Voters Polarized Over Akin, Who Touts $100K in Donations in Two Days
As U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin attempts to mend broken voter and political fences from Sunday's rape- and abortion-related remarks, what will it take for the Wildwood resident to get the election back on track? Maybe $100,000.
Perhaps it will take $100,000; at least that's a start for the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Wildwood who is vowing this week to take on the Republican "party bosses." Patch has been watching the Todd Akin online fundraising meter for the past two days. He wanted to raise $100,000, asking individuals to send in $3 at a time.
Last night, the Akin fundraising meter said he still needed a few thousand dollars to reach that goal. Today, Akin announced he achieved it and then asked contributors to donate another $25,000 by midnight.
At the same time, Akin's opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), issued her own challenge to supporters in response to Akin's.
"With Akin using his controversial remarks to grow his campaign and cement himself outside the mainstream, we need to use this opportunity to grow right now, too," McCaskill's campaign said in an email. "That's why I'm setting a $150,000 fundraising goal for today."
Many of Akin's local St. Louis supporters quietly have supported him this week, even after his comments about legitimate rape and abortion immediately caught national media attention.
Republican leaders from Akin's hometown of Wildwood and other West St. Louis County cities have told Patch they know him to be a man of principle. Several have said just because he made one mistake shouldn't mean he steps out of a race for which he was elected to run in the August primary.
Public Figures are Human—How Many Times Should They Apologize for Mistakes?
As Akin's campaign website states, he is still standing. Even after his public apology on Tuesday, his site's Home page states: "I made a mistake. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong and for that I apologize. I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities."
Akin's campaign workers quickly asked for individual financial contributions when Republican party leaders withdrew a reported $5 million of election-related funding from Missouri for the upcoming race against incumbent Claire McCaskill. His site explains a contribution-related apology in this manner:
"The people from Missouri who elected me know I’m not perfect. They don’t make perfect people. We all make mistakes. When you make a mistake you tell people you’re sorry, you don’t try and hide it. I made a mistake and I’m sorry. Unlike Claire McCaskill, I believe that working to protect the most vulnerable in our society is one of my most important responsibilities, and that includes protecting both the unborn and victims of sexual assault. We must move forward and work together to replace Claire McCaskill in the Senate. But I can't do this alone... I need your help."
jimmiebigballs
3:05 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Todd is basically a good guy. The problem is that he is the focus now, not the issues or Claire. Air Claire, who loves ObamaCare has really spun this her way....she is a horrible Senator but we have a weak and wounded candidate.
Alvan
11:41 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
Todd has shown us what is behind the GOP Christian right curtain. As Fox & MSNBC have shown us, many only believe the "facts" that fit their ideology. In line with this, Todd listened to a quack, Dr. Jack Willke, instead of calling the head of the OB-GYN Dept at Barnes (who called Todd's statement "stupid"), because Willke's views bolstered his own. How many other decisions has he made for us were of this kind? This may be the type of thinking that you want in a US Senator, but it is not mine. Science denial is central to Todd's thinking as well as the thinking of a highly influential part of the GOP - think human causes of global warming and evolution. Todd's remarks demonstrate a way of thinking and a closed-
mindedness that I don't want in a senator or congressman.
Shakespeare described Todd and many other GOP'ers when describing a character that had just put a man in jail under on old anti-fornication law. (Probably an early member of the "part of family values."
"Poor man, proud man. Dressed in a little brief authority. Most ignorant of what he's most assured. His glassy essence, like an angry ape, plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make the angels weep."
Tom Maher
2:25 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
Bravo, Alvan!
Thanks for the quote from the Bard which describes Mr. Akin to a T - I will save it.
While "jimmiebigballs" demonizes Ms. McCaskill, he does so while praising Akin - all the while from behind a crude nom de Net. I wonder if "Todd" would approve...?
George
4:49 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Where are the jobs, Todd? Another politician whose health care we pay for and a HUGE pension for life (um, don't these government jobs pay well enough, Todd??)yet doesn't want anyone else to have it. For a guy who wants smaller government, he sure wants a big presences in people's personal lives. Maybe his words should match his actions first. Then again, maybe he better figure out what the words are and stop blaming a "misspeak," when it's misinformation you're doling out.
Scott Simon
9:18 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
jimmiebigballs, he is not a good guy. Good guys are those who fall on the sword for the betterment as a whole. This is all about him. His comment, "I can still win" instead of "We can still win" is proof.
Julie Brown Patton
11:44 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Todd Akin's fundraising site currently indicates an amount of $122,350 of the $125,000 goal raised, right before midnight.
PS01
5:02 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
He will lose and potentially allow Obamacare to stand. This "christian" man will have government-funded abortion blood on his hands for the rest of his life!
Thomas Jefferson
7:18 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
Exactly.. And a commmunist country left to the next generation, will be on his shoulders too.
Tom Maher
2:27 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
"Thomas Jefferson" (oh, sure you are... wink-wink...) - where is this "communist [sic] country"? What has China or Vietnam to do with this scenario?
Julie Brown Patton
5:37 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
Todd Akin's online fundraising meter is still at $122,350 as of Friday morning at this time.
Sensible? I think so
11:36 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
"Todd is basically a good guy."
For the last 12 years, we've been paying Rep. Akin to be a Federal legislator. In his first 11 years in the House, Rep. Akin did not sponsor any bills that were signed into law. This year, he got these 3 bills passed:
H.R. 3246: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at
15455 Manchester Road in Ballwin
H.R. 3247: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1100 Town and Country Commons in Chesterfield
H.R. 3248: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 112 South 5th Street in Saint Charles
OK, so maybe Rep. Akin is not the the kind of good guy who likes to author volumes of quality legislation that might improve our Federal government, but prefers to be the kind of good guy to vote his (or his constituents' ?) conscience on what others come up with. We do pay him to represent us, after all. Rep. Akin missed nearly 85% of House votes in the 3rd quarter of 2012. And nearly 17% in the second quarter. I don't know why, maybe to work on his Senate campaign. His opponent missed nearly 5% of his or her votes in Q2 and none in Q3.
Tom Maher
2:57 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
That Akin guy, he be humpin' for the 2nd, that's fer shure...
Actually, he DID sponsor a bill for some years - an important piece protecting the phrase about "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance; of course, while being introduced by Akin in four consecutive Congresses, it has never passed the Senate (he slacked off this year with nio introduction). Those heathen librul Senators, you know...
Of course, this "good Xtian man" called out those who believed in liberalism as having "a hatred in for God."
How warm - I am castigated and have a heavy heart - right...
Sensible? I think so
5:55 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
Good point. (I just listed his legislative successes. I can't fit his 48 others into 1500 words :-)
I wonder if his legislative record had any influence on his party's reaction to him earlier this week.
D. Walker
2:43 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
PS01, When King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, did God require or expect His children from Isreal to attempt to change that government or was the example given to us that God approved of, personal individual responsibility for His children to abide by His laws as they had personal control to do by not personally taking part in the things under that government that were contrary to their faith? Read book of Daniel.
Does any of the examples given us under the new convenant give the example of the disciples or followers of Jesus going into areas under worldly governments trying to change government or change hearts of people by hearing the Gospel of Jesus? By the way, according to Scripture, God's Word (Holy Bible) ALL world governments are under the influence of Satan and it is written such will continue to be until the end when Jesus returns and establish the new government under His rule. The only thing that has changed from under the Old Convenant to the New Convenant concerning this is the responsible of Christians to make certain that they are telling others the Gospel about Jesus. God has never given us the example that His children is to atempt to change what He has already spoken can never change and will always be, (worldly governments under Satan's influence). Why do supposedly Christians such as yourself and those others who call yourselves The Conservative Religious Right so zealously work so hard doing the work of Satan?
D. Walker
2:52 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
PS01, By the way, there has never been a law passed within this government or any other that has not been corrupted with the influences of Satan. Gun laws, criminal laws, civil laws, social welfare laws, etc..., and yes even the Healthcare Bill that you call ObamaCare, we all witnessed the devil's influence in the attempts to put together a healthcare bill.