Real Rape Victims Don't Get Pregnant

[Ovisterra]

Unfuckingbelievable.

Utterly bizarre. It's like they're lining up to see who can shoot themselves in the foot the most thoroughly - how in god's name are their PR teams letting them say this sort of thing?! I mean, unless they've filled their staff with sycophants and zealots, surely someone would have spoken up and pointed out that maybe going out of their way to wade into a controversy like this perhaps wasn't a good idea?

The Democrats must be laughing their asses off right now. It's a wonder they don't win every election.

[Poorisolation]

Utterly bizarre. It's like they're lining up to see who can shoot themselves in the foot the most thoroughly - how in god's name are their PR teams letting them say this sort of thing?! I mean, unless they've filled their staff with sycophants and zealots, surely someone would have spoken up and pointed out that maybe going out of their way to wade into a controversy like this perhaps wasn't a good idea?

The Democrats must be laughing their asses off right now. It's a wonder they don't win every election.

Well the usual argument trotted by GOP strategists is that the electorate will ignore any amount of bat shit insane as long as the economy tanks while the other lot are in office. Worryingly 2010 seemed to provide some credence to this strategy.

[Khadgar]

Utterly bizarre. It's like they're lining up to see who can shoot themselves in the foot the most thoroughly - how in god's name are their PR teams letting them say this sort of thing?! I mean, unless they've filled their staff with sycophants and zealots, surely someone would have spoken up and pointed out that maybe going out of their way to wade into a controversy like this perhaps wasn't a good idea?

The Democrats must be laughing their asses off right now. It's a wonder they don't win every election.

Democrats are a "Big Tent" party, which is to say they're not a disciplined political party. Lots of ideologies that may or may not align. The Republicans are smaller better disciplined and better funded.

[Bottle]

For years I've been posting snarky comments about how the American conservatives are active supporters of rape culture, and people would always act as though I was saying something radical and shocking and unfair. I mean sure the GOP thinks that women who consent to sex should be punished with forced pregnancy, but nobody believes in being mean to women who got themselves decently raped! Heavens, we mustn't make such horrid accusations! That's so very partisan and divisive!

For once I can't even really enjoy saying I told you so, because all the freak out over Akin's comments just reminds me that for most people this is coming as a surprise. It must be nice for everyone who didn't have to see the woman-hating all this time. Must be nice to live in a world where you get to not experience this shit directly on a regular basis, and where it can come as a surprise that there are people who think no women (even good little rape victims) deserve to have a say in who fathers their children. Must be nice. I wouldn't know.

[The Archregimancy]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but The Week has posted an interesting list of six possible reasons (none of them mutually exclusive) as to why Akin is refusing to drop out of the race, even after his own party's presidential candidate has called on him to step down:

1. This is Akin's last hurrah
Todd Akin is 65, he has given up his safe House seat to run for the Senate, and he has burned any and all bridges within his party, so this is clearly his last chance "to grab the brass ring," says Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. Why would he care what Karl Rove or Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus wants him to do, or even what might be best for his party? Akin "just isn't going to give up what he's been hungering for for a lifetime because of one bad news cycle."

2. And he thinks he can still win
Unlike Republican officials and strategists — and, for that matter, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report — Akin doesn't think he's doomed. As he explained to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday, this whole flap over "one word and one sentence on one day" seems "like a little bit of an overreaction." Akin might be right about his chances, too, says Markos Moulitsas at The Daily Kos. Missouri is an increasingly Republican state, and McCaskill has by far "the worst poll numbers of any incumbent this cycle," so trying to ride out the storm "wouldn't be irrational in the least." Besides, "if he quits now, he's a punch line forever," says Salon's Smith. If he stays in, "he has a 50 percent chance of being a U.S. senator as well as a punch line." What would you choose?

3. Akin doesn't owe his party anything
Republicans are pulling out all the stops to push Akin aside, but the six term back-bencher is "totally unbeholden to the GOP establishment that needs him to drop out," says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post. He has never been a team player, and most GOP leaders and Tea Party groups backed his opponents in the ugly three-way primary he won just two weeks ago. "In other words, nobody who is telling Akin to drop out is a dear friend of his." Right, what does he have to lose by staying in the race, says Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly, "other than the opportunistic support of people who don't know or like him and would probably have taken credit for his victory had he won without this latest incident?"

4. He's getting bad advice
"It doesn't appear [Akin] fully comprehends why the level of outrage is where it is, nor does he grasp just how much anger he has instigated from across the political spectrum," says Bethany Mandel at Commentary. That's probably because his inner circle is, quite literally, family — he fired his senior staff and named his son campaign manager in February, and his wife is a close political adviser. His relatives "have a personal, vested interest in his remaining in the race," and don't have the necessary distance to gauge the public sentiment and offer good advice.

5. He believes God wants him to run
Akin is less a politician than a true believer, "one of the foremost Christian conservatives in Congress," and "he answers to a higher authority than the chairman of his political party," says The Washington Post's Blake. So whatever blowback he gets from GOP heavyweights, it "will always play second fiddle to the man upstairs and Akin's own personal conviction." As a Republican strategist who knows Akin tells The Washington Post, "He believes that his race is providential, that God has willed his win." You can't argue with that.

6. He probably can tell that the GOP is bluffing
The biggest reason Republicans can't force Akin from the race is that "he has all the leverage," says Jeffrey Smith at Salon. Republicans need McCaskill's Senate seat to have any hope of taking the upper chamber, so it seems unlikely that they'll write him off if he stays in the race. Are the NRSC and Crossroads GPS really going to "spend hundreds of millions around the country and then leave Missouri on the table out of stubbornness"? I find that very unlikely, and "Akin, an anti-gambling fanatic, should be smart enough to call their bluff."

http://theweek.com/article/index/232291 ... 6-theories

It's also worth noting that the deadline for dropping out easily was yesterday; since that deadline, dropping out of the race now requires a far more complex procedure.


One sentence summary: this is likely to run and run for months, despite Republican attempts to get rid of the problem.

[Mail Jeevas]

We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

- Current Draft, Republican Party Platform (as of 8/21/2012)

The extension of 14th Amendment protection to fetuses will not just make it illegal for the victims of rape and/or incest to get an abortion; it will make all therapeutic abortions illegal. Even if carrying a fetus to term would result in the certain death of the mother, no action could be taken to remedy the situation unless a judge finds that the fetus is actually and genuinely dead.

And in that last case, note the time frame: A medical finding that the child cannot survive birth would not be enough; there would have to be a finding that the child was actually already dead before any abortion could be undertaken. If the fetal heartbeat continued (as usually happens in such cases), it would be exceedingly difficulty to prove that actual fetal death had already occurred.

The bottom line, then, is that the kind of HLA Republicans want would effectively sentence a great many women with problem pregnancies to death.

All in the name of "human life", of course.

Thank you GOP for trying to take away my rights. I am a woman, and you care more about a parasite growing inside of me than you do about me.

@Bottle: Prior to now, I probably would have never said the the Right were actively supporting rape culture, but I would say they were attacking the rights of females and minorities. But you're right, this has obviously been a long time coming. "/

[Poorisolation]

We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

- Current Draft, Republican Party Platform (as of 8/21/2012)

The extension of 14th Amendment protection to fetuses will not just make it illegal for the victims of rape and/or incest to get an abortion; it will make all therapeutic abortions illegal. Even if carrying a fetus to term would result in the certain death of the mother, no action could be taken to remedy the situation unless a judge finds that the fetus is actually and genuinely dead.

And in that last case, note the time frame: A medical finding that the child cannot survive birth would not be enough; there would have to be a finding that the child was actually already dead before any abortion could be undertaken. If the fetal heartbeat continued (as usually happens in such cases), it would be exceedingly difficulty to prove that actual fetal death had already occurred.

The bottom line, then, is that the kind of HLA Republicans want would effectively sentence a great many women with problem pregnancies to death.

All in the name of "human life", of course.

Thank you GOP for trying to take away my rights. I am a woman, and you care more about a parasite growing inside of me than you do about me.

@Bottle: Prior to now, I probably would have never said the the Right were actively supporting rape culture, but I would say they were attacking the rights of females and minorities. But you're right, this has obviously been a long time coming. "/

Not to dispute any of what you are saying but to look at the other side of the coin the increasing evidence of violent misogyny among Republican party candidates and supporters is as much an indicator of their declining influence as anything else. Back in the days when the Republicans could claim something like 40% plus of US voters as affiliated the extreme lunatic fringe was a minority of the party membership. Now as it trends to below 30% the lunatics would appear to form a majority within the party.

Add in the tendency for extremists of any strip to become more extreme not less as they feel their ability to influence affairs wane and you get the Republican party of the current era. Not fun to live through such times but the point is the millenarians are indeed feeling the cold hand of the end times coming, not for everyone but for their days of ongoing political power-brokerage.

[Farnhamia]

Thank you GOP for trying to take away my rights. I am a woman, and you care more about a parasite growing inside of me than you do about me.

@Bottle: Prior to now, I probably would have never said the the Right were actively supporting rape culture, but I would say they were attacking the rights of females and minorities. But you're right, this has obviously been a long time coming. "/

Not to dispute any of what you are saying but to look at the other side of the coin the increasing evidence of violent misogyny among Republican party candidates and supporters is as much an indicator of their declining influence as anything else. Back in the days when the Republicans could claim something like 40% plus of US voters as affiliated the extreme lunatic fringe was a minority of the party membership. Now as it trends to below 30% the lunatics would appear to form a majority within the party.

Add in the tendency for extremists of any strip to become more extreme not less as they feel their ability to influence affairs wane and you get the Republican party of the current era. Not fun to live through such times but the point is the millenarians are indeed feeling the cold hand of the end times coming, not for everyone but for their days of ongoing political power-brokerage.

I don't know that the extremists in the Republican Party are on the wane (unless I misunderstood you). They're riding fairly high at the moment, having driven the GOP capture of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the success of their candidates in this year's Senate and House primaries. I offer Congressman Akin himself as one example. He's on record as saying that legalizing gay marriage will bring the end of civilization.

Another would be Ted Cruz in Texas, a man virtually assured of sitting in the Senate in January, who defeated the state's lieutenant governor for the nomination and who has vowed to shut down the the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Education, along with the Transportation Security Administration and the I.R.S. He's also worried that a UN environmental sustainability plan would ban golf courses, grazing ranges and paved roads.

Then there's Ted Yoho, who won a Congressional primary in northern Florida, wants to abolish the income tax and replace it with a sales tax, believes life begins at conception and considers gun ownership a “birthright.”

And then there's the GOP platform, finallized yesterday and to be voted on next week.

[Northern Dominus]

Thank you GOP for trying to take away my rights. I am a woman, and you care more about a parasite growing inside of me than you do about me.

@Bottle: Prior to now, I probably would have never said the the Right were actively supporting rape culture, but I would say they were attacking the rights of females and minorities. But you're right, this has obviously been a long time coming. "/

Not to dispute any of what you are saying but to look at the other side of the coin the increasing evidence of violent misogyny among Republican party candidates and supporters is as much an indicator of their declining influence as anything else. Back in the days when the Republicans could claim something like 40% plus of US voters as affiliated the extreme lunatic fringe was a minority of the party membership. Now as it trends to below 30% the lunatics would appear to form a majority within the party.

Add in the tendency for extremists of any strip to become more extreme not less as they feel their ability to influence affairs wane and you get the Republican party of the current era. Not fun to live through such times but the point is the millenarians are indeed feeling the cold hand of the end times coming, not for everyone but for their days of ongoing political power-brokerage.

Aaaand what, we should put up with their psychotic ramblings? Should we not hold the GOP at large accountable for caring more about money than their electorate and kicking these lunatics to the curb where they belong?

The Tea Party set have one thing right, this is a governance as sanctioned by the people. And we the people will only put up with these fringe extremists having a disproportionate say in matters of social and health issues before there's a massive push-back, and when they do and they're marginalized in the way they rightly deserve.

[Poorisolation]

Not to dispute any of what you are saying but to look at the other side of the coin the increasing evidence of violent misogyny among Republican party candidates and supporters is as much an indicator of their declining influence as anything else. Back in the days when the Republicans could claim something like 40% plus of US voters as affiliated the extreme lunatic fringe was a minority of the party membership. Now as it trends to below 30% the lunatics would appear to form a majority within the party.

Add in the tendency for extremists of any strip to become more extreme not less as they feel their ability to influence affairs wane and you get the Republican party of the current era. Not fun to live through such times but the point is the millenarians are indeed feeling the cold hand of the end times coming, not for everyone but for their days of ongoing political power-brokerage.

I don't know that the extremists in the Republican Party are on the wane (unless I misunderstood you). They're riding fairly high at the moment, having driven the GOP capture of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the success of their candidates in this year's Senate and House primaries. I offer Congressman Akin himself as one example. He's on record as saying that legalizing gay marriage will bring the end of civilization.

Another would be Ted Cruz in Texas, a man virtually assured of sitting in the Senate in January, who defeated the state's lieutenant governor for the nomination and who has vowed to shut down the the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Education, along with the Transportation Security Administration and the I.R.S. He's also worried that a UN environmental sustainability plan would ban golf courses, grazing ranges and paved roads.

Then there's Ted Yoho, who won a Congressional primary in northern Florida, wants to abolish the income tax and replace it with a sales tax, believes life begins at conception and considers gun ownership a “birthright.”

And then there's the GOP platform, finallized yesterday and to be voted on next week.

The point is that the extremists have gained control of the GOP because the GOP is on the wane. The trend is for both parties to be losing influence but the decline in the Republicans seems to have driven the party into the hands of its most extreme elements, possibly because if the article I have cited is correct the GOP have overall a much smaller pool of voters to draw upon.

Independents traditionally are economically to the right (as regards US political thought) of the Democrats but in terms of social policy to the left of the Republicans. Thus the rise of the Independents is not good news for the extremely anti-gay and anti-women's rights sections of the party because their ability to pass future legislation is in long term decline. Hence the mad rush to get as much nuttiness on State and Federal statutes in as short a time as possible before those reckless youngs uns grow up, too many good old boys die off and dat homo hippie fella they nailed to that there bit o' wood to stop his socialist speechifying takes over the world.

[Anacasppia]

It can be surprising how strongly some people support specific parties or candidates irregardless of whatever stupid stuff they do.
I'd refrain from predicting if it'll lose him the race - heck, maybe there are in fact quite a few people who'd believe his words.

[Poorisolation]

Not to dispute any of what you are saying but to look at the other side of the coin the increasing evidence of violent misogyny among Republican party candidates and supporters is as much an indicator of their declining influence as anything else. Back in the days when the Republicans could claim something like 40% plus of US voters as affiliated the extreme lunatic fringe was a minority of the party membership. Now as it trends to below 30% the lunatics would appear to form a majority within the party.

Add in the tendency for extremists of any strip to become more extreme not less as they feel their ability to influence affairs wane and you get the Republican party of the current era. Not fun to live through such times but the point is the millenarians are indeed feeling the cold hand of the end times coming, not for everyone but for their days of ongoing political power-brokerage.

Aaaand what, we should put up with their psychotic ramblings? Should we not hold the GOP at large accountable for caring more about money than their electorate and kicking these lunatics to the curb where they belong?

The Tea Party set have one thing right, this is a governance as sanctioned by the people. And we the people will only put up with these fringe extremists having a disproportionate say in matters of social and health issues before there's a massive push-back, and when they do and they're marginalized in the way they rightly deserve.

Seriously did I so misspeak myself that you could construe that was my argument? If anything I am as I posted above trying to remind people that the battle is not over, now is not the time to be slashing ones own wrists (or anyone else's for that matter) and lying back in the bath but making sure your are registered to vote, ready to vote and if you are living in a dodgy state have all the ID necessary they cannot stop you from voting.

Clear?

[Farnhamia]

I don't know that the extremists in the Republican Party are on the wane (unless I misunderstood you). They're riding fairly high at the moment, having driven the GOP capture of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the success of their candidates in this year's Senate and House primaries. I offer Congressman Akin himself as one example. He's on record as saying that legalizing gay marriage will bring the end of civilization.

Another would be Ted Cruz in Texas, a man virtually assured of sitting in the Senate in January, who defeated the state's lieutenant governor for the nomination and who has vowed to shut down the the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Education, along with the Transportation Security Administration and the I.R.S. He's also worried that a UN environmental sustainability plan would ban golf courses, grazing ranges and paved roads.

Then there's Ted Yoho, who won a Congressional primary in northern Florida, wants to abolish the income tax and replace it with a sales tax, believes life begins at conception and considers gun ownership a “birthright.”

And then there's the GOP platform, finallized yesterday and to be voted on next week.

The point is that the extremists have gained control of the GOP because the GOP is on the wane. The trend is for both parties to be losing influence but the decline in the Republicans seems to have driven the party into the hands of its most extreme elements, possibly because if the article I have cited is correct the GOP have overall a much smaller pool of voters to draw upon.

Independents traditionally are economically to the right (as regards US political thought) of the Democrats but in terms of social policy to the left of the Republicans. Thus the rise of the Independents is not good news for the extremely anti-gay and anti-women's rights sections of the party because their ability to pass future legislation is in long term decline. Hence the mad rush to get as much nuttiness on State and Federal statutes in as short a time as possible before those reckless youngs uns grow up, too many good old boys die off and dat homo hippie fella they nailed to that there bit o' wood to stop his socialist speechifying takes over the world.

I'm not sure how you think the GOP is on the wane. They controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006 and the White House from 2001 to 2009. Since 1981 we've had Republican Presidents for 19 of the last 31 years. The Republicans have had a lasting impact on the Supreme Court, too.

[Northern Dominus]

Aaaand what, we should put up with their psychotic ramblings? Should we not hold the GOP at large accountable for caring more about money than their electorate and kicking these lunatics to the curb where they belong?

The Tea Party set have one thing right, this is a governance as sanctioned by the people. And we the people will only put up with these fringe extremists having a disproportionate say in matters of social and health issues before there's a massive push-back, and when they do and they're marginalized in the way they rightly deserve.

Seriously did I so misspeak myself that you could construe that was my argument? If anything I am as I posted above trying to remind people that the battle is not over, now is not the time to be slashing ones own wrists (or anyone else's for that matter) and lying back in the bath but making sure your are registered to vote, ready to vote and if you are living in a dodgy state have all the ID necessary they cannot stop you from voting.

Clear?

Point taken, sorry, used to reading replys that seem to say one thing but are justifying another, made an assumption and for that I'm wrong.

And it always bewilders me when you consider it. I mean I know there are intelligent people in the GOP, ones that are more centrist and conserviative rather than neo-conserviative reactionary. Ones that might even have moral scruples. So why oh why haven't we seen an exodus from the GOP of these individuals, or why haven't they come to the forefront and touted the values of some of the best Republican leaders like Eisenhower while decrying the latest batch of extremists that have been disproportionately controlling the tone for far too long.

I want another Eisenhower. I want another Theodore Roosevelt. Hell at this point I'd even be open to a Circa-2000 John McCain to rise to prominence in the GOP. Did they all have objectionable policies? Yes, but there weren't wholly unpalatable to everyone except the radical fringes like the most vocal GOP members today, and they all had some great ideas that still apply today.

[Farnhamia]

Seriously did I so misspeak myself that you could construe that was my argument? If anything I am as I posted above trying to remind people that the battle is not over, now is not the time to be slashing ones own wrists (or anyone else's for that matter) and lying back in the bath but making sure your are registered to vote, ready to vote and if you are living in a dodgy state have all the ID necessary they cannot stop you from voting.

Clear?

Point taken, sorry, used to reading replys that seem to say one thing but are justifying another, made an assumption and for that I'm wrong.

And it always bewilders me when you consider it. I mean I know there are intelligent people in the GOP, ones that are more centrist and conserviative rather than neo-conserviative reactionary. Ones that might even have moral scruples. So why oh why haven't we seen an exodus from the GOP of these individuals, or why haven't they come to the forefront and touted the values of some of the best Republican leaders like Eisenhower while decrying the latest batch of extremists that have been disproportionately controlling the tone for far too long.

I want another Eisenhower. I want another Theodore Roosevelt. Hell at this point I'd even be open to a Circa-2000 John McCain to rise to prominence in the GOP. Did they all have objectionable policies? Yes, but there weren't wholly unpalatable to everyone except the radical fringes like the most vocal GOP members today, and they all had some great ideas that still apply today.

Sorry, Eisenhower, TR and McCain 1.0 are out of print and the GOP has no plans for issuing new editions. They do have plenty of Santorum, Ryan, Walker, Bachmann, Boehner and McConnell in stock, however. And who knows, they might come out with a Special Edition Palin one of these days (though I doubt there's any elected office that pays well enough for her).

[Xeng He]

For years I've been posting snarky comments about how the American conservatives are active supporters of rape culture, and people would always act as though I was saying something radical and shocking and unfair. I mean sure the GOP thinks that women who consent to sex should be punished with forced pregnancy, but nobody believes in being mean to women who got themselves decently raped! Heavens, we mustn't make such horrid accusations! That's so very partisan and divisive!

For once I can't even really enjoy saying I told you so, because all the freak out over Akin's comments just reminds me that for most people this is coming as a surprise. It must be nice for everyone who didn't have to see the woman-hating all this time. Must be nice to live in a world where you get to not experience this shit directly on a regular basis, and where it can come as a surprise that there are people who think no women (even good little rape victims) deserve to have a say in who fathers their children. Must be nice. I wouldn't know.

Except rape-pregnancies are the tiniest part of rape culture.

And the assertion that rape is solely an issue that women have to deal with is much, much, larger.

[Northern Dominus]

For years I've been posting snarky comments about how the American conservatives are active supporters of rape culture, and people would always act as though I was saying something radical and shocking and unfair. I mean sure the GOP thinks that women who consent to sex should be punished with forced pregnancy, but nobody believes in being mean to women who got themselves decently raped! Heavens, we mustn't make such horrid accusations! That's so very partisan and divisive!

For once I can't even really enjoy saying I told you so, because all the freak out over Akin's comments just reminds me that for most people this is coming as a surprise. It must be nice for everyone who didn't have to see the woman-hating all this time. Must be nice to live in a world where you get to not experience this shit directly on a regular basis, and where it can come as a surprise that there are people who think no women (even good little rape victims) deserve to have a say in who fathers their children. Must be nice. I wouldn't know.

Except rape-pregnancies are the tiniest part of rape culture.

And the assertion that rape is solely an issue that women have to deal with is much, much, larger.

Rape culture? What is this rape culture you speak of. I've heard the term but as far as I can tell there is no discernable "culture" of rape.

And nobody is denying that the rape of men is an issue, especially when prison rape is factored in. However Akin specifically targeted women with his words so that is why Akin's ill-informed and mysoginist take on women being raped is being lambasted, and for good reason.

[Khadgar]

The point is that the extremists have gained control of the GOP because the GOP is on the wane. The trend is for both parties to be losing influence but the decline in the Republicans seems to have driven the party into the hands of its most extreme elements, possibly because if the article I have cited is correct the GOP have overall a much smaller pool of voters to draw upon.

Independents traditionally are economically to the right (as regards US political thought) of the Democrats but in terms of social policy to the left of the Republicans. Thus the rise of the Independents is not good news for the extremely anti-gay and anti-women's rights sections of the party because their ability to pass future legislation is in long term decline. Hence the mad rush to get as much nuttiness on State and Federal statutes in as short a time as possible before those reckless youngs uns grow up, too many good old boys die off and dat homo hippie fella they nailed to that there bit o' wood to stop his socialist speechifying takes over the world.

I'm not sure how you think the GOP is on the wane. They controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006 and the White House from 2001 to 2009. Since 1981 we've had Republican Presidents for 19 of the last 31 years. The Republicans have had a lasting impact on the Supreme Court, too.

It's a matter of demographics. The Republican party does very well with white males, less well with white females. White males are making up an ever smaller percentage of the population. They poll very badly among blacks, badly with latinos, religious minorities really don't like them. They've spent the last 15 years burning bridges like mad. Latinos and Blacks ought be Republican strong points, but their blatant race baiting tactics have very successfully destroyed any good will there. As it stands the Republican party has an increasing share of a dwindling market, which is a damn fine way to run yourself out of business.

[Page]

The Democrats must be laughing their asses off right now. It's a wonder they don't win every election.

Democrats are a "Big Tent" party, which is to say they're not a disciplined political party. Lots of ideologies that may or may not align. The Republicans are smaller better disciplined and better funded.

I align with the Democrat Party, or am further left, on every issue except one: the Republicans conduct politics far better than Democrats do. And that is something pretty much any liberal has to admit.

[Xeng He]

Rape culture? What is this rape culture you speak of. I've heard the term but as far as I can tell there is no discernable "culture" of rape.

Well, certain types of people commit rape more often, and women in certain areas get raped more often (men are a bit of a statistical unknown here). So there's some truth in that term.

And nobody is denying that the rape of men is an issue, especially when prison rape is factored in. However Akin specifically targeted women with his words so that is why Akin's ill-informed and mysoginist take on women being raped is being lambasted, and for good reason.

I don't disagree here. I just think the "Republicans are pro-rape" bit is a little premature.

[Page]

I don't disagree here. I just think the "Republicans are pro-rape" bit is a little premature.

I wouldn't say the Republican Party is pro-rape, but I would say the radical anti-abortion movement is.

[Revolutopia]

Democrats are a "Big Tent" party, which is to say they're not a disciplined political party. Lots of ideologies that may or may not align. The Republicans are smaller better disciplined and better funded.

I align with the Democrat Party, or am further left, on every issue except one: the Republicans conduct politics far better than Democrats do. And that is something pretty much any liberal has to admit.

A Middle School Student Council is better organized then the Democratic Party, I don't think anyone can argue that the Republicans are not better at cramming their belief down the public's throat.

[Northern Dominus]

Well, certain types of people commit rape more often, and women in certain areas get raped more often (men are a bit of a statistical unknown here). So there's some truth in that term.

And I'm sure this rape culture is generally found in lower-class neighborhoods full of predominantly minority populations right?

I don't disagree here. I just think the "Republicans are pro-rape" bit is a little premature.

To say that they are pro-rape is a bit simple, plus a bit narrow.
It would be more accurate to say they are pro women's health and rights marginalization, that would be more accurate.

[Mail Jeevas]

It would be more accurate to say they are pro women's health and rights marginalization, that would be more accurate.

Marginalization would imply that they care about it at all "/

[Nulono]

I think it's important to remember not to take state nutjobs and claim they represent the whole party. Mainstream GOP members don't want to end women's suffrage.

They don't want to end our suffering, either.

They don't want to do it at the cost of millions upon millions of innocent lives, no.

"Mainstream" is being overtaken and outspoken by the crazy nutjobs. If they want us to remember they're there, the "Mainstreamers" need to be hella more vocal and push back the nutjobs.

They seem to be incapable of that. As the NY Times said today in an editorial on Congressman Akin ...

As several recent Republican primaries demonstrated, the party continues to nominate Tea Party candidates who create increasingly ludicrous definitions of “far right.” Ted Cruz, who won the Senate primary in Texas and is all but certain to be elected, favors the closure of the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Education, along with the Transportation Security Administration and, naturally, the I.R.S. He says he is very worried that the United Nations is trying to ban golf courses and paved roads.

Ted Yoho, who won a Congressional primary in northern Florida, wants to abolish the income tax and replace it with a sales tax, believes life begins at conception and considers gun ownership a “birthright.”

Believing life begins at conception isn't really radical; it's scientific fact.

I think it's important to remember not to take state nutjobs and claim they represent the whole party. Mainstream GOP members don't want to end women's suffrage.

I don't think anyone seriously suggesting the Republican party (GOP being either a sarcastic appellation or misnomer) is planning to remove women's right to vote. Yet. Still the party is supporting what can only be called religious extremism made law.

Sarcasm doesn't work well on the Internet. Also, being pro-life isn't "religious extremism". I'm a pro-life atheist, and half the country is pro-life.