Akin and the Fake War on Women

Rep. Todd Akin is an embarrassment to the Republican Primary.  He should withdraw from the race immediately.

The notion that this sentiment is confined to a few "party bosses" or "Establishment Republicans" is as frivolous as the supposed Republican War on Women. The only Establishment politician trying to keep Akin from withdrawing is Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Akin's comment about "legitimate rape,"  whatever that means, has obscured the second half of the sentence in which he made the remark.

As Kathleen Parker recounted,

For those who didn't pay their cable bill, Akin recently assured Americans that in cases of "legitimate rape," women don't get pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."  (Emphasis added.)

That comment suggests that Akin never took 9th grade biology.  The issue is not sexism, just plain old ignorance of the reproductive system.  It's the sort of thinking that believes that masturbation causes blindness.

It's also the sort of thinking that ignores that his election is not just about him:  it is about control of the U.S. Senate and perhaps control of the White House.

It is literally possible that the fate of the country  -- our ability to repeal Obamacare, cut spending and reform entitlements -- may turn on one sentence from some guy that most of us never heard of until he uttered that it.

The fact that Akin is digging in his heals shows that he was in this race not to advance conservative ideals, but purely for self-aggrandizement.  Anyone who really believed in putting principle first would have already withdrawn.