"Legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy?!? WTF?!?

I  have a conservative friend that I work with who calls me a "part time conservative and weekend liberal".  He calls me that because he says I don't show any consistent loyalty towards either party. 

I think that only insane people and dullards agree with every single tenet of a party's platform.  I favor the death penalty and I'm a staunch supporter of our military.  Although I don't like the idea of affirmative action, I understand why white men thought that it was a good idea to enact it.....they would know.  I think all Americans should have the right to own weapons; however, I think that only the police and military should have access to handguns and automatic weapons. I'm pretty much anti-union for the most part and I believe that spending across the board, including military spending, should be cut by our government. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't believe in the trickle down theory of economics. I believe that given the current state of our economy that we shouldn't be cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and for all of these companies that are outsourcing American jobs anyway. I think we need to focus on paying off our debt as a nation. I think that paying taxes is patriotic.  I believe that not only should we cut military spending, but we should bring most of the Americans troops deployed around the world home to shore up our borders and give a financial boost to those local economies. I don't see a problem with gay marriage.  I also don't understand why anyone would want to discriminate against homosexuals and I really don't understand why anyone would want to deny them an opportunity to serve in our military. 

I rarely talk about politics in this blog though, since I realize most people are bored to tears with it or they'll say they don't have an opinion about it.  Now that the election is almost upon us though, I will probably talk about it more.


  However, when I see shit like the article below....that I jacked from CNN's website, I am truly dumbfounded.  This doesn't necessarily have to be about politics, it should be classified under common sense.  Clearly this man's ignorance knows no bounds.

(CNN) – U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who won Missouri's GOP Senate primary earlier this month and will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November's general election, said Sunday that he misspoke when he claimed "legitimate rape" rarely resulted in pregnancy.

Answering a question about whether or not he thought abortion should be legal in the case of rape, Akin explained his opposition by citing unnamed bodily responses he said prevented pregnancy.

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin said of rape-induced pregnancy in an interview with KTVI. A clip of the interview was posted online by the liberal super PAC American Bridge.

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin continued. He did not provide an explanation for what constituted "legitimate rape."

He added: "But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

In a statement Sunday, Akin wrote that he misspoke in the interview. He maintained his opposition to abortion for victims of rape.

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," Akin wrote. "Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve."

"I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue," Akin continued. "But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election."

Statistics on pregnancies that result from rape are difficult to produce, since rape is a crime that often goes unreported. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, along with Planned Parenthood, each estimate that 5% of rapes lead to pregnancy. A 1996 study from the Medical University of South Carolina found the same percentage, adding that 32,101 pregnancies occurred annually from rape.

Akin, a six-term U.S. congressman, touted his socially conservative values on the primary campaign trail, and gained the support of 2008 presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He was one of the first members of Congress to join the Tea Party Caucus in 2010 and has easily won re-election in recent years.

The lawmaker raised a notable $2.2 million this cycle, as of July 18.

Akin - who sits on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee - has long held a hard-line stance on abortion. He is opposed to abortions in all circumstances, and has said he also opposes the morning after pill, which he equates to abortion.

A spokeswoman for Mitt Romney wrote that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and his running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, did not share Akin's sentiments on rape.
"Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg wrote.

CNN's Ashley Killough, Kevin Liptak and Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.





This moron is referencing a "legitimate rape"....what is an illegitimate rape?!?  This is what's running for public office on the right these days.  It's kinda scary that someone as old as he is really believes this shit.