How Todd Akin And Paul Ryan Partnered To Redefine Rape

[madfloridian]

Todd Akin's remarks about how a woman won't get pregnant with "legitimate rape" have really gotten attention.

This is from The Talking Points Memo today:

How Todd Akin And Paul Ryan Partnered To Redefine Rape

Earlier today, Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) claimed that “legitimate rape” does not often lead to pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” This is not the first time the biologically challenged senate candidate tried to minimize the impact of rape. Last year, Akin joined with GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as two of the original co-sponsors of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” a bill which, among other things, introduced the country to the bizarre term “forcible rape.”

Federal law prevents federal Medicaid funds and similar programs from paying for abortions. Yet the law also contains an exception for women who are raped. The bill Akin and Ryan cosponsored would have narrowed this exception, providing that only pregnancies arising from “forcible rape” may be terminated. Because the primary target of Akin and Ryan’s effort are Medicaid recipients — patients who are unlikely to be able to afford an abortion absent Medicaid funding — the likely impact of this bill would have been forcing many rape survivors to carry their rapist’s baby to term. Michelle Goldberg explains who Akin and Ryan would likely target:

Under H.R. 3, only victims of “forcible rape” would qualify for federally funded abortions. Victims of statutory rape—say, a 13-year-old girl impregnated by a 30-year-old man—would be on their own. So would victims of incest if they’re over 18. And while “forcible rape” isn’t defined in the criminal code, the addition of the adjective seems certain to exclude acts of rape that don’t involve overt violence—say, cases where a woman is drugged or has a limited mental capacity. “It’s basically putting more restrictions on what was defined historically as rape,” says Keenan.

Although a version of this bill passed the GOP-controlled House, the “forcible rape” language was eventually removed due to widespread public outcry.

For an interesting read try the twitter trending page on Legitimate Rape

It's funny, sad, and outrageous. It makes me wonder how our country got this far along the road to extremism.

Oh, wait, now I remember. The DLC/Third Way policies of being complicit in order to build bipartisanship.....that did it. It shut down opposition for decades. That's all it took for this rabid extremism to take hold.

[rpannier]

1. Best Twitter Lines

"I misspoke" = "I accidentally said what I really believe"

Has Todd Akin started extolling the virtues of honor killings yet?

Todd Akin is making it so hard to be white in America

When was the last time something trended because it was something intelligent a Republican said?

First there was immaculate conception, now there's immaculate abortion.

[madfloridian]

2. He's leading Claire McCaskill, too. Unbelievable.

It is just so hard to accept that.

[rpannier]

3. He leads by six now which is not totally surprising

The New Guy Bounce
Let's see what the end of the week and month portend.
My guess is the Republicans will force him off the ballot or just choke off his funding and he'll disappear quickly
He'll have trouble getting independent funding
What business wants to be associated with this guy?

[No Elephants]

4. Nothing more repulsive than five year olds who are always asking for it.

As if it hasn't always been hard enough to prove absence of consent with adults.

If McCaskill can't so something with that, she is hopeless.



Every time a Democrat does something for women or gays or any racial, ethnic or religious minority, he or she gets accused of pandering to some portion of the Democratic base.

A majority of WAS* males have voted Republican in every election. (Once upon a time, that was further limited to upper middle class and wealthy WASP males, but it has broadened.)

Hence, WAS males are the base of the Republican Party. So, why do we never label as pandering all the ridiculous protectiveness of Republicans over the people wo have always had the power in this country--and still do?

*WAS is WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) without the P. Now that the Republicans nominated Romney, a Mormon, I think it unfair to continue to accuse them of pandering to WASP males. Hence, I accuse them only of pandering to WAS males.

[Enthusiast]

5. I hate these fucks..........nt

[Divine Discontent]

6. hopefully, enough voters show up to destroy the GOP stronghold in the House. I can't believe these

knuckle-draggers get voted into office... wth! Concerns me how America's voters are really only one charismatic extremist leader away from removing 150 years of civil rights advances.



Get it here:
http://www.zazzle.com/rmoney_ryan_a_plan_called_austerity_sticker-217210752180754331?rf=238107662556833486

[Enthusiast]

7. Exactly.

And they are constantly on the lookout for the next "Reagan".