Monday, August 20, 2012

Empty threats from RNC, Rove

Following the Todd Akin "legitimate rape" fiasco, national Republican organizations are pulling their funding from Akin's Missouri campaign for Senate.  Akin won the recent Republican primary by  carrying much of the Tea Party vote, so he owns the Republican line on the ballot.  SuperPACs and national committees are trying to force Akin out of the race so someone else's name can get the coveted 'R' in a red state.

But Akin has no reason to go anywhere.  Withdrawing under these circumstances ends his career, but if he holds on and wins, which is at least possible enough to merit discussion, he's likely got a powerful job for life.  So what's his motivation to get out of the race?  And it could very well be the case that his race will decide who controls the Senate.  If it's the middle of October and Akin is looking like the 51st GOP Senator, Karl Rove & Co will be back.

1 comment:

nyb said...

Highly unlikely that he'd be elected after a comment like that. The militant anti-abortionists are a much smaller group in the party than they appear (since they make lots of noise).