it won't be because of todd akin., if you look at chair mccaskill who voted for obama care, very unpopular in this state, voted for every tax increase, debt limit increase to the tune of $6.9 trillion in the last six years, todd voted against every debt limit increase since 2009, against medicare part d, voted against no child left behind which was actually no child gets ahead, he voted against tax cuts, he has an "a" with the nra and 100% with pro life, it couldn't be more dramatic. you can say from your perspective, karen, that this is an extreme candidate but i think claire mccaskill, $6.9 trillion worth of debt, supporting abortion in most extreme circumstances puts her in the extreme category and i think most missourians who want an election not a selection by the establishment, will agree with todd akin not mccaskill. >> rick tyler, todd akin is stranger to extremities of any sort. >> great to see you, alex. >> great to see you. >> i missed you. >> i missed you too, rick. we'll see you where the fight is. >> tha

the guy who said todd akin has to get out. he put out a statement today saying that now he is supporting todd akin. the state republican party, which had expressed grave public doubts about akin after his comments about some rapes being legitimate last month, they now say they're all in for todd akin as well. even the national republican party's senate campaign committee, the guys who said we're done when they were talking about todd akin, apparently they are thinking now of not being done with him anymore. so now we know just how offended all of those republicans really were about the legitimate rape comments. they were offended enough until the deadline passed and they couldn't get off the ballot and they couldn't replace him anymore, and now they've decided they're already with the whole legitimate rape thing. the outrage just wore off. took about a month. todd akin had been heavily favored by double digits in that senate race before this whole thing started. but the latest polling out of missouri now shows claire mccaskill

has to answer for. >> todd akin in his own words.11, he said he didn't like social security. on september 3, 2011 he said medicare was unconstitution national. then he said he wants to abolish the minimum wage. said he would eliminate student loans. and on august 19th he said only some rapes are legitimate. what will he say next? >> i'm claire mccaskill and i approved this message. >> senator, now you know who you're running against. >> i do. finally, we know for sure. that it will be todd akin on the ballot in november. >> and were you surprised that he resisted all that republican party pressure, all the national republican party pressure, romney pressure, to get out of this race? >> i really wasn't. todd, i think, sees this race as a test of, in some ways, his faith. and i think he believes that this is a race that he was chosen to run by the people of the state. and i think he began this whole process very committed. and you have to remember, this is someone who has always operated on the fringe of his party. it's not that todd a

that it will be todd akin onhe aeru rith he resisted all that republican party pressure, all the nationaly pressure, romney pressure, to get out of this race? >> i really wasn't. todd, i think, sees this race as a tes, iom ys, his faith. and i think he believes that this is a race that he was chosen to run by the people of the state. and i thinke began this whole process ry committed. anu tme, is is someone who has always operated on the fringe of his party. it's not that todd and i are that far apart on opposite en, it's i'm in the middle and hs on the very edge. so he's never really had a warm tthe republican party leaders because of his extreme views. >> let's listen to what mitt romney had to say about todd akin in this race. >> people like myself who have asked todd akin to get out of the race are dngoec w vehemently disagree with what he said and believe it hurts our party and i think it's damaging to women. >> senator mccaskill, it leaves me wondering what a republican like mitt romney would do in the ballot box on the sene rac i ssouri if he was a missouri voter. >> well, we're go

todd akin certainly has not done anything to unite the party. nk after this is all said and done, if mitt romney loses this election, and todd se will be a circling of the wagons and republicans will have a long session on the proverbial psychiatrist couch to figure out what they are doing. >> if barack obama wins re-election with 8.3% and the real number closer to 11% if you count the people that left the market and we lose control of the senate, i think this republican party will have to completely utterly and totally revamp its thinking, its strategy, what it stands for, how it trends, what it speaks about, how it recruits and the total abandonment or the professionalization of the party and the abandonment of the grass roots. i think we lose races now because we don't know how to articulate conservative issues, don't know how to talk about the economy. we can win on the environment, on health care, we can win on education, but few of our guys, some do, few know how to make the win, make the winning issues. oh, no, education, that's a democrat

it shows how bad off todd akin is here.highly possible the republicans will have some talking points prepared as to why they're going to have to go back on what they said and support akin. they may do it less overtly. but they don't, they know this seat is important to them in terms of the balance of the senate and because it's important to romney. the. >> let's listen to how newt gingrich explained away saying dumb things. >> let me say something. i have occasion said pretty dumb things in my career. my wife still occasionally looks at me and says lunar colony. and i get it. but if saying something dumb disqualified you, joe biden couldn't be vice president. >> so newt is there saying you know, i've occasionally said dumb things and he proceeds to say yet another dumb thing. >> yeah. >> would you characterize the legitimate rape comment as just a dumb thing a politician said. >> no. that -- i mean, come on. that was so offensive. i mean, if that is not -- i have to tell you when he said that, that ought to be used as a slo

i will ask the first question and it will go first to congressman todd akin. the missouri senate race was thrust into the national spot light after comments congressman akin raised. to what extent this comment matter and to what context do you think voters should consider it on election day? >> i answered this question repeatedly. i don't believe that this election overall is about talk. but it's really about two visions of what america is. are we going to go down the path of greece that constantly has a bigger government and taxing more? are we going to go the path of america has always been on a path where we allow freedom, where we allow the american dream to flourish where we don't crush it under the burden of washington d.c. that's the choice of two different americas. it seems to me what a senator should be doing is taking the common sense that you and i know that's here in missouri and taking that to washington d.c. that's what this election is really about. it's not about words. it's about two different voting records that are the exact opposite. claire

he is going to be for todd akin. >> republicans turn to newt gingrich to try to save todd akin in missouri and try to save the senate. howard fineman has the latest. and it is finally explained. it turns out he stacked the crowd with supporters. and it's not the first time. >> i do love that music. i have to tell you. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. mitt romney tried to create a distraction from his 47% comments. instead he gave himself more headaches. late friday afternoon, the romney campaign released the candidate's 2011 tax returns. the romneys paid a tax rate of 14.1% and would have paid an even lower rate if they took all of their deductions. the tax returns put the focus back on the issue of tax fairness in america. romney was asked about his tax rate during an interview with "60 minutes." >> is that fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did? >> it is a low rate. one of the reasons why the capital gains tax rate is lower is because capital has already been taxed once at the corporate level. as high as 35%. >> so you think

todd akin was heavily favored in that race. after those comments in the latest polling, he is down by six. in the days following the debut of mr. akin's fake science theory about rape and pregnancy, republicans were tripping all over each other in a rush to condemn him or calling on him to drop out of the race. and why you can see why no one would want to be associated with what todd akin said, here is an important thing about everybody calling on him to get out of the race and condemning him on the republican side. absolutely zero of these national republican candidates calling on him to get out of the race were going to been the same ballot with todd akin this year. todd akin is running a state-wide race in missouri, be that means he's on the ballot in missouri and nowhere else. so while it makes sense for republicans, it makes sense for them to be saying, please don't think of me when you think of that todd akin guy, republicans in those other states are never going to share the ballot with todd akin this fall, right? republ

todd akin loves america and so do i. todd akin believes america is unique and so do i. but we have a different view about how we get to that shiny place on the mountain. we need certainty for our business community. do we get it through gridlock or do we get through compromise? i am very proud that i am part of a group in the senate that believes in bipartisan compromise. i have stood up to my party and work with republicans to move the ball forward on tough compromises that make a difference. he is part of the gridlock. where is the farm bill? where is the postal bill? where are the bills the tea party is trying to shut down because they refuse to allow them to go forward? i've worked with a long list of republican senators. all these are things i have worked on with republicans to cut spending and to make are spending more responsible. the congressman wants to go back, he wants to go back to the same policies that created this mess in the first place. he wants to go back to a policy were all you have to do is to a another tax cut for the wealthy and everything is goin

. >> we are not going to play in missouri with todd akin, i will tell you that. it will be yet to seen. >> flip flops on supporting todd forcible rape akin. on the republican akin pain in the neck. >> good to have you with us and thanks for watching. it's the fourth quarter and republicans are done playing by the rules, they will cheat to try to win the election. voters are casting ballots and it doesn't look good for republicans. we are seeing the attempts to suppress the voters and rig the game. election officials uncovered suspected voter fraud across the state. a voter registration firm working with republicans turned in forms with fake signatures and false information. republicans have cut ties with the firm, the rnc's communication director said there is nothing to see here. >> at this point having an allegation that and that mere allegation caused us to act swiftly and boldly and serf ties with the firm because we have zero tolerance when it comes to this. the other side clearly engaged in inappropriate behavior and we don't believe it's appropriate and we

joe biden couldn't be vice president. >> senator mccaskill, are missouri voters willing to forgive todd aking e e fferent degrees of saying something dumb? >> well, let me just say this. i don't think the problem is what todd said. the problem is what todd believes. that is really thessen of th race. what are his believes. and his belief s, i believe, honestly his beliefs would be painful for missourian families. the families in missouri that in be better next year gs are than they were last year. families that are working hard and playing by the rules and want to be treated fairly in every way in their lives. and this is, todd akin is somebody who, you know, gave a speech that the hate crime legislation was going to create hatred. and those kinds of views are what i think is really the problem here. nowhat he said, t wh he ev >> senator i've addressed this on this show before. i think a lot of voters who vote in solid blue states like new york, when they see democratic senators gathering in washington, they wonder why they don't all sound exactly alike on every issue and the truth is office

just like other gop senate candidates lately, it did not go well for todd akin.'s senator mccaskell from the debate. >> he has apologized for those comments, but they say a lot about how he views things. i believe a rape victim should contraception in order to avoid pregnancy. todd akin does not. i believe his view is extreme and out of the mainstream for most missourians. but there's other extreme views. he wants to abolish the minimum wage. he wants to privatize medicare, privatize social security. he wants to do away with the student lunch program. >> senator mccaskell kept going, but you get the picture. later today todd akin tweeted a picture of a woman's rally for the congressman. if it looks sparse, it's because the associated press says more than 100 people were there. a gop senate candidates seem to be having a really hard time as of late. former wisconsin governor tommy thompson complained about the effect mitt romney could be having on his own senate race. here's romney defender john sununu responding. >> my good friend tommy thompson sounds like barac

>> we're not going to play in missouri with todd akin, i can tell you that. so it is yet to be seen whether he stays in or not. >> reince priebus flip flops on supporting todd "s forib "forci akin. >> voters are already casting ballots and polls don't look good for republicans. now we're seeing the underhanded attempts to suppress voters and rig the game. for instance, in florida election officials have uncovered suspected voter fraud across the state. a voter registration firm working with republicans turned in forms with fake signatures and false information. republicans have cut ties with the firm and the rnc's communication director says there is nothing to see here. >> at this point we have an allegation. that mere allegation has caused to us act, act swiftly and boldly and sever our ties with this firm because we have a zero tolerance when it comes from this. the other side clearly engaged for a long time in inappropriate behavior. we don't believe it's appropriate. we wanted to make a swift and bold action to deal with that. >> hold the phone. the consu

today todd akin and newt gingrich managed to drag mitt romney back into one of the ugliest senate racesn the country. just what mitt needed. former house speaker newt gingrich campaigned with akin in missouri. akin is running against senator claire mccaskill. he made headlines last month when he said he didn't believe a woman could get pregnant if she was the victim of a legitimate rape. >> it seems to me first of all, from what i understand from doctors, if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down. >> if it's a legitimate rape. akin apologized, but mitt romney asked him to drop out of the race. >> i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> akin defied romney and stayed in the race. here we are. now newt gingrich claims mitt romney will simply change his mind in a month or so. >> my expectation would be in the crunch in october, romney is going to be for the entire ticket and for todd akin. how many people are going to split their ticket and have a romney/mccaskill ticket? >> the republicans, i guess you could say, are in somewhat of a bind

todd akin loves america and so do i.. todd akin believes america is unique and so do i.. but we have a different view about how we get to that shiny place on the mountain. we need rtainty for our business community. do we get it through gridlock or do we get through compromise? i am very proud that i am part of a group in the senate that believes in bipartisan compromise. i have stood up to my party a work with republicans to move the ball forward on tough compromises thatake a difference. he is part of the gridlock. where is the farm bill? where is the postal bill? where are the bills the tea party is trying to shut down because they refuse to allow them to go forward? i've wked with a long list of republican senators. all these are things i have worked on with republicans to cut spending and to make are spending more responsible. the congressman wants to go back, he wants to go back to the same policies that created this mess in the first place. he wants to go back a policy were all you have to do is to a another tax cut for the wealthy and everything is going to be fin

then todd akin won the republican primary and started talking about legitimate rape and his poll numberslapsed. now, despite the republican party's best efforts, akin's staying in this race. his website said yesterday, "i'm a women," that's how they pronounced and spelled it, "i'm a women for todd akin." and one woman picture there had is a democratic tracker. she's been following the campaign for claire mccaskill. and they replaced it with missouri women standing with todd akin. there they are standing, but there's no todd akin in that picture. he's not even pictured. with me now is dana milbank and shirra toblitz. why is this guy still able to walk before a camera and say, i want to be a united states senator? >> well, first of all, i love the idea that he has a democratic woman in his campaign photo there, because, of course, democrats are the one most enthusiastic about him remaining in the race. because he's the one likeliest to hand the seat right back to them. you know, this is maybe the luckiest man alive, because he had this horrible scandal, looked like he was going down, then

on september 3rd, 2011, todd akin said medicare was unconstitutional. aid he wants to abolish the minimum wage and august 19th todd akin said only some rapes are legitimate. what will he say next? >> so, mark this is the first time she's used that about the legitimate rape comment. what strikes you about this ad in general? >> we knew it was coming and came pretty much minutes if not hours after we all knew that todd akin was officially going to remain in the missouri senate contest. the other thing i think is quite striking potentially more damaging ads that clare mccaskill could run with the republicans and mitt romney all saying that somehow todd akin needed to step down, i wouldn't be surprised if she had an ad quoting the republicans saying that something todd akin is unfit to serve in the u.s. senate. >> we'll get you on record of having said that. we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks. let's do talk about the democrats winning back the house because here's what bill kristol wrote saying if the polls are right and if nothing much cha

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march 18th, 2011, todd akin said he didn't like social security.ember 3rd, 2011, todd akin said medicare was unconstitutional. on march 16th, akin said he wants to abolish the minimum wage. on april 21st, said he would eliminate student loans. on august 19th, todd akin said only some rapes are legitimate. what will he say next? >> i'm claire mccaskill and i approve this message. >> so, politico congressional editor martin cady joining me now. this race is going to be so mean and so hot and at this stage, mccaskill is going after him, but he's got a lot of support from the -- a lot of the faith networks as well as home schoolers. he's got mike huckabee, rick santorum. how do you game this right now? >> this race is not over. remember a month ago, everyone was just writing this off, everyone from mitt romney to mitch mcconnell to john cornyn said you have to drop out, what you said was terrible, not going to give you any money. some of the money is starting to creep back in. some of the endorsements. newt gingrich helping him out, senator jim demint

he said we should sink todd akin. steriously murdered don't look for my whereabouts. that's karl. the national republican senate committee also pulled funds from akin's race. its chairman, john corn of texas, said last weekd just last week, he had a simple answer on their involvement with akin going forward. he told "the hill" newspaper, quote, we're done. well, that was then, this is now. the deadline for akin to remove himself from the ballot has passed, and slowly republicans are rejoining the akin bandwagon, if you can call it that. the national republican senate committee, for example, said yesterday, as with every republican senate candidate, we hope todd akin wins in november, and we will continue to monitor his race as low asly in the days ahead. so have republicans decided akin isn't as bad as they once thought? bob shrum is a democratic strategist, john furry is a republican strategist. gentlemen, i have to give a little bit of help there to fury because this may be his hardest test yet. but let's go to you,

just like other gop senate candidates lately, it did not go well for todd akin.r mccaskell from the debate. >> he has apologized for those comments, but they say a lot about how he views things. i believe a rape victim should be allowed to have emergency contraception in order to avoid pregnancy. todd akin does not. i believe his view is extreme and out of the mainstream for most missourians. but there's other extreme views. he wants to abolish the minimum wage. he wants to privatize medicare, privatize social security. he wants to do away with the student lunch program. >> senator mccaskell kept going, but you get the picture. later today todd akin tweeted a picture of a woman's rally for the congressman. if it looks sparse, it's because the associated press says more than 100 people were there. a gop senate candidates seem to be having a really hard time as of late. former wisconsin governor tommy thompson complained about the effect mitt romney could be having on his own senate race. here's romney defender john sununu responding. >> my good friend tommy thomps

will mitt romney flip-flop and support todd akin?be a big reversal. >> it depends on what the polls show. right now, todd akin is down by consensus maybe 6 or 7 points in missouri. i think that mitt romney will blow whichever way the wind does. if he finds it necessary ultimately to look the other way and unread todd akin out of the party, then he'll do it. but now he can stay away from it because akin is still down. >> what do you make of newt gingrich going down and supporting this guy president bush he hasn't been in front of the cameras as of late. what's this about? >> i think newt will go wherever he's really and truly wanted. and at this point, todd akin doesn't have many friends in the national republican party. for that matter, neither does newt gingrich. so newt wants to go be a hero and savior to anyone who will view him as such. and todd akin is desperate enough to say i need you. >> he said everybody says something dumb. here it is. >> saying something dumb disqualify you, joe biden couldn't be vice president. >> is that

it said missouri women standing with todd akin. they are standing but there's no todd akin in that picture, he is not even pictured. with me now is the "washington post" dana milbank and "roll call's" shira tom brokaw let's. i love your column in the post, your attitude is similar to mine for some people y is this guy still able to walk before a camera and say i want to be a united states senator? >> first of all, i love the idea he has democratic woman in his campaign photo there because, of course. >> democrats are the one most enthusiastic about him remaining in the race because he is the one likeliest to hand the seat right back to them. you know this is maybe the luckiest man alive because he had this horrible scandal, looked like he was going down, then the conventions came and now mitt romney's in trouble. you know what that is the biggest distraction for the republicans than what's happening in missouri. all eyes are off him you can the democrats are laying low, they don't want to bring this thing up again until they hit 29

todd akin may have said what he said in august but the republican platform is basically todd akin's whichat there are no exemptions in the case of rape or incest for women who need abortions. so i think we need to take a measure of the extremism of a todd akin and tether it to a republican party that you know, is now going to come forward and support this guy? >> jennifer: that's a really great point. we could call about -- the nation could, "the war room" could, call upon the mainstream media. they don't necessarily come on "the war room" all the time but they go before mainstream media. ask them. today, you've got akin's race getting a lot of money from the outside republicans again including jim demint's super pac and tea party groups. the question really is how mainstream is that going to go? do you mainstream republicans do you, mitt romney, do you paul ryan, support todd akin and everything he stands for? that's a great point. let's daal them out on it. >> let's call them out because this is about not just -- again one candidate. it's about a party. and a party that i believe jennif