A pro-family activist says it's scary that the Republican Party is so willing to "throw one of their own under the bus."
Missouri Congressman Todd Akin (R) has defied high-profile Missouri Republicans like John Ashcroft and the presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney by refusing to abandon his Senate bid that has been crippled by fallout over his stating that women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape."
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Akin has apologized for his words and now says GOP leaders overreacted by insisting he abandon his quest to unseat Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill. He predicted he would bounce back from the political crisis threatening his campaign, but his bid faces obstacles -- chief among them beinga lack of money and party support.
Peter LaBarbera, director of Republicans for Family Values, indicates more than Akin's misstatement is at issue here.
"It's scary to see how quickly Republicans are willing to throw one of their own under the bus," he observes. "And I don't think it's a coincidence that the ones they really want to throw under the bus are the most conservative Republicans. I don't excuse what Todd Akin said. He made a mistake; he apologized for the mistake. I think his heart was in the right place."
But LaBarbera is fearful that by yanking the funding from Akin the GOP has ceded this seat to the Democrats, specifically to liberal Senator Claire McCaskill.
"More and more you hear this Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) line that we don't want to talk about social issues; that's divisive," LaBarbera notes. "Well listen -- the left never stopped fighting for so-called 'homosexual marriage,' for abortion, for all these issues. How can the Republican Party pull back on those issues if the left is going strong, fighting for their evil agendas?"
A recent poll shows that Akin's 11-point lead has dropped to a one-point advantage since his gaff.