Akin's Remark was Stupid and Untrue -- Now He Must Put the Nation's Future First

RUSH: Snerdley is yelling at me: "Are you gonna get rid of Akin now?" Before I give my two cents on all this, folks, let me first say I have two natural tendencies. One is to avoid the pack, to avoid the conventional wisdom. When everybody seems to be uttering, voicing, doing the same thing, that's when I put on the brakes and say, "Do I want to join this mob?" And I also have, as you well know, a tendency to want to support conservatives who come under fire. It doesn't happen enough. You know, the Democrats circle the wagons around their people. We circle the firing squad. It's what we do.

I think I understand exactly what happened here. All these people who say they don't know what Akin was saying, they don't know what he was trying to say. I think I know exactly what he was trying to say. I think I know exactly what happened here. I think Akin is one of these guys -- it's a wild guess 'cause I don't know him, but I'm just gonna throw my two cents in here like everybody else is. There are people who hang around only like-minded people, and there are people who hang around and expose themselves to people that disagree with them on things. I think Akin may be one of these people who hangs around with people who only think the way he does about things.

If you strip this down, what Akin was trying to say was something very simple. I don't think abortion should even happen in rape. That's what he was trying to say. Let's just strip away all the other stuff. There are a group of pro-lifers who profoundly believe that, and they talk to each other, and they try to come up with ways of persuading other people to agree with them on this. Because their view is, it's not the baby's fault. Why are we gonna kill the baby? Why should there be an exception? The baby is the essence of innocence in every act of conception. The baby is entirely innocent, is what they believe, and so an exception to them weakens the entire argument.

So they sit around amongst themselves -- I'm not being critical of 'em; don't misunderstand my choice of words or tone, and they try to think of ways to persuade other people who agree with them. So Akin goes on TV with Charles Jaco, which is mistake number one, but he goes on with Charles Jaco on local St. Louis TV. And this whole business of a woman's body shuts down in rape, there's no evidence for that. But this is the kind of thing that people who do nothing but talk amongst themselves will conjure up, a belief system like that, and they'll grab on to anything they can to support what their empirical belief is because their ultimate aim is to save life.

Their ultimate aim is to protect the baby no matter what circumstance the conception occurs in. And I think that's just who the guy is, but he doesn't know how to explain it. He has no clue how to make his case for it. And so he hangs around people who are like-minded and they've devised this belief. He's not the first guy to say this. I've had people tell me that a woman's body shuts down in rape. There's no evidence for this. I mean it's absolutely absurd. This leads to the second problem. This is absurd. That belief that a woman's body shuts down and the whole notion of "legitimate"/"illegitimate" rape, that's the thing that bothers me about it. That's just absurd. It's not intelligent. I know what he was trying to talk about. I'm pretty confident, I'm pretty sure that I know what he was trying to say.

And then, as others have pointed out, on the one hand, here we have a guy in glorious ineptitude attempting to defend every conceived life. And, by the way, God bless him for that. On the other hand, we got a political party who's gonna have a former president actually accused of rape introduce and keynote Barack Obama. And that's fine. This is why I am hesitant to join the mob that says throw this guy out. We have a circular firing squad. Look, folks, I'm well aware of what happened in Missouri. I'm well aware it was an open primary, a bunch of Democrats went in there and voted for Akin. This is another question people are asking, how did the guy win? The guy won. Why do we want to throw him out?

Well, he won a three-way race in which the Democrats could vote, and the Democrats were running ads suggesting that this guy win. They couldn't wait to run against this guy because of the issue of abortion and this whole War on Women. They just couldn't wait! McCaskill was salivating to get Akin as the nominee, and she got what she wanted. There's a poll out. I don't know if you've seen this. You probably have seen it because it's a little after noon and this poll has been out since yesterday.

It's from Public Policy Polling, a liberal Democrat polling firm from North Carolina. Even after all of this they say Akin still leads McCaskill by one point. But have you seen the sample breakdown on that poll? You haven't? Well, I'll tell you about it. There are 9% more Republicans in the sample than Democrats. This poll is part of the whole strategy to keep Akin on the ticket, to keep him as the nominee. Public Policy Polling with a poll out, after all this, that shows this guy leading McCaskill by one point.

But they have to do this with a Republican sample 9% larger than the Democrat sample. Now, a lot of you are gonna think I'm insincere when I say this. I have a real problem sitting here and telling this man that he has to go. I don't want anybody telling me what I have to do with my radio show. I don't like people telling me, "You know, you better quit" after I've said something that I don't even think, in my cases... The double standard is undeniable, but it's there, and it's I think one of the reasons, by the way...

If I may address this double-standard business: We circle the firing squad; they circle the wagons. One of the reasons why the double standard exists in the way Republicans in public life or conservatives in public life are treated versus liberal Democrats, is very simple to me, too. We have made it plain that we care about truth. We have made it plain that we care about honesty. We've made it plain we care about integrity and we care about virtue. And so there's a standard.

Their animating force -- the thing that gives them life every day, the thing that gets them out of bed -- is defeating us. That's not what gets our side out of bed every day is defeating them. And this proves it. We are not unified in our desire to rid the earth of socialists. They are unified in their desire to rid the world of us. Politically. And as such, we have no unity on our side and a different purpose altogether. But the double standard exists.

I'll never forget one day 20 years ago. Oliver North was out making a speech somewhere, and he cracked a joke. I don't even remember the joke; I don't remember the details. All I know is the Washington Post raked him over the coals. It was something that if a Democrat had said it, everybody'd be applauding and laughing. And I called him and I said, "Ollie, there's a different standard here. We make it plain we care about virtue and honesty and all that. They don't. So it's a different standard." He said, "You know, you're right."

Look, they've got Joe Biden out telling black people that we want to put 'em all "back in chains," and they circle the wagons. They defend that. They circle the wagons and they'll defend Obama on anything! They're out there now saying, "Obama's not trying to divide anybody! Obama never called Romney a felon! Who the hell are you trying to make that accusation?" We all know it happened. Now, Akin's gotta go by five o'clock today from what I understand. But what if he doesn't?

There's still a way to get him off the ticket, or for him to leave. They'd need a court order after five o'clock, but there's a way. There's still a way he can leave the campaign, cede the victory, after five o'clock today. I've seen all of the things that you've seen, people telling him he should go. He needs to get out for the good of the party, for the good of the country, for the good of the presidential campaign, and we gotta defeat Obama. I agree with that, by the way. I think there are a lot of things here larger than single individuals.

Saving the country, from our perspective, is at the top of that. Repealing Obamacare is at the top of that. And any distraction that makes it tougher to vote for Romney and Ryan is something that we don't need. I understand all that. At the same time, I'm a guy on the radio. Who am I to tell this man what to do? He knows what he's gotta do. He knows the right thing to do, and he knows whether he's gonna do it or not. And he's got hundreds of people leaning on him, trying to reach him by phone or what have you.

It is stupid. He said something stupid. He said something that's not true. He said something that can't be proven. As such, we don't know how often that kind of thing will happen throughout the rest of the campaign.

RUSH: Folks, I have a little bit of a fantasy here, and I don't think this is gonna happen. But I would love for the media to continue talking about this Akin guy, from my home state of Missouri. What did he do? He said something that's stupid. He said something that is incorrect. But all the guy wants to do is save lives. I don't... You can call him an idiot, you can call him stupid, but the guy is not evil. He doesn't want to hurt anybody, and I don't think we can say that about the Democrats.

I don't think we can. The Democrats live and breathe this. They celebrate 1.7 million abortions every year, or whatever the number is, 1.3 million. And I know some of you cringe. I know you say, "We don't want this subject brought up! It's gonna distract from the economy! This guy is a distraction, and we need to stick to the economy." And don't worry, folks. We are never distracted here, and we're not gonna be distracted from what an utter disaster Barack Obama is.

This does not change what an utter disaster he portends for the future of the country.

But I think it is important to make the point that while everybody here is pulling their hair out over a guy who said something stupid while in the process of simply trying to tell people that he thinks it's never the baby's fault; "So why are we killing the baby?" That's all he believes. It doesn't matter at the point of contraception. It is never the baby's fault and so why is there...? And to a group that believes like that -- the group that he hangs around with and the things they say to each other -- those are some of the very important things that animate them.

In the meantime, the Democrats -- and I think it's important to point out. The Democrats are going to have, as the star of their convention? Their keynote speaker was accused of rape, and they love the guy. He was held in contempt of court. He was disbarred for several years. He has had numerous extramarital affairs. You talk about somebody who has less than a respectful view of women? And this is the keynote at the Democrat National Convention. And the Democrats love the guy.

And it does bother me that we have the capacity on our side to get so mad at somebody. Whatever happened to "good intentions"? That's something we always acknowledge of the Democrats. They do something stupid like destroy the black family with social programs or they wreck the US private sector with their stupid economic policies? "But! But! That doesn't matter. Their intentions are honorable, Mr. Limbaugh. They're trying to do good. Their hearts are really big."

This guy, whatever he's done -- and however stupid he might be when saying things -- hasn't harmed anybody's life. He hasn't caused anybody to lose their home. He hasn't caused anybody to pay higher taxes or any of these things. We sit around and we're told that we must accept and consider the good intentions of people who are wrecking this country. You want to talk about stupid? Stupid? How about the economic policies running this country? They are stupid! They are indefensible, and they are stupid. The economic policies led by this administration, they are indefensible and they are stupid, and they are causing real damage and real harm to real people.

RUSH: Democrats did the same thing with Ted Kennedy. Circle the wagons, do whatever. I've always been amused at the double standard that exists. People that actually treat women with disrespect, people that actually do sexually assault women, people that treat them with profound disrespect are somehow heralded as great on women's issues and so forth. Meanwhile, trying to save the life of unborn children is called having blood on your hands. Here's the fact, though. The fact is, folks, that this election's bigger than any single candidate. It's bigger than any double standard. It's bigger than any debate point that one might try to make and win because this election is about saving the nation. You know, that point was driven home to me even more so today.

I have a story in the Stack of Stuff about the class of '16, the class of 2016, born into a world that you and I don't recognize, and they don't recognize the world we came from. There's no fault in this. It's just a great story that illustrates how things change. But one thing that struck me is that the class of 2016 has no idea about the founding of this country. They have no connection to the Constitution. They don't know what it is. They haven't been taught. They have been taught other things. But the role of America in the world, the way America came to be, the whole concept of American exceptionalism, why we are/were a superpower, what made that happen. None of that are they aware of. And as such, they don't care. It's not something that even registers with them, simply by virtue of when they were born and what was common.

I'll find it in the Stack and I'll share with you some of the details. It's quite interesting to go through. But it served to reinforce in me even more the importance of this election; and saving this country is what this election's about, and it is larger than any single candidate. And this is what Todd Akin needs to consider when he makes his decision. The calculation must be what is best for America. He's got to set that aside. Everybody who is interested in the concept, the objective of saving this country as founded, has got to put every other personal concern aside, and that needs to be number one, particularly people in politics.

We just cannot lose this November. And in addition to not losing the presidential race, we must take the Senate. We must hold the House. We must win the White House. These things must happen. There is no question about it. This is what Todd Akin needs to understand. And that's what he needs to president foremost in his mind. What I think Mr. Akin should try to realize here as he makes his decision is that all of these things that he truly cares about will be much easier to make happen if we win the Senate and the White House and hold the House this November. He must put the nation and its future ahead of everything else that he's considering. And I hope he comes to the right conclusion.

Now, notice, folks, what prompted Obama to hold a so-called impromptu news conference. The Akin comment. Obama hasn't talked to the press other than People magazine or George Clooney or Entertainment Tonight in two months. The Akin comment prompts Obama to go to White House pressroom for 22 minutes. Not the unemployment rate. Not China's threats to Japan or Iran's threats to Israel. Not economic misery. Not the future of America. No, Akin. Todd Akin is what prompted Barack Obama to summon the courage and the fortitude to go face his slavish White House press corps.

Why in the world be afraid of your stenographers? But Barack Obama is acting scared to death of his own press corps, and they are essentially his stenographers. Mark Halperin of TIME Magazine said it. The press corps does whatever Obama wants. When you see the press corps whining and moaning that Obama hadn't come and spoken, it's not because they're trying to learn anything. It's not because they want news to be made. It's they want their buddy to come talk to 'em. They want to be validated. They're loving Obama. They love themselves some Obama. They're doing everything they can to get Obama and Biden reelected. They want some love back. They want Obama to come tell 'em how much he loves 'em and how much he appreciates 'em.

RUSH: This is why this election is so crucial: No news conference for two months, and now Obama holds one because he's got Akin to play off of and to further his mythical so-called War on Women? Todd Akin, whatever he is and however stupid his comment, has not got a War on Women going on. I don't know how it is that somebody, anybody, who all they want to do is save the lives of unborn children can be said to have blood on his hands!

When there are other people in our society, in our country, in our leadership, who literally do have the blood of others on his hands by virtue of their policies. So I just... This is crucial. And Todd Akin has got to realize that whatever he thinks is the number one thing he should fight for here above all -- and above anything that's personal to any one person -- is saving this country. And that means winning the Senate and winning the election against Obama.

RUSH: This is Bobby in Birmingham, Alabama. Great to have you. You're up first on the EIB Network today. Hello, sir.

CALLER: (whispering) You know, for all the brilliant insights I wanted to share with you, I have to get in on this Todd Akin thing. But, you know, for him and the people around him and the people talking to him and the people in Missouri --

CALLER: I apologize. For him specifically and the people around him, the issue -- and you're right, from beginning in the show. It doesn't change the issues. It doesn't change the economy. It doesn't even change whether he's right or wrong on that particular issue. But for me it comes down to three real important words. That first word is "Macaca." You know, Jim Webb won that election in 2006 by less than 10,000 votes because of something as silly and ridiculous as a little one-off that George Allen made.

This could make a real difference. And the second part of that issue, the other two words are "Mark Foley." Now, in 2006, granted, conservatives were not happy with the Republican Party. They weren't happy with the president. You know, the country wasn't happy with the way the war was going. So, you know, it might not-a saved the Republican Congress, but they were able to hang Mark Foley around the entire 2006 class. So if this guy stays in, it doesn't change the issues, but it certainly detracts from them. And they're gonna take this guy, and they're gonna hang him around everybody.

CALLER: That's right. How close is it gonna be in Wisconsin? How close is it gonna be? I mean, if George Allen doesn't make that one little one-off, does Barack Obama get 60 votes for Obamacare? It's the exact same issue going forward. You know, is Todd Akin gonna put himself before the rest of this country being saddled with Obamacare possibly forever?

CALLER: Well, we've got a few hours. We'll see. But we know the pressure's on him. It's just a matter of whether or not he can step back and look at the big picture, like you said.

RUSH: Yeah. The election is about much more than one guy. It's just that simple. Even if he pulls out, they're not gonna stop talking about it.

CALLER: It'll be easier because one of the issues they're gonna say is (well, of course, a lot on the left have already gone off the deep end saying this), "This is indicative of what the expire Republican Party and the conservative movement believes." If he's not there, you could always say, "Hey, I told him to get out. I didn't stand by that guy. He's gone. Don't look at me. We all said, 'Go!'" So obviously it will be easier if he's not there, but you're right. They're gonna try to keep it around there. If the economy gets much worse, it's gonna get harder for them. But they're gonna do everything they can, as we know.

RUSH: The bottom line is we don't need any diversions or distractions from the disaster that's Obama. I'm gonna tell you, there's a part of me... Well, not "a part." There's a lot of me. You know, you bring up this Macaca business? I am frosted that we have to factor that in. Macaca was nothing! At some point we're gonna have to break this cycle or we're gonna forever lose. They're gonna be able to get rid of anybody they want on our side, because people are gonna continue to say stupid things.

And as long as that irregularity exists, we are always gonna be under somebody's gun. There wasn't any sex in the Mark Foley "sex scandal." There wasn't anything there. We circle the firing squad. We do not circle the wagons. They circle the wagons; we circle the firing squad. And we circle the firing squad for two reasons, and one of the reasons repulses me. One of the reasons we circle the firing squad is to show them, "We're not what you think we are," when we're not in the first place!

The second reason we assemble the firing squad is because, in this case, this guy really said something indefensibly stupid. Regardless his intentions. I know exactly what he was trying to say. But frankly I'm tired of stupidity in politics. I'm tired of it! I'm tired of being smarter than the leaders in this country. I want people I can look up to, not people that embarrass me. In both parties. I'm sick and tired of being smarter than all these people. And I sure as heck...

And, Bobby, I hear what you're saying. You don't want to run around and defend stupidity. What's in it for anybody to defend stupidity? "Well, Rush, didn't you do that?" No. I know what he was trying to say. I know what's in the guy's heart. But, I'm sorry, if he can't 'splain it, then get out! It's not that hard. It's not that hard to say, "It's not the baby's fault." That's all he's trying to say. Just say that instead of this rigmarole about the woman's body "shuts down"? For crying out loud! I just... Aaaugh! Where are some brains? Just get some brains! Let's have some people we can look up to!

“He’s on Hannity radio. Horrible. Doesn’t get it. Won’t get out at all.”
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I listened to Hannity’s interview of Akin on my iPhone while I was sitting around waiting for my son to get finished with his dental appointment and you are absolutely right, Akin was HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE! Not only doesn’t he “get it” he’s very clearly deluding himself about his level of “support” (which is crashing around him and he can’t see it). Wait until the general election gears up. Akin is isolated, his financial support is evaporating and, worst of all, he’s coming across as a self-centered politician every minute he tries to say he’s “standing on principle”. The Democrats and their allies will destroy him once they fully gear up their campaign and he’ll be sitting there able only to mount the most pitiful defense. My opinion of Akin has changed 180 degrees. He was quoting that bogus PPP poll to claim he’s still ahead. If he believes the poll after looking at the internals, he’s STUPID, gullible and a fool. If he realized the poll is bogus and quotes it to say he’s ahead, he’s evil and a disgrace.

I apologize to all the FReepers who I may have implied were part of a lynch mob and circular firing squad. You clearly had a better understanding of Akin than I had.

On “principle” he’s going to hand McCaskill another term. Principle my foot—he’s a self-centered despicable politician who would rather see his country go down the tubes than to see conservative Republicans other than himself go against McCaskill. I urge all Missourians to shun this unprincipled creature. He claims to be doing God’s work when he’s really allowing himself to be a tool of Satan. Beneath all contempt!!

Since the presumptive nominee for President has taken it upon himself to suggest that Todd Akin should withdraw his candidacy for the Senate for a misspoken word while dimwit Joe Biden gaffs away and offends practically every group you can name...I am suggesting that Mitt Romney withdraw his bid for nominee and let Rick Santorum take up the cause.
Since Romney has been pro-abortion as long as he’s been pro-life and since his healthcare plan in Massachusetts was the prototype for obamacare, and since Romney was for gun bans I think he should do the right thing for the party. After all he’s running neck and neck with the worst president that the United States has ever had, including Carter.
Come on Mitt, do the right thing for your country and your party. Withdraw!

Akin needs to study what happened to Joe Paterno. Paterno didn’t do the right thing when he had the chance and, as a result, all the good things he did in his life are overshadowed by the pain and misery his poor choices caused. Paterno put self above all else and died in shame.

Akin has been a reliable conservative vote in Congress, but if his mistake plays a part in Democrats keeping either or both the Senate and the Presidency, his conservative voting record will mean nothing, just as Paterno’s wins mean nothing.

Gaining a seat in the U.S. Senate is not worth risking your legacy and life’s work.

If we are not willing to step outside of our own bubble, more of these type of candidates will be running and losing. Principles are great, but they are not enough. To win elections a candidate needs both principles and competence. One without the other is a one way ticket to loserville. Our standard for candidates should be Paul Ryan, not Christine O’Donnell.

As someone who believe that rapists and not feti should be killed, let me make myself clear: your level of obtuseness make my head hurt.

The "legitimate rape" sentence is both scientifically questionable and political suicide. There is no walking it back. So the question is why do you want to help pro-Abortion Claire McCaskill and Barak Obama win?

>> Rush: the whole notion of “legitimate”/”illegitimate” rape, that’s the thing that bothers me about it. That’s just absurd. It’s not intelligent.

Hard to accept the public outrage given the ambiguity of Akin’s qualification.

It’s a strange and intriguing requirement that basic policy decisions need to be expressed in sophisticated terms. I guess the folksy, maladroit delivery overwhelms the psyche of the otherwise “astute” observer.

Akin wont win in November. And by restoring the "Republican War on Women" how many other Senate and House seats will he cost us? How many electoral votes do we lose in November.

On Sunday, this jackass shot his senate campain in the head, because he is too stupid to run a talking point by people or to stay on message. Today, he suicide bombed the entire GOP, because of his pride.

The comparison I was trying to make with Paterno was not the degree of the transgression (of course, Paterno covering up horrific crimes is way worse) but what resulted when the right choices were not made when they could have made a huge difference. In the end, countless innocent people were and continue to be adversely affected and a man’s legacy was badly tarnished.

Remember Cong. Hank Johnson (D-Ga) who said Guam would tip over if we sent too many troops to the island? That's the kind of ignorance that Akin displayed here. Yes, Johnson's still in office. Not to mention the Congresswoman who thought the "flag" on Mars was there and placed by astronauts... Akin's gotta go. Astoundingly moronic statement. He's also implying women who miscarry "probably stopped that thing" subconsciously, due to a desire to not have the child. Idiot!

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