That certainly didn't take long. Just days after Todd Akin made the (completely inaccurate) comment that women could not get pregnant from "legitimate rape", the Obama team is rushing to connect the remarks and the embattled Congressman to the Romney/Ryan campaign. And who are they using to make the illogical leaps? Sandra Fluke, the law student who was last at the center of a failed left wing effort to remove Rush Limbaugh from the airwaves. The Obama team is clearly hoping for better success with their take down of the Romney/Ryan team as they continue their negative campaign.
During the radio show, Glenn pointed out that the Obama website had a new post called "Akin, Romney, Ryan" by Sandra Fluke:
GLENN: Anyway, she wrote Akin, Romney and Ryan.STU: Wait. I thought it was ‑‑ I thought the ticket was Romney and Ryan.
GLENN: No, Akin, Romney and Ryan.
STU: Akin, the guy running for Senate in Missouri that all the Republicans have asked to step down?
PAT: Yeah, he's going to be the third wheel on this.
STU: They are going to put him on the ticket, ahead of Romney?
GLENN: Akin, Romney and Ryan.
STU: Wow, that's a bad decision. I haven't done the polling on that.
While the conversation started out fairly light hearted, it quickly took a more serious turn as Glenn took the left to task for trying to take something said by a Missouri Senate candidate and tie it to the national election. Moreso, Glenn pointed out that while Akin's comments were blatantly inaccurate, the thinking that a woman's reproductive system would "shut down" during trauma (like rape) was a theory presented in the 1970s.
"When we started looking into it and if you Google that opinion and you look at things that have not come out for the last week, that opinion is out there. It's all based on a 1970s study, but it is out there," Glenn said.
And while Glenn said the comments make him question Akin's judgement, he did say that if the left and liberal organizations like Planned Parenthood had been honest about their goals, they would have used this as an opportunity to educate the public about the realities behind rape and pregnancy rather than simply attack Akin and try and take the GOP presidential ticket down with him.
"I have a feeling there's a possibility that this actually backfires on the left. Because people are tired of the smear. And if ‑‑ this guy is not a bad guy. You can say that was a dumb thing to say, that was a wrong thing to say. But as we talked off the air yesterday, if we were living in an honest he society, Planned Parenthood would come out and stood next to him and said, 'You know what? Hey, back off. He's wrong on this. But this is actually believed by a lot of people because it is actually old science that hasn't been washed out of the system yet. And let's use this as an opportunity to teach'," Glenn said.
Fluke, of course, didn't try to educate on health issues, but rather used it as a chance to attack Ryan and Romney for their views on abortion:
Mitt Romney famously says he would "get rid of" Planned Parenthood if he had the chance. And both Romney and Ryan pledge to go back to a system where insurance companies can discriminate against women and charge us more than men for the same health insurance.Akin's comments shouldn't be surprising. But this isn't about him—just like it was never about me.
President Obama has told us what he's fighting for: "I want women to control their own health choices, just like I want my daughters to have the same opportunities as your sons."
Republicans, led by Romney and Ryan, have made it clear that they want to make our decisions for us.
You can read her full statement here.