[TheRealVille]

Has Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock just become a big problem for Mitt Romney and the national GOP? That question arises because of a controversial comment on abortion that Mr. Mourdock made in a debate Tuesday night with his Democratic opponent, Rep. Joe Donnelly.

Asked whether abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest, Mourdock said, “I struggled with myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something God intended to happen.”

After the debate, Mourdock clarified his remark, saying that rape is a horrible thing that he does not believe is itself part of a divine plan.

OBAMA VS. ROMNEY 101: 5 differences on women's issues

“God creates life, and that was my point,” Mourdock said in a statement. “God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does.”

But Democrats seized on his comment and portrayed it as insensitive and evidence of an extreme view on abortion and women’s rights. They also pointed out that Mr. Romney, the GOP presidential nominee, had cut an ad in support of Mourdock this week.

“Richard Mourdock’s rape comments are outrageous and demeaning to women. Unfortunately, they’ve become part and parcel of the modern Republican Party’s platform toward women’s health, as Congressional Republicans like Paul Ryan have worked to outlaw all abortions and even narrow the definition of rape,” Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement following the debate.

The Romney campaign immediately distanced itself from Mourdock’s words, saying they did not reflect its candidate’s views. Romney is antiabortion but does support an exception for cases of rape and incest. His running mate, Representative Ryan, in the past has rejected such an exception.

But Romney aides did not comment as to whether the former Massachusetts governor would still support Mourdock’s Senate bid.

When Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin said in an interview that women’s bodies have ways of suppressing pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape,” the GOP quickly pressured him to withdraw from the race. He refused and remains on the ballot.

With the race between Romney and President Obama so close, it’s a sure thing that Democrats will try to make use of Mourdock’s words. It’s possible they could have some marginal effect on women voters who remain undecided in swing states – a key target for the Obama campaign.

In a survey of swing-state voters, women placed “abortion” and “equal rights” among their top five issues, while men did not, according to a new Gallup analysis of polling data. This helps explain America’s persistent gender gap. If the electorate were purely female, Mr. Obama would lead by eight percentage points, according to Gallup. If it were all male, Romney would lead by 14.

Could Obama attract even more women voters? His strength among females has declined by three percentage points relative to 2008, according to Gallup’s numbers, so it’s possible he could win back women who supported him in the past. But his biggest gender problem is among men: He’s down by seven percentage points among male voters since 2008.

In that context, it’s possible that Mourdock’s words will have more effect on tight Senate races. In states such as Massachusetts, where Democrat Elizabeth Warren is battling incumbent Sen. Scott Brown ®, Democrats undoubtedly will run ads saying a vote for the GOP is a vote for a chamber controlled by politicians such as Mourdock.

As for Mourdock himself, the current state treasurer is locked in a surprisingly close race with Representative Donnelly in a GOP-leaning state. Donnelly also opposes abortion, but he supports an exemption for rape and incest victims. Mourdock, supported by tea party groups, ousted longtime Indiana GOP Sen. Richard Lugar in the Republican primary. He leads Donnelly by five percentage points in a recent Rasmussen poll.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/...mney-video

[TheRealVille]

Republican apologizes for rape remark, Dems pounce

RENO, Nevada — A US Senate candidate at the center of a women's rights storm offered a partial apology Wednesday for saying pregnancy from rape is something "God intended," but accused Democrats of twisting his comments for political gain.
Richard Mourdock, an anti-abortion US Senate candidate from Indiana, triggered an uproar with his comments and gave President Barack Obama a new opening to attack the record of his Republican challenger Mitt Romney on women's rights less than two weeks before the November 6 elections.
The Romney team quickly backed the candidate away from the remarks, but not from Mourdock himself, for whom Romney had recently taped campaign advertisements.
"We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.
Romney made no mention of the controversy during a 19-minute address at a rally in Reno, Nevada. But the former Massachusetts governor has said he would be a "pro-life president" if elected, and is opposed to abortion except in the cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother.
The Mourdock controversy, and Romney's refusal to stop backing him, highlights a potentially critical clash over women's rights in the last leg of a brutal campaign.
The political firestorm erupted late Tuesday during a Senate debate in Indiana.
Mourdock said he believes that life begins at conception and opposes abortion in all cases except when the mother's life is in danger.
Then he said: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God, and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."
Mourdock, who defeated veteran moderate Senator Richard Lugar in a bitter Republican primary earlier this year, sought to put out the flames, holding a press conference to express regret over the way he framed his remarks.
"I abhor any kind of sexual violence. I abhor rape. And I am absolutely confident, as I stand here, that the God that I worship abhors violence, abhors sexual violence and abhors rape," Mourdock said.
He also stressed that he made his comments "from my heart."
"For those who want to kind of twist the comments and to use them for partisan political gain, I think that's what's wrong with Washington these days," the Senate candidate said.
"It is win at any cost. Let's make up issues when we can't find real ones. Let's twist, let's distort, let's deceive."
Obama's campaign has seized on the original comments and sought to link Romney to Mourdock's views.
"The president felt those comments were outrageous and demeaning to women," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
"This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican president Mitt Romney would (feel) that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care."
She said women needed to consider the potential for abortion rights to erode under a Romney administration.
The Democratic National Committee and other groups cobbled together a video highlighting Romney's association with Mourdock.
"We've long known Mourdock was extreme, but that didn't stop Mitt Romney from cutting an ad exclaiming, 'This fall, I'm supporting Richard Mourdock for Senate,'" the political action committee American Bridge said in a statement accompanying the video.
With the presidential candidates locked in a virtual tie, women voters in swing states could decide the election. The fresh row over abortion also distracts from Romney's focus on the sluggish US economy.
"It's amazing how many conservative Republican candidates, whom Mitt Romney supports, express such outrageous views," Pam duPre, executive director of the Democratic Party in Nevada's Washoe County, told AFP as she protested outside Romney's rally in Reno.
"It's as if violent crimes against women are OK. That's what they're saying."
Another Republican Senate candidate, Todd Akin of Missouri, sparked controversy in August when he said that a woman's body could prevent conception in cases of "legitimate rape."
Those remarks brought an avalanche of condemnation from both political parties and from Romney himself. Akin apologized, but refused Republican demands to quit the race.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/art...bd1f0f.471

[WideRight05]

You can see the media's struggles to push Obama ahead.

[Wildcatk23]

Romney endorsed Murdoch the other day so maybe.

[TheRealVille]

Romney endorsed Murdoch the other day so maybe.

Shhhhh. They don't want that told here. :biggrin:

[TheRealVille]

(Reuters) - The Republican candidate for the Senate in Indiana, Richard Mourdock, said on Wednesday he was sorry if anyone misunderstood a comment on rape and abortion, and White House hopeful Mitt Romney's campaign said he would stand by the controversial candidate.

Mourdock made comments at a Senate debate on Tuesday night that some critics interpreted as condoning rape. At a hastily called news conference on Wednesday, Mourdock said he abhors rape and violence against women.

"I apologize that they came away" with that interpretation, he said. "And I have certainly been humbled by the fact that so many people think that somehow was an interpretation."

When he explained at Tuesday night's debate that the only exception to a ban on abortion should be for the life of a mother, Mourdock said: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God, and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something God intended to happen."

The Mourdock incident was the second time during the 2012 election campaign that a conservative Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate made controversial remarks about rape.

Missouri candidate Todd Akin said in August that women have natural defenses against pregnancy from "legitimate rape." Republicans disavowed Akin's comment and he has trailed Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill in most polls since then.

Former Massachusetts governor Romney's spokeswoman Andrea Saul said: "Governor Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock ... We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him."

Earlier in the week, the Mourdock campaign issued a television and radio ad featuring Romney's endorsement of the Indiana Republican, saying that Mourdock's vote in the Senate could be crucial to repealing Obama's health reform law.

Romney's campaign said he would not pull the ad supporting Mourdock despite Democratic calls for him to do so.

President Barack Obama's campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the president believed Mourdock's comment was "outrageous and demeaning to women," and it was "perplexing" that Romney had not demanded the ads be scrapped.

"This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican president, Mitt Romney, would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own healthcare," Psaki told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One to the swing state of Iowa.

Mourdock defeated longtime Senator Richard Lugar in the Republican primary, dividing the Republican Party. He has since struggled to establish a significant lead in polls against Democratic Congressman Joe Donnelly.

Loss of what was once considered a safe Republican seat in Indiana would be a severe blow to Republican hopes of taking control of the Senate. Republicans need to make a net gain of four Senate seats to win the majority.

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor responsible for Senate races at The Cook Political Report, said it will take a few days to determine if the flap has damaged Mourdock.

"This isn't the Akin debacle all over again," Duffy said, referring to the Missouri candidate shunned by his party. "It is far more nuanced."

Mourdock was not qualifying rape the way that Akin did, using the words "legitimate rape," she said.

Another difference is that Donnelly is against abortion and has to walk a fine line in criticizing Mourdock. Akin's opponent in Missouri, McCaskill, favors abortion rights.

While Romney and some others in the Republican party have criticized Mourdock's comments, they are still supporting him in the election in contrast to Akin, who was abandoned by the party establishment, Duffy said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/2...N06T201210

[TheRealVille]

Did anybody tell the republicans here that Romney supports abortion on the three key exceptions? And, that he doesn't know of any legislation that he would bring up involving abortion?

[TheRealThing]

You can see the media's struggles to push Obama ahead.

They are desperate Wide. This means nothing. In fact, there are people who walk this earth that are the result of rape. Ask one of them if they would have rathered their mom had had an abortion. Sperm has this habit of fertilizing ova. In that sense it is God's intention. Surely RV, a deist, isn't suggesting that God has an active part in the lives of men. nicker:

[SKINNYPIG]

It didn't seem to hurt Obama that Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn endorsed him. So why should it?

[TheRealVille]

They are desperate Wide. This means nothing. In fact, there are people who walk this earth that are the result of rape. Ask one of them if they would have rathered their mom had had an abortion. Sperm has this habit of fertilizing ova. In that sense it is God's intention. Surely RV, a deist, isn't suggesting that God has an active part in the lives of men. nicker:

:hilarious:

[TheRealThing]

:hilarious:

As usual, dodge the text of the post and put up an icon. Talk about gaging at a gnat and swallowing a camel! I find it laughable and tragic that liberals can look over an avalanche of damning misdeeds by the president and his liars for hire, and on the other hand, mix 1 part truth with 99 parts fabrication and inuendo to create an unfavorable situation for a republican candidate. He wasn't saying God intended for the rape to happen, but, as you well know, girls in this land have sex at least one and a half million times a year which results in an unwanted pregnancy. Thanks to the democrats, every one of them can legally murder their baby. People don't like that in this land, therefore, candidates voice their opposition to the practice of mass murdering the unborn. America has become the land of infanticide.

[TheRealVille]

As usual, dodge the text of the post and put up an icon. Talk about gaging at a gnat and swallowing a camel! I find it laughable and tragic that liberals can look over an avalanche of damning misdeeds by the president and his liars for hire, and on the other hand, mix 1 part truth with 99 parts fabrication and inuendo to create an unfavorable situation for a republican candidate. Then you come on the forum and try to say you don't support abortion unless it's for one of the big three. He wasn't saying God intended for the rape to happen, but, as you well know, girls in this land have sex at least one and a half million times a year which results in an unwanted pregnancy. Thanks to the democrats, every one of them can legally murder their baby. People don't like that in this land, therefore, candidates voice their opposition to the practice of mass murdering the unborn. America has become the land of infanticide.

Let me be clear. The democrats are not desperate, except in your eyes. The democrats are in a good position to win this election. Look at the electoral maps, and how the toss up states are leaning. Add those numbers up.

[WideRight05]

Let me be clear. The democrats are not desperate, except in your eyes. The democrats are in a good position to win this election. Look at the electoral maps, and how the toss up states are leaning. Add those numbers up.

This is pretty damning evidence. I look forward to seeing how more of this case will unravel over the next few days. It's evident that there are still some truths untold, and it will be interesting to see what comes of this. There is NO excuse not to provide security when someone is pleading for it.

And concerning the maps, you may want to check again...

[TheRealThing]

Let me be clear. The democrats are not desperate, except in your eyes. The democrats are in a good position to win this election. Look at the electoral maps, and how the toss up states are leaning. Add those numbers up.

Granted, on the bolded part only, and I'm not arguing that. What I am saying is this, never have I seen so much bad press floating around about a presidential candidate as we have now. Obama is awash in bad news, and it's literally coming not only from within the US but, from around the world. The dems are desperate. Foreign policy issues, that by comparison make Jimmy Carter look like Dag Hammarskjold, and the one and only fiscal disaster that can even come close in scope to our own financial death spiral, is the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing great depression.

[Harry Rex Vonner]

Did anybody tell the republicans here that Romney supports abortion on the three key exceptions? And, that he doesn't know of any legislation that he would bring up involving abortion?

Of course, TheRealVille. We are certainly aware of Romney's position. While we may not like it (I certainly don't.) we are pragmatists. We realize that, on this issue, he is the lesser of the evils. He is much preferable to one who wants to give abortionists a blank government check.

A glass three-fourths full is certainly better than an empty glass rubbed with poison.

[Hoot Gibson]

Let me be clear. The democrats are not desperate, except in your eyes. The democrats are in a good position to win this election. Look at the electoral maps, and how the toss up states are leaning. Add those numbers up.

:hilarious:

[TheRealVille]

Indiana's Republican Senate candidate set off a fresh fight on the campaign trail over rape and abortion as both parties vie for women's votes in the final stretch before the election.

In a debate Tuesday night, responding to a question about abortion, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock said he opposed it in all circumstances except when a woman's life was in danger, and added that "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something God intended to happen." Mr. Mourdock said Wednesday he stood by his position, but that "to twist and suggest that somehow God approves of rape is not what I was saying and certainly not what I intended."

The remark prompted some Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, to distance themselves from the debate statement. Democratic candidates in Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nevada and Arizona seized on the comments to portray the broader Republican Party as out of touch with women. President Barack Obama's campaign noted Mr. Romney taped an advertisement endorsing Mr. Mourdock that has been airing recently in Indiana.

The presidential contest and a handful of close Senate races that will determine control of the chamber hinge in part on undecided women voters. While Mr. Mourdock's comments might turn off some voters in Indiana, it was too soon to tell whether they would have a material impact on that race or influence voters in other contests.

Mr. Romney has previously aired television advertisements that say "he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life." Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Wednesday that Mr. Romney still supports Mr. Mourdock but disagrees with him on this issue.

Debates over abortion, and whether it should be allowed in cases of rape or when pregnancy threatens a woman's health, have featured prominently in this election. In August, Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin suggested women's bodies could avert pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape," a remark that cost him support in his bid to defeat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Mr. Mourdock had a lead of five percentage points over Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey earlier in October. Mr. Donnelly also opposes abortion rights but favors exceptions for rape, incest and to protect a woman's life. He told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Mourdock's "words were extreme" and added that "the people of Indiana expect their officeholders to be reflective of them."

Margie Hershey, an Indiana University Bloomington political-science professor, said the furor might help Mr. Donnelly convince voters Mr. Mourdock is too conservative on a host of issues. "It's not a question of whether one is more pro-life than the other," she said. "It's a question of whether this intensifies the feeling that Mr. Mourdock is an extremist."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he stood by Mr. Mourdock and shared his position.

But Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) canceled a trip to Indiana Wednesday to campaign with Mr. Mourdock, saying that he didn't represent her views, according to her spokesman Jeff Grappone.

And Indiana GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence, an abortion-rights opponent, asked Mr. Mourdock to apologize for his remarks.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...78616.html

[WideRight05]

It's funny how the media will jump all over this guy for his remarks against abortion. However, it's completely okay for Obama to support infanticide.

TRV, can you think for yourself? LOL

[Hoot Gibson]

It's funny how the media will jump all over this guy for his remarks against abortion. However, it's completely okay for Obama to support infanticide.

TRV, can you think for yourself? LOL

Why does he need to, when he has the Obama team to do it for him? nicker:

[RunItUpTheGut]

Less then two weeks away thank God....

[TheRealVille]

Less then two weeks away thank God....

Irregardless of who wins, I will be very glad when this election is over. I'm tired of all the news and ads, and fighting.

[TheRealThing]

Irregardless of who wins, I will be very glad when this election is over. I'm tired of all the news and ads, and fighting.

You and me both!

[SKINNYPIG]

Irregardless of who wins, I will be very glad when this election is over. I'm tired of all the news and ads, and fighting.

There is a left side and there is a right side, then there is the truth. If the truth has been spoken today, it was by you in this post TRV. Thank You!

[WideRight05]

Irregardless of who wins, I will be very glad when this election is over. I'm tired of all the news and ads, and fighting.

This feels weird to say to you, but I couldn't agree more. Lol

[TheRealVille]

This feels weird to say to you, but I couldn't agree more. Lol

I'm even more sick of hearing the "state race" ads.

[Joker]

Let me be clear. The democrats are not desperate, except in your eyes. The democrats are in a good position to win this election. Look at the electoral maps, and how the toss up states are leaning. Add those numbers up.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

[RunItUpTheGut]

I'm even more sick of hearing the "state race" ads.

Im not even part of the congressional district that Chandler and Barr are battling for yet i have to hear both of there bullshit every day, 20 times a day...