Akin Gaffe Should Lead
to Tough Questions
for Obama, not Romney
Most of us have heard the recent comments of
Congressman Todd Akin, which have led to a firestorm of criticism and has shaken
up the Missouri Senate race. If you
haven’t, please watch the video below.
The Obama campaign has tried to turn this gaffe
to his advantage by connecting, in people’s minds, the entire GOP to the
comments of this one man. I know that
Akin is making a shift of power in the Senate more difficult, but I think that
reflection on what Congressman Akin said should actually lead to an indictment
of the President rather than the GOP.
First, the point that Akin was trying to make has
been lost in the media frenzy. The
question regarded abortion and on that point, Akin was absolutely correct: we
should never punish an innocent child, especially with the death penalty, for
the crimes of his father. This is the
first indictment of the President.
But let’s explore the controversial part of the
statement, particularly the phrase “legitimate rape.” I suspect Congressman Akin, a married man with
daughters, did not intend to show indifference to the heinous crime of rape or
insensitivity to the suffering of its victims.
Whatever he meant, however, it is easy to see why people were
offended. I certainly have a problem
with the phrase. And Mitt Romney, in an
effort not to be caricatured by the Democrats’ fictitious “war on women,” gave
a disappointingly pandering response to the controversy.
But which Presidential candidate has shown an
indifference to rape? I submit that it
is President Obama. It is
well-documented that Planned Parenthood routinely covers up rape, child abuse
and sex trafficking. And yet, Mr. Obama
misses no opportunity to praise that organization, speak at its functions, or
take its money. I don’t suspect Mr.
Obama is personally callous toward victims of rape, but he seems to be willing
to aid and abet enablers of its perpetrators.
This is inexcusable, and Mr. Akin’s recent comment sheds light on the
fact that it’s the President, not the GOP, that has some tough questions to
answer on this issue.
I wrote about this issue in more depth a few months
ago in my post about Live Action.
