Akin is the Christianist Mainstrem

As previously noted, Todd Akin is single handedly making both the media and individuals refocus on the real agenda of the Christianists and by extension the Republican Party that they now effectively control.  What's wonderful about Akin is the the real face of the Christianists and therefore, the Republican Party.  As much as Romney, Paul and others engage in contortions to distance themselves from Akin, the truth of the matter is that Akin is today's mainstream Christianist Republican.  Here are highlights from Andrew Sullivan's review of this reality:

Wonder why FRC is still backing him? Or that he sees no reason to quit? The answer is that his view of female reproduction is based on the work of one Dr. Jack C. Willke. Willke is not, as one might expect, some obscure quack, far, far away from the center of Republican and Christianist politics. He is, the LA Times notes, the founder and president of the International Right to Life Federation, president of the Life Issues Institute, and a former president of National Right to Life, the oldest and largest pro-life group in the country.

In 2007, Willke was described as "an important surrogate for Governor Romney's pro-life and pro-family agenda" in the words of the Romney campaign. "I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country," Romney said at the time. Willke, of course, has defended Akin forcefully since the uproar. Here he is, pioneering this wingnut version of female sexuality back in 1999:

First, let's define the term "rape." When pro-lifers speak of rape pregnancies, we should commonly use the phrase "forcible rape" or "assault rape," for that specifies what we're talking about. Rape can also be statutory. Depending upon your state law, statutory rape can be consensual, but we're not addressing that here.

Yes, you read that right: "statutory rape can be consensual". There's more:

How many forcible rapes result in a pregnancy? The numbers claimed have ranged the entire spectrum of possibilities. Some feminists have claimed as high as 5 to 10 percent, which is absurd. One problem has been the lack of available studies and accurate statistics. Often women do not admit to having been raped. On the other hand, it has been known that women, pregnant from consensual intercourse, have later claimed rape. Is it possible to know the actual facts?

It's important to understand that this man [Willke] is a central figure in the history of the religious right. What he is spouting is the orthodoxy you don't hear outside of Christianist circles - but it's there. And it's why Akin seems baffled, and why Ryan had no compunction in using Willke's specific term "forcible rape" as part of a bill he sponsored.