The GOP Problem That Akin Has Exposed

Whether or not Akin should heed the calls to step down because of his “legitimate rape” comment, I don’t know.  His gaffe has been costly for Romney's support in the state, according to a new poll.  And he has scheduled a press conference this afternoon, so maybe he will announce his withdrawal, or just dig in.

Maybe he should withdraw, but that signals a very disturbing reality.  It shows that conservatives are truly impotent in terms of information relay to the public, unable to counter a calculated and false social assault by the leftist media.  It shows that conservatives are incapable of conveying reality to Americans, even though that reality is painfully obvious. 

Disarmed by an uncomfortable series of questions, Akin cited “legitimate rape” when he clearly meant to reference “forcible rape,” a legally viable distinction referring to the violent, physical act of rape that one commonly thinks of when the word “rape” is uttered.  This is different than, say, statutory rape, in which a twenty year old might engage in consensual sex with a sixteen year old, which is why a legal distinction exists between the two.  Akin’s purpose was to convey that in situations of forcible rape when a woman is in peril, the stress can cause female reproductive functions to be compromised. 

Sure, this is silly support to reach his thrust- that in instances of rape, the “punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”  And politically, this hardlined stance is a topic he should be avoiding in an election anyway, given that most Americans agree that abortions should be available to rape victims.  But it was simply a gaffe, and nothing more.   It does not signal that he is pro-rape or insensitive to women, as some of the more wild accusations suggest. 

But conservatives seem helpless to convey that fact, and have chosen to cannibalize one of their own- not because he is as extreme as the left says he is, but because the left says he's as extreme as they want him to be portrayed, and conservatives lack the means to direct the conversation otherwise.

And that is sad.

William Sullivan

Crumb and Get It, a VA Bakery, Tells Joe Biden to Know His Roll

Joe Biden, while on his way to a campaign rally in Blacksberg, VA, decided to stop off in the town of Radford. According to the Daily Caller:

Chris McMurray, the founder and owner of “Crumb and Get it” in Radford, turned away the vice president’s advance team when they approached him about using his establishment as a stop on the way to a campaign rally in Blacksburg, Va., WDBJ7 reports.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime but essentially I said ‘No offense to you or the campaign but I just decline you guys coming in here. At that time she said ‘Are you sure? There’s going to be a lot of press, a lot of activity,’” McMurray told the local station.

And why did he refuse his services to this particular government official who wanted to use his business as a photo-op to be seen rubbing elbows with hard-working Americans? The report goes on:

According to McMurray, his decision stemmed from the president’s Roanoke, Va. speech in which Obama stressed that entrepreneurs owed others for their successes.

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” Obama said last month. “There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Murray reportedly did not want to be part of the administration’s photo op. “Very simply, ‘you didn’t build that’” McMurray said, explaining his reasoning. “Speaking of small businesses and entrepreneurs all across this country, and actually last night my wife was up all night. No sleep, she’s worked a full 24 hours.”

Hard work. Ambition. And above all, values. Rather than thanking Joe Biden for helping him create a business, Chris McMurray chose instead to remind Joe Biden that these are still the things that America is all about.