The Conservative Leadership

Well, if you ask the National Republican Senatorial Committee [1] ...

Good morning –

Just a quick background update on the situation in the Missouri Senate race. While much of the press coverage has understandably focused on the statements by Republican leaders yesterday regarding Congressman Akin, I wanted to point out for your background that they have been joined by leading conservatives across the country who have called on Congressman Akin to step aside for the good of the party and the pro-life movement he cares so deeply about.

Below are just a few examples for your consideration…..

Radio/TV Host Sean Hannity urged Akin yesterday to reconsider running and reminded him that “elections are bigger than one person”

Radio Host Mark Levin similarly urged Akin to step aside saying this race is far too important to risk losing to the Democrats.

National Review’s Jim Geraghty observes, Who Isn’t Calling for Akin’s Withdrawal? Claire McCaskill & Planned Parenthood.

Columnist/Radio Host Dennis Prager penned a column for Townhall.com calling on his fellow pro-life leaders to join him in disavowing Akin’s remarks.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer on Fox News last night called Akin “toxic” and said “he’s got to go”

Radio Host Hugh Hewitt tweeted – “If Akin drops out and GOP wins Senate, he has career. If he stays in and GOP doesn’t win Senate, infamy and injury to prolife cause”

Author Ann Coulter penned a column in Human Events calling on Akin to do the right thing and step aside for the good of the pro-life movement

National Review editorial board called on Akin to step aside, writing in part, “Akin is a stalwart conservative and an honorable man, we regret to say that he inspires no such confidence”

Wall Street Journal editorial board also called on Akin to step aside, writing in part, “Having uttered one of the more offensive and ill-informed comments in recent years, Mr. Akin could cost his party a seat it is favored to win this November and thus possible control of the Senate.”

The Tea Party Express called on Akin to step aside saying “It is critical that we defeat Senator Claire McCaskill in November, but it will be too difficult to achieve that with Todd Akin as the conservative alternative.”

Limbaugh's on vacation so he's lost his usual spot at the top of the list.

Notice that most of them are offering the pragmatic reason that he can't win the election. Needless to say, if the seat wasn't so important to their chances of winning back the Senate in the fall, they would not have felt compelled to weigh in. Republican politicians say nutty nonsense all the time. Often from the floor of the House and Senate.

And, by the way, the new GOP platform is out. And guess what [2]?

The draft official platform strongly supports a "a human life amendment" to the Constitution:

"Faithful to the 'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed," the draft platform declares. "We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children."

Let's be very, very clear that such an amendment--which Mitt Romney has said unequivocally he would sign--would not only criminalize abortions of any kind for any reason, but also would outlaw many forms of contraception, in-vitro fertilization, and treatment of pregnant women with life-threatening conditions such as cancer. Moreover, it would also criminalize miscarriage.

This is their official position. The only detail of Akin's they didn't add in was Akin's colorful "medical" information about women's magic secretions. Other than that, they're all good.