http://mycn2.com/politics/rand-paul-reticent-to-weigh-in-on-akin-s-future-but-says-akin-s-comment-was-incorrect

Publication Date: August 22, 2012

Author: Ryan Alessi

Rand Paul reticent to weigh in on Akin's future but says Akin's comment was incorrect

08/22/2012 09:19 AM

Unlike his fellow Kentucky Republican senator, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul isn’t calling on Republican Congressman Todd Akin to leave the Missouri Senate race.

But Paul, an ophthalmologist who graduated from Duke Medical School, disputed Akin’s assertion from a talk show Sunday in which Akin said a woman’s body can shut down a pregnancy in the instance of “legitimate rape.”

“There’s not really any medical evidence that pregnancy is less likely to happen with rape,” Paul told Pure Politics.

But Paul said he didn’t believe it was his place to call for Akin to drop out of the race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill as other Republicans, including U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, have done. Paul alluded to how he knows what it’s like to be in the center of a media maelstrom from his 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate.

About Ryan Alessi

Ryan Alessi joined cn|2 in May 2010 as senior managing editor and host of Pure Politics. He has covered politics for more than 10 years, including 7 years as a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Follow Ryan on Twitter @cn2Alessi. Ryan can be reached at 502-792-1135 or ryan.alessi@twcable.com.

Comments

  • Bruce Layne wrote on August 23, 2012 12:56 PM :

    Todd Akin is yet another case where the Republican oligarchy should be asking itself, “Is this really the best we can do?”

    Of course, the most obvious example in the current election cycle is Mitt Romney. I imagine GOP strategists desperately struggling to select a candidate who could lose to Barack Obama.

    Akin’s remarks are so ridiculous that they are reminiscent of Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson asking an admiral if an additional 8000 US Marines and their families would tip over the island of Guam and cause it to capsize.

    This is what we get when we allow the Two Parties That Are One to choose our candidates for us.

  • Cumberland Gap wrote on August 24, 2012 12:02 PM :

    Per the Factchecker, a spokesman for Johnson responded to the incident by saying the congressman is concerned the influx of military personnel will overwhelm the island’s infrastructure and ecosystem.

    He was speaking figuratively and you know that Bruce!

    You are right about Republican leaders should be worried about people like Todd Akin making it through their leadership selection process. It’s just broken by Tea Party zealots.

  • Dee W wrote on September 02, 2012 01:54 AM :

    Todd Akin is yet another case where the Republican oligarchy should be asking itself, “Is this really the best we can do?”
    ——————

    Claire McCaskill chose him – she spent $2 million to help him win the nomination with good reason.

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