From The Daily Beast -- August 20, 2012:
Akin's Abortion View: More Widespread in GOP Than You Think
By David Frum
The word "moron" is being flung very freely at Todd Akin today, and it's not fair.
Akin, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri, just blew a big hole in his campaign by telling a TV interviewer that in cases of "legitimate rape," pregnancy hardly ever happens.
Akin was attempting to justify his view that abortion should be banned in nearly all cases. And yes, the use of the phrase "legitimate rape" suggests a certain lack of verbal nimbleness. Yet stupidity is not really the problem here.
Akin's view of abortion—no exception for rape, incest, and life of the mother—is not his belief alone. It is also the view of Rick Santorum, the second-place finisher in the 2012 Republican nomination contest. On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, it became the position of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. It is the stance of Ken Connor, former president of the Family Research Council. Plainly, it is the position of a significant faction within the pro-life movement.
Akin's Abortion View: More Widespread in GOP Than You Think
By David Frum
The word "moron" is being flung very freely at Todd Akin today, and it's not fair.
Akin, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri, just blew a big hole in his campaign by telling a TV interviewer that in cases of "legitimate rape," pregnancy hardly ever happens.
Akin was attempting to justify his view that abortion should be banned in nearly all cases. And yes, the use of the phrase "legitimate rape" suggests a certain lack of verbal nimbleness. Yet stupidity is not really the problem here.
Akin's view of abortion—no exception for rape, incest, and life of the mother—is not his belief alone. It is also the view of Rick Santorum, the second-place finisher in the 2012 Republican nomination contest. On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, it became the position of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. It is the stance of Ken Connor, former president of the Family Research Council. Plainly, it is the position of a significant faction within the pro-life movement.