McCaskill Never Forgets

            McCaskill has not spared any time or money creating new ads for her campaign.  Last week she released three more ads attacking Akin’s comment about legitimate rape.

           

            Akin has long retracted his comment about “legitimate rape”. McCaskill’s new ad is a tough reminder to the voters of his insensitive comment, drawing further attention to the inaccuracies. Her newest three ads feature testimonials from rape victims who were offended by his remark and rejection of emergency contraception. The women describe themselves as pro-life, religious and Republican. Although they would not normally vote Democrat, they see Akin’s comments as enough reason to do so. In Diana’s ad she says, “I have never voted for Claire McCaskill, but because of Todd Akin, I will now.” The point of the ad is to suggest that Akin showed his true colors in his statement and no retraction of the comment can un-do the damage.

           

            Despite the negative press, Akin is sticking to his anti-choice beliefs. In an interview with KCMO he said, “As far as I’m concerned, the morning-after pill is a form of abortion. I think we just shouldn’t have abortion in this country.”1 It is such statements that allow McCaskill to continue making attack ads and winning over any voter with sympathy for rape victims. I believe that until he finds a more considerate way to approach the issue, he should not speak about it at all. In the mean time, McCaskill has the right to produce attack ads. 

1. David Lieb, "McCaskill hit Akin with Ads Featuring Raped Women", The Denver Post, October 10, 2012, retrieved on October 15, 2012, http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_21740469/mccaskill-hits-akin-ads-featuring-raped-women

2. "China", Youtube, October 10 2012, retrieved on October 15, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySuGj2vA8_E&feature=endscreenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlpIuI0vDbA&feature=player_embedded