Will Akin distract Romney/Ryan's pre RNC week?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

well McConnel and Cornyn want him out so if Romney wanted to placate the Senate GOPers he would join them publicly

If Romney is negotiating with him, then no his leverage is best maintained by not making that step just yet.

[RogueBeaver]

Romney and Ryan, among others, have called him personally. Ryan and Cornyn multiple times. TPE and Levin also want him out. Romney needs to call Huckabee and ask for a favor. There are conflicting reports about whether Akin's on Morgan- last I heard that was cancelled.

[Holmes]

It's a good pre-show for the actual thing.

[TJ in Oregon]

At least the timing of this was perfect: Everyone will forget about it by the time the Convention is over.

[Niemeyerite]

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Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

[Lief 🗽]

Todd Akin is a steadfast man of conviction, lawfully elected by the good voters of Missouri to represent them in Congress and to be on the ballot for the office of Senate this fall. That a sinister cabal of coastal GOP elites is trying to force this honest man off the ballot and nullify the voice of the people in the process, is sickening and shameful. Congressman Akin loves this country, because it is the only place on God's Earth where a man can freely express his opinion, but apparently the arrogant backstabbers at the NRC and NRSC don't feel the same way.

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

The closest parallel is probably Clayton Williams in 1990. Except what he said was even worse and being only a few days out, Ann Richards was elected Guv.

Actually, the Williams rape comments were made many months before the election and didn't cause a major change in the polls, which I guess speaks pretty poorly of 1990 Texas voters. What killed "Claytie" was a succession of gaffes, the final being his admission that he paid zero in income tax one year (perhaps Harry Reid followed that race?).

[MorningInAmerica]

Romney and Ryan, among others, have called him personally. Ryan and Cornyn multiple times. TPE and Levin also want him out. Romney needs to call Huckabee and ask for a favor. There are conflicting reports about whether Akin's on Morgan- last I heard that was cancelled.

Dana Loesch contacted the Akin campaign. Apparently he's a NO for Piers Morgan. Could this mean he's on his way out tomorrow?

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[PittsburghSean]

I think Republicans need to be more worried about putting a Senate seat on the table because of this comment.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think Republicans need to be more worried about putting a Senate seat on the table because of this comment.

I am pretty sure that is the primary consideration. No one would give a damn if this were CA or VT and would condemn the comments before sitting back and watching his crushing defeat by the Democrat.

[MorningInAmerica]

Sam Feist of CNN tweets this:

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Just a thought, if Piers Morgan is acting like he's been stood up by Akin, then maybe ABC' Chris Good is right...a non-appearance by Akin could imply he's dropping out tomorrow. Otherwise, why schedule the interview to begin with, just to cancel it?

[Averroës Nix]

The Republican response to this incident is encouraging, but does Akin have any real incentive to withdraw? I mean, if he does, his political career is effectively over. Why not stick it out and force Missouri Republicans to eat his dog food?

[Torie]

The Republican response to this incident is encouraging, but does Akin have any real incentive to withdraw? I mean, if he does, his political career is effectively over. Why not stick it out and force Missouri Republicans to eat his dog food?

 Because he will be cut off from money, and humiliated, and won't be able to get much a job going forward anywhere, except maybe from Democrats. Unless he is psychotic or an egomaniac, he's out.  Granted it is not as if I am free from doubt about his mental health, but I digress. 

[renegadedemocrat]

This is the point of the race where every little imperfection is blown out of proportion. It will distract, but it will die down by the time the Convention hits. Things like this will continue to happen on both sides.

[Likely Voter]

Romney did get closer to calling for a withdrawal, but didnt actually call for it in interview saying
""He should spend 24 hours considering what will best help the country at this critical time,"

Does this mean that if Akin doesnt drop out on Tuesday, Romney will then explicitly call for him to step down?

[Torie]

Romney did get closer to calling for a withdrawal, but didnt actually call for it in interview saying
""He should spend 24 hours considering what will best help the country at this critical time,"

Does this mean that if Akin doesnt drop out on Tuesday, Romney will then explicitly call for him to step down?

Nobody can get near this guy running for office.

[PittsburghSean]

I think Republicans need to be more worried about putting a Senate seat on the table because of this comment.

I am pretty sure that is the primary consideration. No one would give a damn if this were CA or VT and would condemn the comments before sitting back and watching his crushing defeat by the Democrat.

Yeah I agree with you. The primary consideration should be the math to get to 51 seats in the Senate. The rest of this stuff doesn't matter too much if you ask me. People are over blowing the impact as usual.

[MorningInAmerica]

According to a brand new PPP poll about to be released, this has had little effect on Akin's polling against McCaskill. Either it hasn't had time to sink in for Missouri voters, or McCaskill is just that unpopular.

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http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/08/akin-44-mccaskill-43.html#more

Akin's still leading with Independents, 45-41% (!). He's at an anemic 24/58% favorability rating, though apparently that will get you more of the vote in this poll than McCakill's 41/53% job approval rating.

[MorningInAmerica]

Also, SurveyUSA has a new poll out showing that 54% of Missouri voters think Akin should leave the race, 35% think he should stay in. 52% of Republicans want him to stay in, while 33% want him to exit.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=be5d9bf6-7675-4341-920a-8fcb71d9e9de

[Averroës Nix]

The Republican response to this incident is encouraging, but does Akin have any real incentive to withdraw? I mean, if he does, his political career is effectively over. Why not stick it out and force Missouri Republicans to eat his dog food?

 Because he will be cut off from money, and humiliated, and won't be able to get much a job going forward anywhere, except maybe from Democrats. Unless he is psychotic or an egomaniac, he's out.  Granted it is not as if I am free from doubt about his mental health, but I digress. 

He's already been humiliated, not withdrawing probably forces most Republicans to stick with him. Furthermore, it's not clear that the party is entirely united in hoping for his withdrawal. If even a few elements within the party remain sympathetic to Akin, can't he expect them to provide him with financial support and high-paying private sector opportunities if he loses?

[Lief 🗽]

Eh, Akin still has at the very least a 1 in 5 (and probably much better than that) chance of becoming Senator. Why would he drop out?

[Sbane]

I don't think Akin drops out unless he is incentivized by the Republicans. He has a decent shot at winning the race anyways and even if he loses he can scream "librul media" to the wing of the party that laps it up.

[MorningInAmerica]

Former GOP governor's and senators Danforth, Blunt, Ashcroft, and Bond have called on #Akin to quit.

Than of course, Mike Huckabee tweets this:

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So we will have a final answer on this in less than 30 mins.

[Likely Voter]

Huckabee is probably the only guy that could talk this guy into staying or going.

After his Chick Fil A thing, he has shown that he has a lot of sway with the base. I think this is why ROmney didnt fully throw Akin under the bus, in fear of pissing off The Huck

[MorningInAmerica]

Well that was quick:

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Akin is in. Ego trumps reality, as it typically does in politics.