Rep Steve King pulls an Akin: WTMF?!

[laurenpetro]

2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/steve-king-statutory-rape.php

Rep. Steve King, one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, was one of the few Republicans who did not strongly condemn Rep. Todd Akin Monday for his remarks regarding pregnancy and rape. King also signaled why — he might agree with parts of Akin’s assertion.

King told an Iowa reporter he’s never heard of a child getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest.

“Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way,” King told KMEG-TV Monday, “and I’d be open to discussion about that subject matter.”

A Democratic source flagged King’s praise of Akin in the KMEG interview to TPM. But potentially more controversial for King is his suggestion that pregnancies from statutory rape or incest don’t exist or happen rarely. A 1996 review by the Guttmacher Institute found “at least half of all babies born to minor women are fathered by adult men.”

The tie between statutory rape and teen pregnancy has been the subject of ad campaigns from groups like United Way.

H.R. 3, the bill co-sponsored by King, Akin and Paul Ryan in 2011, originally called for an exemption in the federal ban on abortion funding only in the case of “forcible rape.” That language was dropped after pressure from women’s advocates and Democrats. At the time, the Republican sponsors of the legislation weren’t too interested in discussing their reasoning for the wording.

RELATED: Todd Akin Says Victims of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don’t Get Pregnant
King’s comments offer a window into the thinking behind the language, as well as the general belief in the different categories of rape that provoked Akin’s recent controversial comments about “legitimate rape” and the factually wrong idea that a woman’s body can prevent a pregnancy from rape.

In the KMEG interview, King defended Akin as “a strong Christian man, with a wonderful family” and appeared to push back on those calling for Akin to drop out of the Missouri Senate race.

“I think this election should be about: How did Todd Akin vote and what did he vote for and what did he stand for?” King said. “In this case, I’m seeing the same thing, petty, personal attacks substituting for strong policy.”

UPDATE:

KMEG News Director Aaron Weiss shared the full context of King’s remarks about statuatory rape and incest with TPM.

REPORTER: You support the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that would provide federal funding for abortions to a person that has been forcefully raped. But what if someone isn’t forcibly raped and for example, a 12-year-old who gets pregnant? Should she have to bring this baby to term?
KING: Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way and I’d be open to hearing discussion about that subject matter. Generally speaking it’s this: that there millions of abortions in this country every year. Millions of them are paid for at least in part by taxpayers. I think it’s immoral for us to compel conscientious objecting taxpayers to fund abortion through the federal government, or any other government for that matter. So that’s my stand. And if there are exceptions there, then bring me those exceptions let’s talk about it. In the meantime it’s wrong for us to compel pro-life people to pay taxes to fund abortion.

[mominatrix]

A couple of things:

First, see my thread downboard about this meme... there have been politicians claiming that you can't get pregnant from rape for the last thrity years. Akin wasn't the first, and, my guess is, he won't be the last to put this garbage out there.



Also, this:

Aug 21, 2012 12:26:03 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

Generally speaking it’s this: that there millions of abortions in this country every year. Millions of them are paid for at least in part by taxpayers. I think it’s immoral for us to compel conscientious objecting taxpayers to fund abortion through the federal government, or any other government for that matter. So that’s my stand. And if there are exceptions there, then bring me those exceptions let’s talk about it. In the meantime it’s wrong for us to compel pro-life people to pay taxes to fund abortion.

Hasn't this guy ever heard of the Hyde Amendment? Because my guess would be a big fat "no".

[ttt]

WTF?

[summer]

I'm actually glad to be honestly airing out all the stupid these people think. It's good for the public to know why politicians vote like they do.

We should really hand out a questionnaire. Debates and town halls clearly have not asked the right questions.

[Deleted]

are there really "millions" of abortions happening each year?

My wikipedia chart looks like there are about 800k each year.

[wawa]

Aug 21, 2012 12:32:40 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Also, this:

Aug 21, 2012 12:26:03 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

Generally speaking it’s this: that there millions of abortions in this country every year. Millions of them are paid for at least in part by taxpayers. I think it’s immoral for us to compel conscientious objecting taxpayers to fund abortion through the federal government, or any other government for that matter. So that’s my stand. And if there are exceptions there, then bring me those exceptions let’s talk about it. In the meantime it’s wrong for us to compel pro-life people to pay taxes to fund abortion.

Hasn't this guy ever heard of the Hyde Amendment? Because my guess would be a big fat "no".

You know...Hyde ammendment or not, this stance has NEVER made sense. there are plenty of people who are morally opposed to war. Or even just specific military actions. Or hell..the death penalty anybody? We don't compartmentalize those activies for tax purposes and withhold funding because a segment of the population finds them to be immoral. WHY THE HELL IS THIS DIFFERENT??

It's all "killing." It's all tax payer funded.

[ttt]

For some reason I misread this and thought that King was a Democrat. That's why I was so shocked. I was wrong, and now it makes a lot more sense.

[ttt]

Aug 21, 2012 12:48:58 GMT -5 wawa said:

Aug 21, 2012 12:32:40 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Also, this:



Hasn't this guy ever heard of the Hyde Amendment? Because my guess would be a big fat "no".

You know...Hyde ammendment or not, this stance has NEVER made sense. there are plenty of people who are morally opposed to war. Or even just specific military actions. Or hell..the death penalty anybody? We don't compartmentalize those activies for tax purposes and withhold funding because a segment of the population finds them to be immoral. WHY THE HELL IS THIS DIFFERENT??

It's all "killing." It's all tax payer funded.

Nope, that killing is OK because it's in fighting for our freedom. Also, children killed in military actions are probably terrorists and therefore not innocent, precious lives like fetuses are. HTH.

[charminglife]

Aug 21, 2012 12:26:03 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

In the meantime it’s wrong for us to compel pro-life people to pay taxes to fund abortion.

It's wrong for us to compel pro-lifers to pay taxes that fund abortion but it is NOT wrong to compel a woman to carry a fetus to term? And hello - hyde amendment anyone?

[pixy0stix]

I feel, literally, sick.

[epphd]

"bring them to me"? Why, what the MF is he - the abortion arbiter? THE HELL!?!

[earlgreyhot]

Aug 21, 2012 12:59:17 GMT -5 epphd said:

"bring them to me"? Why, what the MF is he - the abortion arbiter? THE HELL!?!

For fucking real.

[summer]

Update 2:

UPDATE 2:

After this post was published, King’s office said he had been taken out of context.

“What he was saying was, he personally does not know a girl who was raped,” Brittany Lesser, a spokesperson for King said. “He never says, ‘I’ve never heard of that.’ There’s a fine line between ‘I’ve never heard of that’ and ‘I don’t know personally anybody who’s been raped. There’s a difference. There is a difference.”

As TPM originally reported, King’s response to a question about whether a young girl who gets pregnant should have to carry a baby to term was, “I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way.” King was not asked whether he knew anyone personally who had been in such a circumstance.

Lesser said “of course” King is aware that girls have been impregnated by statutory rape or incest, and said King supports people who have not been forcibly raped receiving federal abortion coverage under a rape exemption.

“That’s a given for anybody who understands pro-life legislation,” Lesser said.

[pedanticwench]

I'm about to have a fucking stroke, y'all.

[redheadbaker]

Aug 21, 2012 13:01:46 GMT -5 toledo said:

Aug 21, 2012 12:59:27 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

what now about dog fighting?

If you can watch video, Colbert illustrated it beautifully:
www.salon.com/2012/08/08/must_see_morning_clip_5/

For anyone who can't watch videos, Rep. King said that since we pay to watch humans fight, and that's OK, dog-fighting should be legal, too.