the most important election of your lifetime: 2012 american general election thread

ya santorum fancies himself a deep thinker abt a lot of stuff which is p lol because hes so dumb

also just a still of his fuckin face makes me laugh; can't say the same for romney unforch

why can't biden say y'all? i say y'all even though i'm not a southerner! it's a good gender-neutral pronoun!

i content that mitt is subtly hilarious and i appreciate him a lot

i don't really get romney yet

i dont think romney gets romney either

it would be more appropriate for them to say yinz guys

pretending that Romney has the mind of a 10-year-old has helped me understand the way he's running his campaign.

http://i.imgur.com/imQG7.png

punctuating any point santorum has ever made with this kind face + raised finger combo is v endearing imo

JERRY SEINFELD: Biden Played The 'Race Card'

http://i.imgur.com/imQG7.png

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/todd-akin-legitimate-rape.php?m=1

Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill, justified his opposition to abortion rights even in case of rape with a claim that victims of “legitimate rape” have unnamed biological defenses that prevent pregnancy.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview posted Sunday. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Akin said that even in the worst-case scenario — when the supposed natural protections against unwanted pregnancy fail — abortion should still not be a legal option for the rape victim.

“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something,” Akin said. “I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

"if it's a legitimate rape"

omfg

dude is a SENATE candidate even, not just like some jackass running for deputy mayor or some other shit where it'd make headlines but not actually pose the risk of actually, like, working to form policy, holy fucking shit

from what I understand from y'all pregnancy from rape is really rare

Currently a member of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee, btw.

most of the people on twitter are talking abt that guy atm

Dear lord - does anyone actually think that?

“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something,” Akin said.

The "or something" is the most chilling part of this phrase.

"When I was 15, one of the other boys in the locker room told me that a girl has to come or she can't get pregnant. I've believed that ever since. I also think there might be teeth down there, but I've never had a chance to find out."

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lawmaker-Says-Rape-Can-t-Cause-Pregnancy-3036411.php#ixzz1plYb6Vjh

there seems to be precedent for this crazy shit...

not to trivialize how awful this is, but his delivery on the video is very dr. spaceman

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/akin%20commercial.JPG

wonderful apology enriches discourse, slyly wins votes:

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/akin-on-legitimate-rape-comment-i-misspoke

congratulation to claire mccaskill

Hopefully. She's been behind by like eight points.

Yeah, she's got a lot of ground to make up, and this guy's shitheadedness might not be an impediment to victory.

the main good of this will be if people donate to McCaskill's campaign as a result, as much as it pains me to say so. the gaffe alone won't make up five points of ground but if McCaskill can fundraise off this she'll be able to gain on him.

http://i.imgur.com/FLOpJ.jpg

fwiw

Nate Silver ‏@fivethirtyeight
Have to wait for polls, but on instinct I'd call McCaskill a 2:1 favorite in #MOSEN now. Had as toss-up tilting GOP before Akin remarks.

comments on the wsj story feature ppl saying akin is correct, pregnancy almost never results from rape

way to brush aside 32,000 pregnancies a year, wsj commenters.

during the primaries it looked v much like mccaskill was actively advocating for akin to make it to the general which is p lol and awesome

Weeks away from the Aug. 7 primary that will choose her Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has taken the unusual step of launching a new TV ad campaign that consists of three spots – each targeting one of her three best-known Republican contenders.

Her anti-Akin ad, said one consultant privately, “looks like an ad for Todd Akin.” He’s attacked as “a true conservative who’s just too conservative,” and cites his calls to eliminate several federal agencies and his opposition to “big government.”

https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/26170/mccaskill_attack_gop_072012

wow kind of hard to believe a grown man said that

i had no idea before today that it was thing that people thought

me either! what on earth!

~women are mysterious~

so true how do these lady parts work anyway no one will ever know

Currently a member of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee, btw.

― Temporarily Famous In The Czech Republic (ShariVari), Sunday, 19 August 2012 20:55 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is devastating

devastating but not surprising.

the chair on the house energy and commerce committee is joe barton, who is one of the stupidest people alive

Rep. W Todd AkinVerified
‏@RepToddAkin
Healthcare is ultimately about a person’s freedom to make the best choices for themselves & their family without govt interference. #repeal

literally caved in my skull smacking my head

do they think that raped women produce a hormone that kills the sperm or something

no -- they believe in the rhythm method for raped women

actually both, probably

do they think that raped women produce a hormone that kills the sperm or something

only if it's legitimate rape. if they were asking for it, it might be baby time. #showmereprohealthtips

what they believe in is a magic God who comes from comic books, tv shows & childhood justice fantasies, Whose Hand has mystical processes that work how they think things ought to work

Rep. W Todd AkinVerified
‏@RepToddAkin
I believe healthcare is between a man and a woman.

Rep. W Todd AkinVerified
‏@RepToddAkin
I believe the children are our future.

Rep. W Todd AkinVerified
‏@RepToddAkin
I believe in a thing called 'legitimate rape.'