Some Party

It is quite easy to brush off the latest flap over God’s perceived role in rape that has come from the mouth of a GOP candidate in Indiana.  After all, this is just another attempt by the lame stream media to derail the Romney/GOP juggernaut on its unstoppable march to power, right?  This guy must be an outlier and the media is promoting his unfortunate, out of context remarks in order to benefit their favorite son, Barack Obama.

Forgive me, but there might be more to this one, and he might not be an outlier.  He might be main stream in his party.

To review, Republican Richard Mourdock, the U.S. Senate candidate in Indiana, argued in a debate two days ago that a rape pregnancy "is something that God intended to happen."  OK, this guy MEANT that the pregnancy, not the rape, was God’s will but it is nonetheless an interesting place to go when debating the policy of a woman’s right to choose.  Since Mr. Mourdock knows what God’s will is, either through firsthand knowledge or a whisper in his ear while he is sleeping, we should accept his position without question…or burn in Hell, and on that proposition he is firmly pro-choice.

His comments follow months of conservative male politicians using the violent crime of rape as a backdrop to highlight their ignorance.

From Steve Benen:

“In August, Todd Akin (R-Mo.) said women have special powers to "shut down" pregnancies caused by a "legitimate rape."   The same week, Steve King (R-Iowa) said he "hasn't heard of" women getting impregnated by a rapist, while Senate candidate Tom Smith (R-Pa.) said rape pregnancies are "similar" to out-of-wedlock pregnancies.

In September, Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) compared the Middle East violence in response to an anti-Islam video to a judge telling a rape victim, "You asked for it because of the way you dressed." Around the same time, Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) told constituents, "There are very few pregnancies as a result of rape."

In October, we learned that Roger Rivard (R-Wis.) thinks "some girls rape easy." Soon after, Rick Berg (R-N.D.) said rape victims shouldn't be allowed to terminate pregnancies, but refused to explain what kind of penalties he'd impose on women who got abortions anyway.”

Perhaps rape victims in Rick Berg’s America should be detained by the government for the entire 9 month gestational period, lest the woman try to take matters into her own hands.  It follows that masturbation must be considered assisted suicide and similarly banned. 

The quotes above are just the past 3 months of commentary.  These ‘gentlemen’ are not outliers.  They are representing the viewpoint of their party, so much so that Mitt Romney has no problem endorsing Richard Mourdock and offering only a tepid statement of disagreement with his words.  (This is the same Mitt who demonstrated those 'leadership qualities' by saying about Rush Limbaugh calling a private citizen a "slut", "Those aren't the words I would have used.") Should Mitt win and these ‘gentlemen’ win, these are the viewpoints that will guide policy in the United States. 

83% of Americans believe it should be legal to terminate rape pregnancies.  I hope I never have to weigh in on such a horrible decision in my lifetime, but I also hope that the victim of violent crime should be allowed the choice to make that decision, not the government.  I hope they choose life, but that is not my call.

I think it’s God’s will that these guys not get elected.