According to the latest poll taken after Congress Todd Akin’s comments by Public Policy Polling Akin has a 1 point lead over the incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill 44 to 43. The last poll done by Public Policy Polling in May has him leading by 1 point. He has a Real Clear Politics average lead of 5 points. Could he lose that lead? Sure he could. Will he and will he lose the race? That isn’t certain.
What is certain is that his own party is making it difficult for him to ride this storm since they’re pulling funding and calling on him to drop out “for the good of the party.”
Now take a look at the Real Clear Average of the Presidential race where Mitt Romney is trailing President Barack Obama by 2.5 points. I don’t hear anybody (other than Ron Paul supporters) calling on him to “drop out for the good of the party.” His bump even after selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate was minimal.
My point is this. If you want Todd Akin to step down because of his comments – which he has since apologized for – then fine. If you want him to step down because you think he might lose well then you’re being inconsistent. Romney’s changes of losing are actually worse looking at InTrade compared to Todd Akin’s.
Polls are fluid. Akin’s comments, while regrettable, are hardly impossible to overcome. Putting a new candidate in at this stage will be extremely difficult so there are zero guarantees with that move as well. Calling for him to step down because you think he’s going to lose could very well guarantee a victory for Senator McCaskill as well.
Either call for him to step down on principle or not at all.
HT: Steve Deace via Facebook
Update: I want to share a couple of examples of principled calls for Akin to step down.
First Adam Cahn:
When you run for office on a pro-life platform, especially as a male, you need to prepare for the ‘abortion in the case of rape question.’ During his Presidential campaign, Rick Santorum gave the model response: "the rape isn’t the baby’s fault." You then direct follow up questions to James Robison. Todd Akin, by contrast, gave a meandering answer about ‘legitimate rape’ (whatever that is) and the likelihood of conception. By falling into such a predictable trap, I worry about what trap Akin falls into next.
Todd Akin allowed irrelevant contingencies to distract from the question of murdering unborn children. Claire McCaskill, like all Democrats, needs to be hammered on this issue. Unfortunately, I no longer trust Todd Akin to competently challenge her on this, or any, issue.
I can respect that. It is thoughtful unlike most of the kneejerk reactions we saw from the GOP establishment. The second response was from Michelle Malkin:
The cringe-worthiest part of his statement is this: “…the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
I don’t know what kind of biology classes Akin took, but rape-related pregnancies occur with significant frequency. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
And here is something the feminists who are making great hay of Akin’s remarks won’t tell you: There is most likely significant undercounting of those rape-related pregnancy figures, given what we know about Planned Parenthood’s cover up of child rape and child sexual abuse and what we know from the invaluable investigative work of Lila Grace Rose and Live Action into Planned Parenthood’s advice to young clients to hide statutory rape cases.
I understand the outrage many of my friends and fellow conservatives feel about the double standards the Right faces when it comes to media/political treatment of other politicians’ stupidity (looking at you, Bozo the VP). But the question Akin faced wasn’t some obscure, gotcha question. It was basic abortion politics 101. His statement about the remarks issued yesterday doesn’t even acknowledge the worst part of his botched answer.
GOP candidates in critical races that could swing the balance of the U.S. Senate ought to be ready for prime time. Period. (emphasis mine)
Since he doesn’t appear to be dropping out, now what?