Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney try to distance themselves from Todd Akin’s shocking comments on rape

Now we have Dolan praying at the GOP convention. Dolan would shake hands with the devil to gain the spotlight

At birth, Briano, when they begin to have the opportunity to become persons. In the USA, with very rare, mostly emergency exceptions, they have the protection of the law from end of first trimester in utero, which is far better than they'd have in many other places and a fair balance with the human rights of the pregnant woman.

Eiriamach, I know your position, when do you believe these entities acquire human rights?

Akin is only repeating what the GOP has been forcing down the throats of American women for the past thirty years.Romney and Ryan, both phoneys, also quietly believe Akin but are trying to fool the American electorate about their real intentions: the continuing coup against the USA begun by Ronald Reagan.

So, Phlutie, what you are trying to say in your post is that Claire McCaskell is a master politician?

I think that Paul Ryan trying to disassociate himself from his friend Todd Akin is hysterical. Ryan and Akin routinely promote anti-abortion legislation in Congress. While Akin prefers the term "legitimate" rape, Ryan prefers the term "forcible" rape. Both agree that rape is not a reason to allow a woman to have an abortion.

As predicted, the issue of women's reproductive rights is killing the Republican campaign.

The idea of banning abortion in any circumstances other than to preserve the life of the mother is now mainstream Republican policy as decided this week by the Republican Party Policy committee under Virginia Governor Bob (Ultrasound) McDonald.

Romney has flipped again and now claims his platform does not ban Abortions for rape victims, despite Ryan co-sponsoring a National person-hood bill with Todd Aikin.

It looks like the right wing and farther-right wing of the Republican party are heading for a showdown. Should be fun...

Phlutie, you're a phake. Aikin is the Tea Party's preferred candidate. All Claire did was point out he's the more conservative of the Republicans running, so the TPs flocked around him like bear around honey. BTW, politics is a contact sport; you can't whimper and cry when a person or group you've hit turn around and hit you back. That just makes you look like a baby.

The loneliness of the long distant runners trying to runaway from the party platform. What a pair of eejits.

Try all they want, they are not succeeding. Akin is only in trouble with the GOP because he said out loud what they have planned, (see bill proposals and voting records) for all women in the US. We will be voting for our equal rights to our bodies as citizens. Civil rights trumps the economy. I am not willing to doom my grandchildren's civil rights. Period.

Whatever the pregnancy rate from rape is, it does not reduce women's right to have abortion available for more than 32,000 impregnated rape victims each year. Half or more of all the females impregnated by rapists abort their pregnancies. Some cannot afford the procedure or, as children or adolescents, they do not realize they are pregnant until it's too late to abort, or they do not know how to obtain the procedure. It's every female's right to refuse to bring an enforced pregnancy to term and no male predator's right to have a law that coerces a woman into bearing his offspring. The GOP platform, written (as the L.A. Times reports) by Romney's team, includes the statement "We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children." Under such an amendment, a fertilized ovum would have equality under the law with a pregnant female, and rapists would gain the right to use female bodies as incubators for nine months after raping them! Today's GOP is light years to the right from the GOP that introduced in 1923 the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to give women full legal equality with men.

Our two presumptive nominees "distance themselves" from the all too typical remarks from their Missouri ticket-mate; Romney himself tries to "distance himself" from the proudest accomplishments of his term as Massachusetts Governor. This year's GOP banner carriers certainly are re-defining the meaning of the term "running"!

Did you read the hard hitting piece Irish Central did on Obama today, Obama finally speaks out on his friendship with actor george Clooney, and you can attend a fund raiser for $1000 a pop, how will Obama recover from hard hitting journalism like this.

The Taliban called. They want their belief system back.

I think the GOP should just once and for all agree that consistency is the best political strategy, and run on a Taliban-like platform. Religious belief trumps secular laws, only certain religious sects matter, the others will be marginalized, if not deported, and women will be reminded of their true biblical role as second class, but much appreciated citizens.