I Didn't Say It ....

President Obama, on Congressman Todd Akin's claim that there is such a thing as "legitimate" rape:

"Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we’re talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people and doesn’t make sense to me. What I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians – the majority of whom are men – making decisions about women’s health."

It’s comforting to know that one man, and one party, understands. The GOP, even after Todd Akin’s foot-in-mouth stupidity, still seems to want to ‘qualify’ rape.

This is not the party of the people.

Brian Brown, NOMs Hound from Hell, on Starbucks alleged fall after supporting marriage equality:

"Starbucks supported same sex marriage, saw their support from Republicans dwindle, missed sales projections, and watched the company lose $4.4 billion overnight and over $10 billion from their 2012 high. While executives of publicly traded companies have had a wonderful time claiming that not supporting same-sex marriage hurts their employee recruitment and retention efforts, we now have a case study in how alienating millions of customers can directly affect the bottom line of a public company and damage shareholder value."

Tis true, Starbucks did not meet its growth forecast, but sales have actually increased worldwide…World.Wide…resulting in a 19% rise in profits for the just-ended quarter.

So, yeah, Brian Brown is once again lying.

Scott Brown, the senator from Massachusetts, responding to the Todd Akin flap:

"As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin's comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong. There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking. Not only should he apologize, but I believe Rep. Akin's statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri."

When some in your own party are telling you that you’re out of line—especially in the GOP—then it’s time to move on.

Sadly, Todd Akin has gotten the support of a few wingnuts and will be staying in the race.

For now.

Kirk Cameron, former child star and religious wingnut, defending Todd Akin:

“He clearly is a pro-life advocate, and for that, I respect him...He said that he misspoke and that he misphrased something and that he apologized...I’m the kind of person that believes that I would like to be evaluated by my entire career and my entire life, not two words that I would misspeak and then later apologize for. So he’s in a tough spot.”

You’re an ass. There is pro-life, and there is qualifying rape. Two different things, moron. Don’t turn this into a discussion of abortion because that’s not what it is. It’s a discussion about a man, and his party, who believe there are such things as “legitimate” rape and “forcible” rape.

And that party is clearly out of touch.

Todd Akin, trying to salvage his political career:

"Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize. As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault. I pray for them. The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness."

Um, maybe you misspoke when you said “legitimate” but you didn’t do so when you said you had talked to doctors who told you that a woman’s body can “fend off” the sperm of their rapists so they don’t get pregnant.

That was stupid and it’s exactly what you said.

Bob Kerrey, the Nebraska Democrat who in 1996 as Senator voted to oppose DOMA when his own party refused to stand up to it, is doing it again, running for Senate with a pitch for marriage equality:

“What I usually say is, ‘Let me talk to you about the issue of homosexuality. People are born the way they are and deserve a full complement of civil rights, including the right to marry. It’s that simple. People who are opposed to it are going to have to be explaining to their grandkids: why, why, why was that the rationale? We're going to be embarrassed in 25 years.”

I hope you’re right, and I hope it doesn’t take twenty-five years.

Hugh Hefner, on marriage equality:

“The fight for gay marriage is, in reality, a fight for all of our rights. Without it, we will turn back the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time. Today, in every instance of sexual rights falling under attack, you’ll find legislation forced into place by people who practice discrimination disguised as religious freedom. Their goal is to dehumanize everyone’s sexuality and reduce us to using sex for the sole purpose of perpetuating our species. To that end, they will criminalize your entire sex life...This is a religious nation, but it is also a secular one. … No one should have to subjugate their religious freedom, and no one should have their personal freedoms infringed. This is America and we must protect the rights of all Americans.”

Word, Hef. Word.