Maybe They Should Have Stood By Akin

It was just a few months ago that Mr. Akin became a national name by stating that women that are “legitimately” raped will not have child—something that he has since apologized for.  That hasn’t stopped it from being the source of a lot of jokes and derision or even being used in campaign ads against Republicans.

I mean, even multiple states away, in New York, former Congressman Dan Muffei is using Akin and trying to attach him and what he said to try to better his chances against incumbent Congresswoman Ann Marie Merkle—I just saw the ad this past Sunday!

Despite calls from within and without of the Republican party, Akin decided to stay in the race.  He lost a huge lead and what was considered a “sure thing,” but the funny thing is that he is still in this:

Akin remains slightly behind McCaskill in most recent polls (the RCP Average has her ahead by 5.3 points), but his campaign says its internal polling shows him in the lead.

Though Akin’s controversial comments and hard-right stance on social issues may have effectively ended his bid in other areas of the country, his aides say they have not disqualified him in Missouri, a state that has trended hard to the right in recent years.

[Real Clear Politics: Akin Calls GOP’s Bluff, But Can He Win?]

So why is he winning?  To me, it’s a number of things:

• Some people accepted his apology.
• Obama is very unpopular, and McCaskill is very attached to Obama (because of her own alignment with him).
• People are more focused on other topics.

I mean, for people of that state, they’ve probably moved on to other topics because of saturation of that one.

So, it is beginning to look to me that the GOP should have circled the wagons and gone after the critics instead of joining the chorus calling for him to get out.