Legitimate Rape?

So there’s tons of furor over Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-DB)(Doucebag) comments about how, in the case of a “legitimate” rape, a woman can’t get pregnant. There’s plenty there to be furious over, but he’s vowed to stay in. And he’s still leading his opponent. That’s because lots of people (even some of the ones who have distanced themselves from Akin) actually believe some of the bullshit he’s let slip out.

Now Akin’s started out claiming he misspoke. Today he went on Mike Huckabee’s radio show again, and now he’s saying he just put, “misspoke one word in one place on one day.” He referred to the reaction of Republicans as an overreaction to him getting one word in the wrong place.

So let’s dissect what he said. First off, he pulled a classic Republican tactic. He tried to support his claims by trying to give it a scientific imprimatur. He claimed he heard his craziness from “some Doctors I’ve talked to.” Of course, when he was called out on it, he refused to say which doctors he talked with. Make no mistake, he knew what he was saying. He’d planned this at least his own mind, because he had given it enough thought to add-on this attempt to support his position with “science.”

As bad as that part of the statement may be, it really comes as no surprise. The Republicans have, for years, used this tactic to support their off-the-wall theories and positions. If the science doesn’t support their position, they either buy a study, or just make it up…use that old saw of saying, “some scientist,” “some doctors,” “some experts in that field.” The sad thing is, lots of people buy that crap, and they know it.

The worst part of his statement was use of the phrase, “legitimate rape.” The keyword there is “legitimate.” These are code words for the Tea Bagger Party and religious wingnuts of the party. Akin knows this too, and he was throwing them some red meat. The idea here is that most women aren’t really raped. They really, secretly want it, but turn on the man later if they feel bad about it afterwards. This is part of the male superiority that Republicans expect, and it fits with the subservient position of women so often found in the various religious texts.

Republicans decry “Sharia Law,” but make no mistake, there are parts of it they like, and the parts that make women subservient to men, they are all over, and doing their best to put that into American law…hence their strong efforts to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. That’s in the party platform as they prepare for their hate fest here in Tampa next week. Akin slipped up and spilled the beans, but when you go to vote, you need to understand that Republicans believe that a woman should be required in incubate and deliver the baby of her rapist…you know, because it obviously wasn’t a “legitimate” rape after all. She was really wanting it.

Rev. Mike Huckabee, in defense of Akin and the rest of the Republicans, says we should definitely allow for rape babies. Some of them might turn out to be good Christians. Here’s the transcript of what he had to say about the topic:

“Ethel Waters, for example, was the result of a forcible rape,” Huckabee said of the late American gospel singer. One-time presidential candidate Huckabee added: “I used to work for James Robison back in the 1970s, he leads a large Christian organization. He, himself, was the result of a forcible rape. And so I know it happens, and yet even from those horrible, horrible tragedies of rape, which are inexcusable and indefensible, life has come and sometimes, you know, those people are able to do extraordinary things.”

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designated hate group, The Family Research Council (FRC), is giving Akin it’s full-throated support:

“This is an effort to try to direct attention away from … Claire McCaskill, who has been supportive of Planned Parenthood — an organization that’s been under investigation for criminal activity,” FRC President Tony Perkins said in between meetings of the RNC platform committee.

Perkins is also claiming authorship of the Republican Party platform plank that doesn’t offer any exceptions. And just so we’re clear about where Tony Perkin’s sympathies lay, four years ago, Perkins addressed the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), America’s premier white supremacist organization, the successor to the White Citizens Councils, which battled integration in the South. In 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,500 for his mailing list.

See, it’s because they don’t really believe in rape. They believe they have the right to screw anyone/anything they want. Brian Fischer (of another SPLC designated hate group, the American Family Association) claims that Akin has been raped himself by the media and other politicians. After all, he was just telling the truth (obviously).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7hWztSaUYU[/youtube]