Todd Akin Defies Romey and Stays In Missouri Senate Race

Like many who believe that it's far past time for the GOP to pay a heavy price for prostituting itself to the Christianists and untethered from reality Tea Party extremists, I'm laughing my ass off over Todd Akins's refusal to quit the Missouri U. S. Senate contest.   Through his intransigence Akin has largely guaranteed that the GOP's anti-woman, anti-abortion in every instance platform remains a topic of political conversation for many days to come.  Better yet, Akins has left an opening to hang his lunacy around the necks of many others in the GOP, including Paul Ryan and locally, Christianist extremist Sott Rigell.  CNN has details on Akins refusal to withdraw.  Here are highlights:

Republican Rep. Todd Akin allowed a state deadline to pass Tuesday, defiantly staying in the race to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill despite mounting calls for him to withdraw over incendiary remarks on rape and pregnancy.

Under Missouri law, Akin would now need to get a court order to pull out of the race as he waited beyond the 5 p.m. deadline. He would also be required to pay for any necessary reprinting of ballots.

But Akin said he has no plans to drop out. He cited what he called a grassroots conservative movement in the country that needs a voice in government for his decision to reject increasing pressure from his own Republican Party, congressional colleagues and others to step aside.

"I'm in this race for the long haul and we're going to win it," Akin told conservative radio host Dana Loesch.

He spoke minutes after five past and present Republican senators from Missouri, including highly regarded figures John Danforth and Christopher "Kit" Bond, added their voices to widespread calls for Akin to end his campaign.

Akin complained his detractors overreacted to a liberal media campaign to take him down. He said fellow Republicans "ran for cover at the first sound of gunfire."

His decision means he faces the first statewide race of his career with no mainstream GOP backing. After he announced his intention to stay in the race, the National Republican Senatorial Committee made clear it would not provide any help.

A six-term congressman who won more than 60% support in his five re-election efforts, Akin is a staunch conservative Christian who opposes abortion. By staying in the race, Akin's candidacy ensures the abortion issue will be a focal point of next week's Republican National Convention.

Romney is basing his presidential election campaign on economic issues, and the attention to social issues such as abortion distracts from his message that he is better qualified than President Barack Obama to restore strong growth and create jobs.

However, the party platform being drafted ahead of next week's convention includes an endorsement of a "human life amendment" to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion with no explicit exemption for rape or incest.

His [Akins'] decision won support from the Missouri Republican Assembly, which issued a statement urging the party to back Akin in the battle against McCaskill.  "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," the group's statement said. "... 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."