Romney: Akin’s Comments Hurt Republican Party

[ProSense]

Romney: Akin’s Comments Hurt Republican Party

Mitt Romney believes Rep. Todd Akin's comment that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy hurt the Republican Party as well as women, he said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday." Romney said that Democrats were using the comments to "cast a shadow" over the GOP even though the party had denounced Akin.

"I think it was a terrible statement on his part," Romney said. "It obviously is being used by Democrats to try and cast a shadow on our entire party and it's not."

Addressing Democrats' efforts to connect Akin to the whole Republican Party, Romney said: Democrats are "wise enough to understand that people in -- like myself, who have asked Todd Akin to get out of the race, are doing so because we vehemently disagree with what he said and believe it hurts our party and, I think, is damaging to women."

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/romney-akins-comments-hurt-gop

GOP Platform Chair: Rape A ‘Detail’ In The Abortion Debate

By Zack Beauchamp

Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) today claimed the issue of a rape exception to abortion was a “detail” to be left up to states and Congress. On ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos confronted the Governor and Party Platform Chair with the absolutist anti-abortion language in the platform he led the development of. This was his response:

McDonnell: We’re affirming that we’re a pro-life party. The details certainly are left to Congress and, ultimately, to the states and the people on how they ratify such an amendment. More importantly, what they do at the state level.

Stephanapoulous: So is the party for a rape exception or not?

McDonnell: The party didn’t make any judgment on that. It’s a general proposition to say we support human life. The rest of the details are up to the states and the people respectively, George. That’s simply not covered.

Watch it:

<...>

McDonnell’s view of the plight of pregnant rape victims appears to be par for the course in the contemporary GOP. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently referred to rape as simply one “method of conception.” Indeed, this may be because the Vice Presidential candidate and the broader Republican Party have consistently voted to limit access to abortion even for women who are victims of rape and incest.

Moreover, McDonnell’s interpretation of his platform language is misleading. As Stephanapoulous noted, the platform endorsed a Human Life Amendment “to make clear that the 14th Amendment’s protections apply to all unborn children.” As the 14th Amendment requires all persons receive equal protection under the law, the practical effect of the amendment would be to render any law that allowed for any abortion in any case unconstitutional. This includes state-level laws, which means McDonnell’s line that the rape exception would be left to Congress and/or the states is flatly false.

McDonnell may be working hard to minimize the absolutist character of his party platform for a reason – Presidential candidate Mitt Romney supports exceptions for rape and incest, putting him at odds with the longstanding position of the Republican party platform.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/26/745691/gop-platform-chair-rape-a-detail-in-the-abortion-debate/

[pokerfan]

1. Ryan vs. Akin

[ProSense]

3. Excellent graphic. Thanks. n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

7. Important post. Thanks.

[spanone]

9. akin has exposed just how radical paul ryan is...and he should never be a heartbeat away.....

[malaise]

2. So he didn't hear Ryan's forceful rape comments

Did he read that bill?

Ah fuck off WiLLIARd

[lpbk2713]

4. Mittens doesn't like that Akin was CAUGHT saying what he said in public.

He knows pretty well what rethugs think and say in private.
Mittens abhors the thought of giving our side something
that can be used against them. That's all that worries him.

[rurallib]

5. no republican should ever say what they truly believe in public

bad for elections

[Kalidurga]

6. But republicans are not just agreeing with Akin privately Akin could have written their platform.

Seriously, is Mitt denying the Republican platform? No, ok then carry on. Until the republican party drops their platform and ends the war on women, we can assume most people in the party believe about the same way Akin does with a little tweeking. Sure there might be some that believe rape is rape and degree doesn't matter. And some might admit that women can get pregnant from it even if she doesn't enjoy it. But, it is in their bloody platform that there is no abortion even if a woman is raped. Mitt can spew all he wants but the issue is there in black and white.

[spanone]

8. no one's casting a shadow mitt except your heartless, mean, facist platform