You know, the problem with today's web-connected, 24-hour cable channel world is that, if you say something stupid, it takes on a life of itself, and you don't really have a chance to explain what you meant to say. Case in point is Congressman...Ben Quayle.
Rep. Quayle saw 'no inappropriate behavior' on Israel trip
Oops!, sorry, I got distracted by other new stories. We are, of course, talking about the "legitimate rape" brouhaha, and I meant of course Congressman...Steve King.
Congressman Steve King Has Never Heard of Someone Getting Pregnant Through Statutory Rape or Incest
Wrong again! No, we're talking about Congressman Todd Akin, who's campaign for Claire McCaskill's Senate seat is floundering, thanks to some untoward remarks about how women just couldn't get pregnant from sexual assault, as long as it was "legitimate". Akin has tastefully apologized for his "words", but in the firestorm of criticism and demands for him to drop out (mostly from people who agree with him philosophically, but would never have the bad taste to say it) he's never been given the change to explain what he meant to say...until now.
This afternoon, Akin paid a friendly visit to Christian evangelical/Right Wing Talk Radio host Mike Huckabee (who encouraged him to get into the race in the first place), and after committing to stay in the race (nb - the deadline to drop out is only an hour away), thoughtfully cleared the air about what his real message was:
AKIN: You know, Dr. Willke has just released a statement and part of his letter, I think he just stated it very clearly. He said, of course Akin never used the word legitimate to refer to the rapist, but to false claims like those made in Roe v. Wade and I think that simplifies it….. There isn’t any legitimate rapist…. [I was] making the point that there were people who use false claims, like those that basically created Roe v. Wade.
So, there you have it. He didn't mean that "women lie about being raped, because if they were raped, they couldn't get pregnant". He just meant "women lie about being raped".
Doesn't that clear everything up?