MO-Sen: Rep Todd Akin Should Step Aside

Rep Todd Akin and Missouri GOP U.S. Senate Nominee

The whole Todd Akin and “legitimate rape” flap has blown up -as it should. It is time for Rep. Todd Akin to immediately step aside from his U.S. Senate nomination by the Republican Party.

Representative Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senator from Missouri, became nationally notorious yesterday for saying something stupid. In the course of explaining why he believes abortion should be illegal even when pregnancies result from rape, he said that in cases of “legitimate rape” the victim’s body has defense mechanisms that usually prevent pregnancy.

Give the man points for concision, at least: His remarks combined several mistakes with brutal efficiency. There is no evidence for Akin’s biological claim. The frequency with which rape results in pregnancy has no bearing on whether abortion should be allowed when it does. And while it is not completely clear what point Akin was trying to make with the phrase, “legitimate rape” should not appear in any good one.

Todd Akin is a weak candidate and Senator Claire McCaskill deserves a strong opponent. While the U.S. Senate partisan control is important, it is more important that the Missouri Republican Party not be represented by some “nut job” like Akin.

It is time for Akin to step aside and if he does not do so voluntarily, the Missouri Republican Party should strip him of the nomination.

Here are his original comments in the video below:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/fdisTOKom5I[/youtube]