The Real 411--Koolaid-Free Politics!

Florida Police Officer Attempts To Use Gun Targets with Trayvon Martin's Facec: Gets Fired

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:05:00 +0000

What was he thinking?

Not only was it tasteless. it was an example of just how deeply held prejudice and racism exists in the hearts of people you would expect to be immune to these sins of the soul.

Here's the link:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130414/NEWS07/304140221/Officer-with-Trayvon-Martin-targets-fired

Do you think he should have been fired?

Alabama legislature votes to pardon Scottsboro Boys more than 80 years

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:40:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming...you know the rest.

Wait...some of you have no clue who these kids are. Click on the link:

Ala. Legislature votes to pardon Scottsboro Boys | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

Now tell me what you think.

Black Democrat Bribes Republicans So He Can Run As A Republican For Mayor of New York!

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:04:00 +0000

This case involves attempts to bribe Republican Party officials to maneuver a black Democrat to run as a Republican mayoral candidate in New York, a largely Democratic Party-held city. It is a bizarre plot that some believes threatens the Republican Party's diversity drive. Two Republican county chairpersons and vice-chairs and others have been arrested. Will this make the GOP less aggressive and more hesitant regarding recruiting and supporting black Republicans?

U.S. District Attorney Preet Bharara lays out federal corruption charges
against New York State Sen. Malcolm Smith and others

Check this out and come back after the jump.

Opinion: Corruption case a blow to GOP diversity - CNN.com:

Abortion clinic worker says she cut at least 10 babies | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:47:00 +0000

This story should make you mad as hell. I know I am:

This is the face of evil, greed, and callousness beyond belief.

Abortion clinic worker says she cut at least 10 babies | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

The Truth about the $220 Million In Revenue Sharing Owed To Detroit; Dennis Archer Silent

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

Everyone should read this story, which breaks down how the state came to owe Detroit $220 million and cost the city hundreds of millions more by not allowing Detroit to revert back to its 3 percent resident and 1.5 out-resident city tax.

Also note that Dennis Archer will not go on record about the deal he made with John Engler...even the Detroit City council was afraid to subpoena him.

Please click on the link below:

Inside the handshake deal with the state that haunts Detroit (analysis by Bridge Magazine) | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

Four White Accused Killers Had 3-Way Sex On Two Black Male Corpses

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:07:00 +0000

If you thought you heard it all...please click on this link:

Joshua Miner Joliet Illinois Eric Glover Terrence Rankin: Accused Killers Had 3-Way Sex On Black Corpses? | Breaking News for Black America:

This is so demonic...what do you think?

Using Racial Slur Gets NASCAR Driver Jeremy Clements Suspended

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:45:00 +0000

What did NASCAR driver Jeremy Clements say that got him suspended indefinitely from NASCAR competitions? No one is saying and apparently it was extremely offensive to merit such a strong suspension.

Check out the link below from the Bleacher Report:

NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Jeremy Clements Suspended for Using Racial Slur | Bleacher Report:

It seems to be everywhere, doesn't it?
'

Workers over 50 are the new 'unemployables'

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 04:41:00 +0000

This may be the new reality for persons unemployed over 50 years of age. Caught in the middle of the restructuring of wages in the United States, people in my age group are hard pressed to get back into the labor market.

Check out this dilemma at:

Workers over 50 are the new 'unemployables' - Feb. 26, 2013:

Fans wear KKK hoods at North Dakota high school hockey game

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:57:00 +0000

What could have been going through the minds of the three fans in the stand that wore KKK outfits at a hockey game in North Dakota?

AP Photo/ Shane Schuster

Did they think they could get away with it? I mean, really, in today's world of instant media, they had to know that someone would catch them. Also, if the story is right, other fans in the stand voiced their disapproval, thus compelling the three hooded fans to take off the hood part of the apparel.

Check out this link and come back to share your view:

Fans wear KKK hoods at high school hockey game - Oklahoma City Bullying | Examiner.com:

Detroit Not Quite Dead Yet!

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:14:00 +0000

A central theme of Chad Selweski's column in the Macomb Daily is that the neighborhoods can be razed for new development.

Here's the link:

http://www.macombdaily.com/article/20130223/OPINION03/130229719/selweski-detroit-two-tales-of-one-city#full_story

Chad makes many valid points in his column, but each one raises new questions. Just who will enjoy all these new amenities? The neighborhood residents will be gone, so who benefits from this re-engineering? Tourists? Tri-county residents who are afraid to be in Detroit neighborhoods after dark? Corporations and developers who will then build housing along the outskirts of Detroit? I think not.

Also, Chad mistakenly labels Dave Bing as an "honorable" man. An honorable man does not negotiate with 38 unions for four months, have his top people sign a tentative agreement resulting in nearly $180 million in concessions, and then walk way by not presenting that concession agreement to Detroit City Council....how do I know....I was there, for every negotiation session and my signature is the second on the actual concession agreement.

As a native Detroiter, I volunteer, and challenge Chad ( and a few of his editors), to a daytime and night-time tour of Detroit. This notion, affecting nearly 40 percent of Detroit's landmass) of "Consolidating the shrinking population into successfully functioning clusters of neighborhoods and turning much of the city’s ruins into ponds, pathways, parks, gardens, orchards and urban farms" is romantic but not going to happen after this year's district elections.

Bribing people to move into Downtown Detroit by offering offsets to mortgages and lease payments is working well for those who want to live along the rail route being set up by Penske, Gilbert, Illitch, and a few others, but creating a safe zone within Detroit will eventually backfire. I commend those men for investing in downtown Detroit, and they are surely looking for the best bang for their buck, but their plans do not include or benefit the majority of Detroit residents, who will not leave Detroit for southern Macomb County enclaves like East Pointe, Warren, Centerline and Roseville. There are some who will say that a rising tide raises all boats, but carving out exclusive, safe, resourced enclaves in Detroit does nothing for the residents in neighborhoods where services are being cut.

At any rate, I will wait for Chad's response to my offer for a personal tour of Detroit. You can see a lot better by visiting the city or Detroit than you can from the comfort of your North Avenue desk. Give me a call.

Pregnant Teen Wins Fight To Have Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:52:00 +0000

This pregnant teenage girl fought her parents, who wanted her to abort her child. She won her court battle, and will be allowed to continue her pregnancy.

Here's the link:

Pregnant Teen Wins Abortion Battle - Yahoo! News:

Your Thoughts?

White Father Rejects Black Neonatal Nurses

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:22:00 +0000

Just when you think you have heard it all, along comes some foolishness right out of the 50's.

The white father of a white baby tells a hospital that he does not want a black neonatal nurse to attend to his baby...and the hospital cooperates! This was not in the south somewhere...it was here in Michigan...in Flint.

This went on for a full month...even after the hospital's lawyer had a note removed from the chart that stated that no black nurses were to work on the baby.

There are some people out there that have no problem with the father's request.

They maintain that he is entitled to pick and choose the color of the person who would help his baby get stabilized.

What do you think?

Check out the full story below and then come back here to comment.

Lawsuit: Race-based request sidelined Michigan nurse - CNN.com:

NEW YORK'S CUOMO PULLS A SNYDER!

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 04:23:00 +0000

Critics assail Cuomo's gun deal as secret, rushed

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation January 15, 2013 that many are now saying is now some of the toughest gun legislation in the United States. Others, such as the National Rifle Association, are calling it one of the most brazen examples of trampling on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners.

The legislation limits the number of bullets allowed in gun magazines while at the same time strengthening New York's existing ban on assault weapons. It also changes the way mental health care services will be provided and extends those service for an additional six months.

Many will be tempted to compare the swiftness of this legislation to the example set by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder when he rammed through the so-called "Right-to- Work" laws in Michigan. Is Cuomo's masterful manipulation equal to Snyder's swiftness? Is this a new governance trend about to begin?

A major difference is that Cuomo's legislation passed by a majority of New York's Senate, which is led by Republicans. That can't make the NRA very happy. The state's House of Representatives has a Democratic majority, which passed it by a wide margin as well.

Look for other states to follow New York's lead. The NRA will be formidable, but quite a few poles show the American public is re-thinking its stand on gun control.

The next wave of legislative responses to the massacre at Sandy Hook will come when President Obama releases his plan to combat what many see as a defining issue for his presidency: mass killings of citizens with assault-type weapons.

What do you think of all of this? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Court voids rape conviction because the woman who was raped was not married at the time!

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:34:00 +0000

Court voids rape conviction because woman not married - U.S. News:

Is this not the most ridiculous ruling? A man sneaks into a woman's bed, has sex with her without her consent while knowing she is drunk, and the courts rule she was not raped because she wasn't married!

Please follow the link, read the whole story, and get back to us!

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue Pardons "Wilmington 10" Forty Years After Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Nine Black Men, One White Woman Pardon By North Carolina Governor

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/31/justice/north-carolina-wilmington-10/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

The infamous "Wilmington 10", a group of 1972-era civil rights activists who were wrongly convicted of fire-bombing a grocery store, were recently pardoned by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue. Perdue stated "Justice demands that this stain finally be removed."

Perdue was referring to new evidence that the group had been the target of a prosecutor who was clearly racially-biased. The prosecutor knew his star witness was lying on the stand, and even went so far as to identify jurors as Klu Klux Klan members whom he could place on the jury.

That prosecutor, Jay Stroud, searched out black jurors who fit the definition of "Uncle Toms" so that he could place them on the jury to further manipulate the outcome of the trial.

Recently discovered notes written by Stroud revealed that one juror was excused because she "associated with Negroes." It is important to note that at the time of the trial, North Carolina had the largest contingent of Klu Klux Klan membership in the United States.

The next question to be answered is whether North Carolina should provide reparations to the members of the "Wilmington 10."

What do you think?

Sperm Donor Made to Pay Child Support

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:38:00 +0000

BEING NICE, DONATING SPERM CAN ULTIMATELY BE COSTLY

A sperm donor living in Kansas has been ordered to pay child support for a child he provided sperm for to a lesbian couple.

Now, that may seem a little far fetched, but the lesbian couple broke up and tried to get on state aid. The state demanded to know who the sperm donor was so that he could be made to pay child support due to the fact that the lesbian couple could not be made to pay child support because Kansas does not recognize same sex marriage marriages. The state threatened to end the child's health care services if the couple did not give up the sperm donor's name.

The guy was being nice. The couple thought highly of him, but his undoing seems to be centered around the fact that the insemination of the sperm into the host body was not done by a licensed physician, so the state contended that the contract the donor and the lesbian couple signed relieving him of responsibility of child support was null and void.

Check out this link:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/30/16254404-kansas-demands-that-sperm-donor-pay-child-support?lite&lite=obinsite

Do you think he should have to pay child support? Leave a comment....

Right-To-Work Gives Brewer New Job Security

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:51:00 +0000

JUST HOW MANY LIVES DOES BREWER HAVE?

There’s a great deal to complain about regarding the recently enacted right-to-work laws, particularly the swiftness with which they were passed. There are a few other legitimate issues with the narrowness of the laws. But you've got to ask yourself, why didn't the unions and the Democratic Party see this coming?

After all, the man repeatedly asked them to not force his hand. Governor Rick Snyder did not beg the unions and the Democrats to refrain from pushing ballot initiatives which would enshrine the collective bargaining process into Michigan’s constitution, but he did a good job of making it clear that if they didn't, he wouldn't.

Maybe the unions and the Democratic Party did not believe Snyder when he first said that right-to-work legislation was not on his agenda and that he thought RTW and messing around with the constitution were both bad divisive ideas. Maybe they thought that if they went ahead and tried it anyway, Snyder would “nerd-up”, take the slap in the face, and turn the other cheek. Well, guess who got pimp-slapped…

The one-day lightening rod speed with which those three bills zoomed through the house was ugly but impressive, if nothing else. No debate, not committee deliberation, no negotiations with the House minority party… all of which seemingly signaled a “take that!” response to Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer’s most recent failure to get it done.

Seems like every time Brewer fails on a statewide level, he gets more job security. He failed with the affirmative action initiative, he failed with the Benero gubernatorial campaign, he failed with the 2010 Michigan House and Senate elections, he failed with the “three Supremes”, and now he will again keep his job based on yet another promise, two full years from now, to reverse the RTW legislation and the GOP grip on the state legislature. Talk about nine lives. This man secures relevancy with each instance of abject failure.

As a former union official and independent Democrat, I vehemently oppose the RTW legislation as written. As a pragmatist, I understand why Snyder had no choice but to reverse course. The word on the street is that he would have lost a great deal of support during his next gubernatorial or first senatorial campaign. It turns out he is not only nerdy, but smart about it.

After the failure of all the initiatives that would have changed Michigan’s constitution, anyone could have, and someone should have, told Brewer that judgment day was surely coming. Whoever is giving Brewer advice should give him a refund. Someone should also tell Brewer that if all you do is talk to yourself, you will certainly always agree with yourself and excuse yourself, outcomes be damned. The party deserves better leadership.

Wife Gives Baby Away To Adoption Agency While Husband Is On Active Duty

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:06:00 +0000

HEARTBREAKING STORY REVEALS DECEITFUL ADOPTION AGENCY

In one the most heartbreaking stories of 2012, Terry Archane, a military father, finds out his new-born baby, Teleah, is given away by his then-wife to an adoption agency that transfers his child to a Utah couple who, despite a judge's order, refuses to give the child, now 2 years old, to Archane.

The adoption agency knew the woman was legally married and that the consent of the father was required before an adoption could proceed. They processed the adoption while knowing that the attorney for the agency had contacted the father, who did not give his consent, which is required by Utah law.

The adoptive couple also knew all this, and were told that if the birth father demanded his child, they would have to turn the child over to the birth father. They too proceeded anyway.

The father found out where his daughter was, asked for his child, was denied, and then went to court to get his baby back. The judge ruled in his favor, but the adoptive couple claim it is "God's will" that they keep the baby.

Check out this link to the full story:

Father fights for daughter given away by his Wife

What do you think?

DPS Employee Bonus Sends Wrong Message

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:07:00 +0000

BONUSES DURING DEFICITS A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF DETROIT
PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT VOODOO ECONOMICS AT WORK

How in the world do you get a bonus when your employer is in deficit status?

Well, the emergency financial manager at the Detroit Public Schools has found a way to bring the corporate play book to a school district that won't buy books for its kids.

Depending on where you sit (a recipient of the bonus or a parent who cannot get your child's teacher to make accommodations for a child's proven disability), Roy Roberts should either be fired or retained as EFM for using badly-needed district funds for what is being called a public relations giveaway.

DPS has a "projected" 2010-2011 "surplus" of about $10 million or so...why that money is not being used to pay down its $75 million deficit escapes a lot of people. Any major dent in a deficit that large has positive financial repercussions for the entity in debt. Or better yet, why not put that money into classroom equipment, building supplies, and a fundamental learning device called...books.

For some people it is a bribe or trade off for labor harmony. For others, it is an example of how DPS got in the hole in the first place. Either way, it comes from a corporate philosophy that says that when things are at it worst, pass out bonuses, not based on merit, but based on a strategy of garnering endearment to someone the unions may now tell its members is a benevolent dictator.

Signatures Sought For Detroit Mayor Recall

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:14:00 +0000

CAN BING SURVIVE A SPIRITED RECALL EFFORT?

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is now subject to a recall effort. This recall effort is being led by a state representative who believes that Mayor Bing has left the city defenseless when it comes to the deployment of police officers and emergency responders. The Wayne County election board certified the language for the recall last month but it's just being made public now. 44,000 signatures are required to place the recall on the ballot in May and the projected costs an an estimated $500,000-$900,000.

Some would wonder why recall a guy who may not run for re-election in November 2013 anyway? him and The recall effort may actually serve two purposes: to stop Dave Bing from continuing upon his path, and secondly to send a message to whomever may run for Mayor that the residents of the city of Detroit will have a say in the governance of the City of Detroit.

A great many Detroiters believe that Mayor Bing is hell bent on giving away as much as he can before he leaves. There are those who believe that Gov. Rick Snyder is actually running the City of Detroit. A common perception is that Dave Bing is so pro-business he is anti-neighborhood resident. It is believed that he has abandoned Detroit's neighborhoods in favor of the downtown area.

A great many people I have talked to directly feel that for Dave Bing, Detroit begins at the New Center area and travels down Woodward Avenue to the University District, past the medical and entertainment centers, into downtown through the sports district, passing Gilbertville and ending at Jefferson.

The only genuinely new development abutting a Detroit neighborhood is the Gateway Project on 8 Mile. Other than that, Mr. Bing has not generated a major new project in his three years in office that is not in or near downtown Detroit.

What he has managed to do is to eliminate bus service, lay off thousands of Detroiters, eliminate human services, end city oversight of Head Start, deceive organized labor, and sign off on consent and milestone agreements that severely curtails his role as an elected official.

Trust is another issue for Bing.

Dave Bing is said to have lied when he promised he would not fire former Detroit police chief James Barnett and covering for staff affairs that would not be tolerated in the world he came from. He is also accused of lying when he said before he was elected that he would only take one dollar in compensation. He got caught being paid and using benefits five months after he began receiving them. Bing said he would not move into the Manoogian Mansion. He said, and I was there when he said it, that he would honor the $100 million negotiated concession package that his administration and the unions bargained over a two-month period late last year.

The likelihood of the recall supporters securing the required number of signatures is high. People are fanning out all over Detroit gathering signatures from residents who claim to have been harmed since his election. The signatures must be turned in in February, 2013. Stay tuned.

Florida Man Kills Youth Over Loud Music

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:17:00 +0000

What in the world is going on in this country when a man feels justified in firing several shots into a car wherein kids were playing loud music?

Michael David Dunn

Michael David Dunn shot and killed 17 year-old Jordan Davis as Davis sat in the back seat of a SUV at a Jacksonville, Florida gas station. Dunn claims he saw a gun and felt threatened. The police have not found the gun he says threatened him. To the credit of local law enforcement, Dunn was arrested the next day, after fleeing the scene with his girlfriend. Dunn fired at least eight rounds into the vehicle.

Strangely or conveniently enough, Dunn is positioning himself to use Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows persons who feel threatened to use deadly force. It is highly likely that Dunn will not get a pass using that defense, especially since there are witnesses to the shooting, no fight occurred between Davis and Dunn, and no gun was found in the SUV Davis was in.

This case bears watching, and will be followed up on in the next few weeks.

Once Again, Detroit's Mayor Unfairly Disses Detroit's Workforce On National Television

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing took another shot at Detroit municipal workers, this time on national television, stating city workers have a sense of "entitlement" regarding their jobs and benefits.

This from a guy who live in a house free from any mortgage obligation, who has a Cadillac benefit plan, who uses a car he neither pays gas or insurance for, and who has been caught lying to the same workers he condemns.

I was in the room when Dave Bing thanked city unions for working with the administration on coming up with more than $100 million in concessions. He said he would present those concessions to City Council for approval.

One month later, Bing turned his back on those same unions by refusing to bring the contracts before City Council. To this day, Bing has not instituted or initiated the revenue producing suggestions the city unions brought forward.

To make matters worse, he has laid off accountants who handle the city's money while at the same time fighting for contracts for the firm who used Bing's info to assert the city was broke. No independent audit was done of the city's finances; Bing gave Ernst&Young what Bing wanted them to work with.

Bing knows he only has a year to do his handlers' bidding, and that he can't get re-elected. Voter turnout will be different next year, and his legacy will be that he left the city in worse shape.

Election Drama Nearly Over....Or Is It?

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:17:00 +0000

Raise your hands if you are anxiously awaiting the end of the election season!

The print material is choking your mailbox and you probably would like to choke the next deep voiced political ad narrator; however, do not despair...we only have a few days left.

Thereafter, we will be assaulted with all the "pundits" breaking down every nuance of the entire election cycle...seems like that part of it will never end.

Following that, we will be told what will unfold over the next 60 days, the next 100 days, and the next four years.

Then it starts all over again as we will be enlightened as to what 2014 portends.

We just can't get away!

RACIST’S MURDER CONVICTION PROPERLY REVERSED BY APPEALS COURT

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Let me start by admitting that I am a fierce advocate for inclusion. I have served as the vice president of a Macomb County advocacy organization that is a chapter of a century-old national civil rights organization. I relish the experience and insight gained into racism in Macomb County and Michigan. However, that experienced led me to believe that a person should be judged by their individual actions, and not be stereotype based solely on their personal beliefs.

So I have caught hell last week for supporting the reversal of the murder conviction of Jimmie Nelson…a white guy who had no love for black people. That attitude contributed to the ruling of a judge that Nelson had murdered Cherita Thomas, a black woman who disappeared after having car problems up in Tawas City, Michigan back in 1980. That attitude alone is not enough to put someone in jail for 32 years.

Nelson had a bad attitude and drove a blue truck, the color and vehicle type described by witnesses as the type of vehicle Thomas was last seen in in the vicinity of where Thomas’ car broke down back.. A panel of three court of appeals judges just this past week ruled that Nelson’s attitude was not sufficient enough “evidence” to convict Nelson of Thomas’ murder. I agree with their assessment.

The problem with Nelson’s prosecution is that aside from having a blue truck, and being an outright avowed racist, there was absolutely no physical evidence to connect Nelson to Thomas’ disappearance. Her body has never been found, and there was no other evidence presented that physically connected Nelson to Thomas. Simply put, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Nelson was tried before a judge. It is called a bench trial. In these instances, a judge is the only arbiter deciding the truth of the information presented by the prosecutor. No one is suggesting that the judge ruled based on his sensitivity to Thomas’ family, the black community, or the times (1980), nearly 32 years ago. However, sometimes, bench trials with no jury can be as problematic as jury trials, especially when you have one person trying to juggle all aspects of complex and competing circumstances.

Thomas is nearly 60 years old and, in my opinion, entitled to some compensation for having been locked up for 32 years for a crime he should have never been convicted of absent the physical evidence routinely required for such determinations. Nelson deserves more than an apology: he deserves justice.

DOES RAPE COMMENT BRAND THE GOP?

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory A. Murray) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:34:00 +0000

WILL A "SLIP-OF-THE LIP" COST AKIN A POTENTIAL SENATE SEAT?

There are a great many people scratching their heads over why the Missouri GOP would stand by a guy who claims women have powerful gender-based biological weapons against being impregnated if raped.

To be truthful, the mainstream top drawer GOP muckity-mucks are distancing themselves from outrageous remarks made by Republican Senatorial candidate Todd Akin, who is being quoted as saying that

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare...If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down."

Now, if that is not a foot-in-mouth statement, there never will be one. No matter how much spin you put on it (“I mis-spoke”), it was and is a horrific statement that demonstrates, despite being a six-term congressman, this man is out of touch.

But don't count him out. Despite being derided and de-funded (by the National Republican Senatorial Committee), the Missouri Assembly still stands by him. They actually believe Akin, who just lost Tea Party Express support, can weather this storm and still beat out long-term US Senator Claire McCaskill in November.

The larger question is does this firmly brand the GOP as out of touch when it comes to women's issues? Is this really going to blow over and not affect the national election discourse to the extent that Mitt Romney's economy message is overshadowed by Akin's statement and its affect on the attitude of women voters? And truth be told, Akin's defiant refusal to end his senatorial campaign does nothing to bring Romney's campaign train back on track.

Even worse, the recently adopted Republican platform on abortion now contains no exception for abortion in cases where the fetus is the outcome of rape. Due to the blow-back regarding Akin’s statement, this party platform development will now be seen in a different light altogether. It's the political perfect storm.

The Democrats are salivating over the many ways they can politically exploit Akin's remarks to drive home their election-season message that the Republican Party is waging a general campaign against women. President Obama has been handed a gift that will keep on giving through the next few months.

To be sure, Akins' semantics may have killed his senatorial aspirations, but they have re-ignited a fire storm that could change national politics for years to come. And if Akin beats McCaskill, look for a whole new battle for the soul of the Republican Party.