Posted on 01/17/2013 2:12:48 PM PST by SeekAndFind
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — It’s way past time: House Republicans need to stop talking about rape.
That’s the message GOP lawmakers got here Wednesday evening from Kellyanne Conway, a top GOP pollster.
Conway dispensed the stern advice as part of a polling presentation she made alongside fellow GOP pollsters David Winston — an adviser to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) — and Dave Sackett. The comment was described by several sources in the room.
Conway said rape is a “four-letter word,” and Republicans simply need to stop talking about it in their races for office.
Several GOP candidates got themselves in hot water during the 2012 campaign by talking about rape. Former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) said a woman could terminate a pregnancy resulting from a “legitimate rape.” Richard Mourdock, who lost his race for a Senate seat in Indiana, said babies resulting from rape were a “gift from God.”
Last week, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) — an OB-GYN since 1975 and co-chairman of the House GOP Doctors Caucus — commented that Akin was “partly right” in saying that female rape victims have a way of shutting down the body during “legitimate rape” that will prevent pregnancy.
Last Friday, Gingrey’s office provided a statement in which he appeared to distance himself from the remarks, which he said were misconstrued.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
“Any male politician who utters the word “rape” in ANY context is an idiot. Period.”
YESSSS! How hard is it? These politicians need to PREPARE in advance an answer to the inevitable “gotchya” questions that are going to come from the media. If they can’t prepare for that,,they have no business serving in office.
The problem isn’t “talking about rape.” As long as liberals in the media know that Republicans are ignorant and/or fundamentally unprincipled on the subject of life they will continue to bring focus there.
Just answer them as follows:
“Killing an innocent person for the crime of another person is barbaric, don’t you think? Personally, I believe in due process and equal protection for every single innocent person in this country. Those are the principles upon which this country, and our entire system of law and justice, are premised. How about you? Don’t you believe in equality?”
The most they can do after that is babble nonsensically. But mostly, in my experience, they just shut up and go away.
A lot has to do with how much attention the media gives a “flawed” candidate. Obviously the senate is the one the RINOs and democrats wanted to keep in “moderate” hands but a lot of wild accusations and threats were thrown and tea party house candidates.
Here in Michigan Kerry Bentivolio (Who won the Thad McCotter seat) was accused of conspiring with the McCotter staffers. On election day it was reported by liberal radio that charges would be announced against Bentivolio. When charges were announced in the case the AG specifically said that despite rumors Kerry Bentivolio was in no way part of the case. They also accused him of abusing students when he was a high school teacher.
How about "I'm 100% pro-life in all circumstances. Period. End. Let's move on." It wasn't their pro-life stances that doomed Akin and Mourdock. It was needlessly pontificating about half-baked magic uterus theories and "gift from God" proclimations that gave their opponents the sound bites they were looking that sealed their fates.
How about this:
“Rape is a CRIME. It is a personal, traumatic crime. Every resource should be made available to a person who is a victim of such a trauma. They alone get to decide how to move forward after experiencing such a horrible assault. It’s horrible beyond words. Abortion is not a crime. Rape is. Do you see the difference now? I will not exploit rape victims to make a political point or as an excuse to set policy. I think that would be cruel.” or something like that,,we could do our conservative reps a favor by having a debate thread,,why not? Where we poke holes in every possible issue so that the conservative side can think about a strategy and come up with a response. What do you say Jim? We can call it the “Devil’s Advocate” forum and throw slings/arrows at conservative positions in order to shore them up for prime time.
... and here’s the proper responses to those loaded questions -
(1) “I’m not a medical doctor, so I’m not qualified to answer that question properly”
(2) “Please explain to me how that question is in any way relevant to this campaign - I’m here to talk about the Democrats’ gross incompetence that is killing the American economy”
(3) “I support the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution - do you, Mr./Ms. Reporter?”
(3b) “Again, please explain to me how that question is in any way relevant to this campaign and the pitiful state of the economy - which is what Americans are most concerned about?”
See? Simple.
If you’re a Republican politician and stupid enough to get baited, so stupid that you can’t come up with simple common-sense answers like these, you DESERVE to lose!!
Exhibit 1 - Todd Akin.
The flaw in your thinking is that abortion IS a crime.
RE: “I’m 100% pro-life in all circumstances. Period. End. Let’s move on.”
The inevitable follow question will then be this — “You mean you will FORCE the woman who was raped to have the child?”
Seems simple enough a proposition, doesn’t it?
Abortion IS a crime.
A crime against God.
A crime against the child.
A crime against the moral basis of American law and justice.
A crime against posterity.
A gross violation of every stated purpose of the U.S. Constitution and its explicit, imperative requirements.
"No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law."
"No State shall deprive any person of life without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Yeah, God forbid you embarrass the faux-life “Republicans.”
I am struggling to think of even a single republican with enough political dexterity to avoid that extremely obvious minefield wherein the mines are not buried and have flasing neon signs on each one of them.
I want to say Ted Cruz, but I have not seen enough of him yet to be able to judge properly.
Sadly, abortion is not a crime. Buying a 16 ounce bottle of soda in New York City, now that’s a crime.
No, it is a crime. It’s murder.
That's when you character kicks in.
That's when you character kicks in.
Best answers so far.
Come run for office. We’ll make an exception for you.
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