Former congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) continued his comeback tour today by appearing on MSNBC and offering a non-apology apology for his use of the phrase “legitimate rape.”
“Legitimate rape is a law enforcement term. And it’s abbreviation for legitimate case of rape,” said Akin. The former congressman added, “If I had been choosing my words better, I should have said legitimate case of rape. And I have acknowledged that it is a poor choice of words.” [...]
“This is something that was intentionally misunderstood and twisted for political purposes,” he said.
Even if you’re feeling generous and accept the idea he merely misspoke when he used the term “legitimate rape” (and yet here he is defending its use) that doesn’t explain his assertion that the human female body has a way of “shutting that whole thing down” if it was a legit rape.
“Legitimate rape” is not a law enforcement term and “legitimate case of rape” doesn’t make it better in the context he used it. He asserted that children can’t be conceived during a real rape, and if they are it wasn’t real.
I can only imagine how Republican surrogates and campaign operatives feel about Todd Akin’s comeback tour.
