Junior. Where were the two of them when Sandra Fluke was PERSONALLY ATTACKED, when Rethugs did not even INCLUDE a single woman on a committee DEALING WITH WOMEN'S ISSUES? Where was Romney when the RETHUG HERO RUSH LIMPHOLE called this brave young woman with something to say a WHORE? Where were they? Where was their PHONEY OUTRAGE, when RUSH showed how utterly IGNORANT he was implying that THE MORE SEX ONE HAS THE MORE BIRTH CONTROL PILLS THEY'D NEED? They were KEEPING THEIR MOUTHS SHUT LIKE THE COWARDS THEY ARE.
This high handed, holier than thou politically correct bs is crap. Just google, for yourself, rape and pregnancy, cutting off the search date to last week. Know what? Pregnancy is rare in rape, the fictitious rate of 4.7% is projected, not confirmed. Atkin is right, everyone else is hiding from the politically incorrect choice. This is so liberal an approach. Do the research yourself. Although I'm a physician, I simply googled the above term.
Thor T You are a doctor of what? LMAO
First of all the number of pregnancies resulting from rape is roughly the same as the rate of pregnancy resulting from an instance of unprotected sex: about FIVE PERCENT. AND the rate is likely higher since many women do NOT immediately report a rape and miss the opportunity to benefit from the morning after pill, as a result. Furthermore, the AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION reported in response to this that there are approximately THIRTY THOUSAND PREGNANCIES EVERY YEAR THAT ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF RAPE. So YOU get your facts straight, the majority of time a rape will not result in a pregnancy, NOT because the woman's BIOLOGY changes in that instance, but simply because it is also statistically unlikely that a single instance of unprotected sex will result in pregnancy. BUT IT WILL AROUND FIVE PERCENT OF THE TIME! And when one considers the fact that THREE IN TEN WOMEN HAVE BEEN RAPED OR MOLESTED AS A MINOR, you bet we INTEND to keep ABORTION LEGAL and without some board of political appointees who get to determine who is WORTHY of an abortion. Keep your teabrained nose and ultrasound probes to yourself, sickos.
WTF are you saying? Doctor?
Still out of touch with the real world, huh, Thor???
Ummmm........pregnancy results from rape at a significantly higher rate than it does from consensual intercourse, apparently due to stress-induced ovulation.
If you're a physician, you're a damned ignorant one.
Go morning everyone! Seems that the "Rat ate the Cheese" now is living proof of what Team Romney is about. All of the GOP candidates since their march for a Presidental candidate started, has been a poor choice. Huntsman was their best choice. He got past over for the likes (who would have thunk it) of Herman Cain. Now the GOP is stuck with Ryan who is join to Adkins by a bill that Ryan tried to past last year (should I say co- sponsored). This is why Ryan (the smartest guy in the room) has only created and past two bills in his 13 year career. He was still a poor choice, attached to a poorer choice (Willard). Well you GOP'ers have these two and neither has the track record to pull this country to gather. Willard won't show his tax returns and Ryan his a abortion extremes.
So what does Team Romney stand for? Who knows, but we have seen glimpses of what the will do. Women rights forget about it, tax reform for the wealthy, immigration build a fence, go to war on Iran and Israel, create jobs either we will wait on the Olympics or another health care bill. Neither one of these guys (Romney & Ryan) should have your vote.
Romney condemned Biden for the "chains" remark. Where is condemnation for this wacko. He said these words with great conviction. He believed what he said. Votes what he belives. Where is the call for his resignation? He should resign after all you want your taxes paying for this NUT for the rest of his life? The only reason this guy wants to be senator is for all the money he can rip off the American public. I think that's why Romney wants to be President.
It's not enough he has all the money in the world. Romney has so much money he can keep a bunch of it in off shore accounts and not have to pay taxes on it. His wife saying 'Oh I'd intrested to know how much is there".
God, if you have so much money you don't know how much you have, get lost Romneys. Go rip off some other country. Move to some other country.
Poor BIG WHOPPER, his delicate ego can't deal with the reality that he is LOSING this election and it is the closest he's EVER come to buying the White House!!!! So the BIG WHOPPER and his lil' flip floppper are already in the market for some external factor to BLAME, so that in 2016 this would be TAX EVADER IN CHIEF, will have a chance of getting nominated yet AGAIN. He has this deep seated need to make his dead dad proud.
Let him run, and we'll see how the good citizens of Missouri deal with him.
I watched alittle bit of the Romney/Ryan gathering yesterday on CNN.
Wanna talk about needing Prozac afterwards.
Ryan talked about how Romney was going to bring jobs home.
Let me guess those same jobs that Romney is going to bring home are the same jobs that he sent to China to being with.
Romney first bankrupts company A laying off the American workers. He then sells the assets to an overseas bidder who then builds the same company in another country where Romney can make tax free money.
Now Romney wanting to be elected President bankrupts Company B which was Company A and then sells the assets off to another country.
Now Romney has made alot of money in foreign currency that he shifts around around the exchange rate allows him to make more American dollars.
Then when it comes time for Romney to pitch his campaign about creating and bringing jobs back to America he simply moves Company A to a country where he is able to buy the company back at a very cheap price and building the company back in America making Americans think that he has actually brought an American company back home to the U.S..
What was really intriguing was Ryan stating that Romney would be a leader who did not use politics during his time as President.
What's Romney going to use then Ryan?
What will Romney do? Propose a bunch of ideas and let Congress simply say yes or no without having a sack full of beans to break it off in Congrees' butt to get his ideas made into reality?
I seriously think that both Mitt and Ryan might be good at the lower levels of government but when it comes to being the CIC and VP I think that they do not have the tenacity to deal not only with American issues but world issues as well.
Obama is a Rottweiler from a junkyard and has the attitude to back it up. Which is the biggest reason most if not all those who hate him hate him for his very personality of not putting up with Ol' Whitey's BS.
Man,
You should have seen the blonde and black haired girls that just walked past the library.
Total tools were with them of course.
Wanna talk about a well run campaign.
Carrollton Ohio has all of the hotties that is for certain. Expecially when they are carrying a laptop and a bag full of books.
Well, considering the GOP platform will include a call for Constitutional ban on abortion, does this mean Mitt Romney thinks it is ok to just ban abortion after a 'legitimate' rape as long as he's polite about it?
I am "just shaking my head". the Republican candidates true or false are perceived as being Neanderthal in their thinking, that they want to take away woman's rights. I don't entirely agree with this perception but in some respects I can see how the preservation of life can be seen as anti-woman. Where they believe that the government should dictate "morality".
Now let's look at the other side the so-called compassionate Democrats. They create a situation, i.e. the housing debacle by pressuring banks to provide housing for people that can't afford to pay under the guise of supposed race and class equality and then when it goes bad blame the Banks and those nasty old rich people. Funny thing is the richest people in Congress are Democrats, but I digress. Obama comes along and institutes as much socialism into the system as possible causing our already unsustainable debt to TRIPLE. Once again a party that wants to grow government and also tries to impose its own form of "morality" on everyone. According to them people that work hard and grow a business are greedy and couldn't have done it without the governments help. When in fact it has become harder and harder for a NEW small business to start up BECAUSE of government - Republican or Democrat.
So the Republicans in the eyes of Democrats are facsist theocrats, and Democrats in the eyes of the Republicans are fascist socialists. Both have been growing government beyond that of the wishes of the founding fathers for just under 100 years. Since 1913 when the unconstitutional Federal Income Tax was instituted and the not surprisingly the same year the Federal Reserve Act went into effect we have become a top heavy system overrought with bureaucratic red tape and corruption. Both party's claiming a chicken in every pot and delivering only the bones.
It's time to get government out of our bedrooms, and out of our pockets. I suggest that those of you that see the truth that these two party's, although on the surface appear different, really aren't. I personally will be voting for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for President this year. And before some of you think this is a throw away vote, remember that the FIRST Republican President was Abraham Lincoln. Because the populous at that time were fed up with those in power, Lincoln and this "new party" were voted into office. Granted what the GOP was then is not what it has become, maybe we need a new party that REALLY reflects the needs of the people.
Vote Libertarian this November - Gary Johnson for President
The "housing debacle" started in 2007....I do think believe Obama was President, and Bushy must have forgotten his veto power, is that what you are saying?
No.
The roots of the housing crisis actually goes back to the Carter administration. That was when government officials, egged on by left-wing activists, accused banks/mortgage lenders of racism and "redlining" because urban blacks were being denied mortgages at a higher rate than suburban whites.
The pressure to make more loans to minorities (borrowers with weak credit histories) became relentless. Congress passed the Communinty Reinvestment Act empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to "meet the credit needs" of "low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods." Lenders responded by loosening their underwriting standards and making increasingly shoddy loans. The two government-chartered mortgage finance firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged this "sub-prime" lending by authorizing ever more "flexible" criteria by which high-risk borrowers could be qualified for home loans, and then buying up the questionable mortgages that ensued.
All this was justified as a means of increasing home ownership among minorities and the poor. Affirmative-action policies trumped sound business practices. A manual issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston advised mortgage lenders, through their "guidelines" to disregard financial common sense. "Lack of credit history should not be seen as a negative factor,". Lenders were directed to accept welfare payments and unemployment benefits as "valid income sources" to qualify for a mortgage. Failure to comply could mean a lawsuit.
As long as housing prices kept rising, the illusion that all this was good public policy could be sustained. But it didn't take a financial whiz to recognize that a day of reckoning would come.
Obviously Barny Frank and other Democrats and some Republicans did see it. Over and over Frank insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good shape. In 2003, when the Bush administration proposed much tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that "these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis." When the White House warned of "systemic risk for our financial system" unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing.
And then in late 2007 and when the housing market collapsed, Barny Frank and his fellow Democrats suddenly had a case of memory loss. They blamed the banks for the regulations ( or lack thereof) THEY are imposed on the Banks if they didn't comply with these sub-prime loans.
This is the problem Say What?-809562, many people both Republican and Democrat get snippets of stories or read just the headlines and make assumptions. Frankly not all of the financial meltdown was due to G.W. Bush but was also caused by the very liberal thinking in a Democrat controlled Congress that brought about much of the financial crisis. Don't get me wrong though Bush had a lot to do with it as well, with growing the size of the Federal Government 20% over his predecessor Clinton and two wars we shouldn't have been involved in that cost not just money, but more importantly young American lives, he too was part of the problem.
Again I have to stipulate I don't trust either party at this point. They both have contributed to the issues we are seeing today. Most people have not bothered to look into the policies of the Libertarian Party because they have been spoon fed by the media that they are (and I heard the term actually used yesterday on a conservative station) "Fringe". No if you take the time to read up on them I think mot people will find they are in fact quite mainstream.
Mitt RobMe is just pissed he didn't think of it first or say it first
Romney's Grandpa and his Mormon buddies were Polygamist running from the Law. I am sure that the Law was trying to Protect some very Young Girls form these Perverts trying to hide behind a so called religion.
These men had no respect for Marriage or Woman. This is what Romney was taught from the Cradle. What makes you think the GOP cares about the RAPE of any woman when they have chosen a man with a family history of Crimes against women to lead them. These so called men should be run out of town.
Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a Republican; but I repeat myself.
Romney: Akin's rape comments 'insulting, inexcusable'
and Akin wasn't supposed to say it out loud.
Let's discuss ANYTHING but the economy. Because jobs, debt and national solvency are so much less important than capitalizing on one single idiot's utterance. Romney rebuked the fool--end of story. Unfortunately, the left slanted media and the masses of punch drunk libs want to beat this to death instead of talking about the economy.
Too bad Romney and Ryan share that fool's views, as does the party platform.
GodBless.....
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for;
as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
there are days I wish I wasn't a Democrat,where's Bill Clinton when you need him !
Tampa, Florida (CNN) - The Republican Party is once again set to enshrine into its official platform support for "a human life amendment" to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion without making explicit exemptions for rape or incest, according to draft language of the platform obtained exclusively by CNN late Monday.
As we speak, the GOP is drafting its platform in Tampa, Florida.
One of the Planks = ABORTION
No abortion for RAPE
No abortion for INCEST
No abortion to even save the MOTHER"S LIFE
Get out your vaginal probes and start practicing!!!
Yep, here's the draft language:
No wonder there's such a huge gender gap.
Ryan, Romney,and Akin are to intellectual life as trichinosis is to pork.
So woodie, I just have to ask, have you REALLY calculated what percentage you are taxed. My wife and I are typical middle class earners, we make roughly 83,000 a year together and our tax burden is around 9% Federal and about 4% State when deductions are applied. That is 13% and it would porbably be even less if I owned a home rather than rented.
I am no Romney backer as my prior posts state, I will NOT be voting for him, but let's all stop swallowing the Democrat propaganda about this 1% B.S. The truth is, in dollars and cents 49% of U.S. citizens pay NOTHING (and these are not the rich), the middle group or lower middle class only contribute about 5-10% of the accumulted revenue, the next group or upper middle class 100,000.00 - 250,000.00 a year 25-30% of the collected revenue and that 1% that everyone likes to trash pay 60-65% of the collected revenue right NOW. So the top 10% or wage earners (the rich) pay on average 90% of the taxes collected every year. I agree with Obama it should be fair and equitable, but not in the way he is proposing - it's time the bottom 49% paid their fair share. There should be a FLAT consumption tax for EVERYONE, no loop holes, no deductions, just exceptions for food and basic clothing needs. Everyone pays according to their level of wealth.
where do you get your information ?