Todd Akin: The Real Face of the GOP

While many Republicans have tried to distance themselves from Congressman Todd Akin's "legitimate rape"comment, the reality is that when one looks at the GOP Party Platform, Akin is the real face of today's GOP regardless of the pretense that he's not by other Republicans.  Yes, Akin is an extremist and nutcase, but then so is the Party Platform, portions of which were drafted by extremist such as Tony Perkins of FRC and his cohorts.  It doesn't get any more extreme than that.   Hence why Democrats across the country are holding up Akin as an example of what the Republican Party - including Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan - really stands for nowadays.  An article in Politico looks at the phenomenon.  Here are excerpts:

Democrats are running hard against Todd Akin in Missouri — and in Washington state, New York, Arizona and California.   The Republican Senate candidate whose comments about “legitimate rape” caused a stir in August has become Democrats’ favorite opponent, even in places where he’s not on the ticket.

Women’s issues were already central to the campaign when Democrats seized on Akin’s comments, taking the fight over contraception and abortion onto much more uncomfortable ground for Republicans — rape.

In some races, Akin is featured by name in attack ads.

Former Rep. Dan Maffei is airing an ad in New York that features a photo of his opponent Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle next to Akin.  The ad references a bill Buerkle cosponsored with Akin that would have banned funds for abortions except for in instances of “forcible rape,” The word “forcible” was later removed from the bill.  “For Ann Marie Buerkle, women who were drugged or even minors who were victims of statutory rape would not be classified rape victims,” a woman’s voice says in the ad.  “That’s just too extreme.”  The ad has struck a nerve with the Buerkle campaign.

While establishment Republicans initially turned on Akin in August, some have come to his aid in recent weeks. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Sens. Tom Coburn and James Inhofe of Oklahoma held a fundraiser for Akin last week. Former presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have endorsed him.

Akin has also cropped up in California, where Democrat Ami Bera is challenging Rep. Dan Lungren. Lungren was forced to back away from the same bill as Buerkle, saying in a recent debate that he “would not support” the measure without the word “forcible” removed.  Bera’s campaign is also holding women-to-women phone banks, where the campaign says Akin’s “forcible rape” bill is one of the top issues that female voters are talking about.

“[Akin] is the Republican who says what the others are thinking,” Jess McIntosh of EMILY’s List said. “His comments did not come out of nowhere. People weren’t blindsided with the idea that Republicans think some rapes are more important or worse than others.”  Planned Parenthood’s Dawn Laguens agreed.

“Todd Akin is just the impolite expression of an array of policies that a Republican platform and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan support and are pretty unpopular and try to avoid talking about,” Laguens said. “It’s like letting the crazy relative out of the back room and into the party. It just shown a light for most people are appalled by the ignorance of these politicians when it comes to women’s lives and to their health and to their reproductive systems.”

In the weeks following Akin’s comments, Planned Parenthood Action Fund produced a web ad hitting GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan highlighting the similarities Ryan and Akin have on women’s health care. The ad got 3,000 views on YouTube and had more than 1,000 likes on Facebook. The group also created a graphic linking Ryan to Akin on health care that got nearly 17,000 Facebook shares and has three mail pieces in Iowa hitting Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) for his comments to targeted women voters.

The GOP can try to pretend that Akin doesn't represent the Party's true views, but just like so much of what Mitt Romney said during last week's debate, it's a lie.  Akin IS the face of today's GOP.  It's extreme and it's ugly.