Akin Is A Mainstream Republican

Ever sine Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri), who is the GOP nominee for the senate race in Missouri, created a firestorm by saying there should be no exception to allow an abortion in the case of rape (because he said women have a natural bodily protection against getting pregnant from rape), Republicans have been trying to distance themselves from him. And some have even tried to paint him as being out of the mainstream of the party.

That's simply not true. He may have put their argument against abortion in a ridiculous way, but his opinion that there shouldn't be an exception for pregnancies from rape is not out of the Republican Party mainstream. In fact, the party's vice-presidential candidate (pictured above with Akin) has voted repeated for an anti-abortion law with no exception for rape. And the Republican Party platform once again has a proposal for an anti-abortion law with no exceptions at all (not for rape or any other reason).

Akin is only preaching what the huge majority of Republicans actually believe. So why are they trying to distance themselves from him? Because in an election year, candidates are not supposed to say what they believe in such bald-faced terms as Akin used. The Republicans know that most people in this country believe in choice (at least for the first three months of a pregnancy), so they couch their mean-spirited beliefs in religious language and chip away at the edges of current law (as laid down by the Supreme Court). The mistake Akin made was in being too honest and forthright about his (and his party's) beliefs.

And it is starting to look like his honest, but ludicrous, beliefs are now affecting the senate race in Missouri. While polls taken right after the statement showed the race was still very tight (and Akin used those poll results to justify staying in the race), there is a new poll that shows voters may be starting to shift in Missouri. The newest Rasmussen Poll (a poll usually very friendly to Republican candidates), taken on August 22nd of 500 likely Missouri voters, shows the Democratic incumbent now has a 10 point lead over Akin. Here are the numbers:

McCaskill...............48%
Akin...............38%
Other...............9%
Undecided...............5%

The last Rasmussen Poll on July 30th (just three weeks ago) showed Akin with a three point lead (47% to 44%). That means Akin has lost 9 points in the last three weeks, while McCaskill has gained 4 points. Evidently the voters in Missouri don't think much of Akin after his rather brutal honesty (showing his true teabagger values).