It's Not Unusual

Repubs needed desperately to get rid of Todd Akin as a way of putting a nice looking slipcover over their extremely extremist extremism.  A bunch of 'em kicked Akin in the head as hard as they could trying to make us think he was some kind of outlier; some crazy uncle who just showed up uninvited (and drunk) at Thanksgiving dinner or somethin'.  They need us to see him as not one of their own - and definitely not of their own making.

As it turns out (and as many have suspected all along), Todd Akin is no real exception.  (hat tip =  Blue Virginia)

via MorningCall - in a post about a GOP candidate for US Senate named Tom Smith:

When a reporter asked Smith Monday how he'd tell a daughter or a granddaughter who'd gotten pregnant as a result of a sexual assault that she'd have to keep the baby, the Republican nominee told reporters that he'd "lived something similar to that with my own family, and she chose life. I commend her for that. She knew my views, but fortunately for me, I didn’t have to … she chose the way I thought."

--and--

Smith quickly clarified, adding, "Don't get me wrong, it wasn't rape,"

Smith then appeared to imply that having a child out of wedlock was similar to rape, but then quickly added, "No no no, but put yourself in a father’s position, yes. It is similar. This isn’t … but back to the original, I’m pro-life period.”

So it's pretty obvious that guys like Akin and this knot head Smith aren't the aberrations the GOP leadership is telling us they are - because oddly enough, guys like Mike Huckabee (arguably among the leaders of the party) are charging to Akin's defense, saying he's just articulating a core value of mainstream Republicans.

I think it's clear the GOP has a huge problem.  They've been pimpin' the wingnuts for 30 years to get themselves elected, only to turn around and punk 'em once they're in office.  Well, that worm's been turning at an accelerating pace for awhile now, and it could get real messy real quick.

Hurricane Isaac is a good thing, BTW, because it provides an excuse for the GOP to take this fight "indoors" - and we all know how much political parties love to make a show of their "open and inclusive process" while all the deals are made in private, and the outcome of every "vote" is known well ahead of time.

Anyway, I don't know what signals to watch for, but I'm betting this will get more interesting as it goes along.