National election cycles rarely hinge on one issue, but I think it's fair to say Republicans would have enjoyed 2012 far more if fewer GOP candidates shared their thoughts on rape. In Indiana and Missouri, for example, Todd Akin's and Richard Mourdock's public comments on the issue almost certainly cost them U.S. Senate seats.
After Election Day, the message to Republicans wasn't subtle: learn from Akin's and Mourdock's mistake and try not to be stupid when it comes to talking about rape. And yet, Amanda Terkel flags this jaw-dropper from Rep. Phil Gingrey (R) of Georgia, who apparently slept through 2012. [Update: video via TPM]
After suggesting Mourdock was judged unfairly, Gingrey reflected on Akin.
"[Akin] was asked by a local news source about rape and he said, 'Look, in a legitimate rape situation' -- and what he meant by legitimate rape was just look, someone can say I was raped: a scared-to-death 15-year-old that becomes impregnated by her boyfriend and then has to tell her parents, that's pretty tough and might on some occasion say, 'Hey, I was raped.' That's what he meant when he said legitimate rape versus non-legitimate rape. I don't find anything so horrible about that. But then he went on and said that in a situation of rape, of a legitimate rape, a woman's body has a way of shutting down so the pregnancy would not occur. He's partly right on that."
Gingrey pointed out that he had been an OB-GYN since 1975.
The Republican congressman went on to tell the Marietta Daily Journal, "I've delivered lots of babies, and I know about these things. It is true. We tell infertile couples all the time that are having trouble conceiving because of the woman not ovulating, 'Just relax. Drink a glass of wine. And don't be so tense and uptight because all that adrenaline can cause you not to ovulate.' So he was partially right wasn't he? But the fact that a woman may have already ovulated 12 hours before she is raped, you're not going to prevent a pregnancy there by a woman's body shutting anything down because the horse has already left the barn, so to speak. And yet the media took that and tore it apart."
Did I mention that Gingrey is the co-chair of the congressional Republicans' "Doctors Caucus"? Well, he is. Gingrey's also the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee's panel on health care reform.
This morning, the congressman didn't exactly walk back his published comments, but he clearly hopes to avoid a political uproar.
Asked to expand on the comments by TPM Friday, Gingrey's office pointed to a statement sent to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In it, Gingrey claims the quotes are being unfairly used by his political enemies.
"At a breakfast yesterday morning, I was asked why Democrats made abortion a central theme of the presidential campaign. I do not defend, nor do I stand by, the remarks made by Rep. Akin and Mr. Mourdock," Gingrey said, referring to the Indiana Senate candidate who lost after saying pregnancies from rape are "something that God intended."
"In my attempt to provide context as to what I presumed they meant, my position was misconstrued," Gingrey said.
Note, Gingrey didn't say he was misquoted or taken out of context, but rather, that his comments have been "misconstrued." I'll look forward, then, to the congressman elaborating on how comments should be construed.
The larger point, however, is that it seems many Republicans just haven't learned any lessons at all from the 2012 elections. They're making the same mistakes for the same reasons as if they didn't just suffer a national rebuke.
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God, please save us from the teapubs.
now That would be the true definition of Irony.
Indeed. +1
Let's turn him into a woman... and see if what he "thinks" will actually happen. What a complete and utter troll.
Gingrey's an M.D. for gawdssake. This kind of idiocy is bad enough from normal loons like Akin and Mourdock. It's beyond comprehension from a physician. Maybe his local medical society should look into revoking his license.
Ideology trumps intelligence every time .
The global warming flood will take out the stupid ones that deny climate change the same way heavy rainfall kills turkeys because they are too stupid to stop staring upward with their mouth wide open.
I don't think the nation is getting more stupid- it is simply getting less inhibited about expressing its stupidity. From the conversations I overheard of my Grandparents on both sides of the family, it was not so much that idiotic ideas did not exist- it is just that social convention dictates that such thoughts were expressed well our of public view. There was a second, subterreanean secret level of society where the dark thoughts and emotions worked their way into all activities safely out of sight, but not out of mind.
If so, maybe it is not such a bad thing that people feel much less inhibited about making a public airing of their ugly thoughts.
When rats have died in the Summer Cabin, that is what we do to make it habitable- we air it out.
The stench of this rodent death has been building up for centuries- millenia, and maybe the Body Politic needs a lot more of this public airing out of such ugly thoughts.
And Lysol...lots and lots of Lysol
Does it come in 50 gal. drums?
That is a very astute observation. "Better out than in" as Shrek says. A mutual friend of ours was always so "nice", and we kept wishing he would loosen up an not always be so uptight and polite- then when he did it shocked us and we discovered he was a bit of a b**ch... but over time he did evolve and seems to be on a constructive journey towards common sense. Discussion is ultimately a healthy thing. We all start out in such different places with different sets of experiences. Communication is the only path to finding common ground.
Of course it doesn't give me a higher opinion of the fellow in the article- but his speaking up does give me a more accurate sense of his belief system. I wish all politicians spoke more candidly- it would keep a lot of them out of office.
Hopefully
Perhaps Gingrey is operating off the information available when he got his medical education back in the 70's, and has failed to update key elements of his foundational medical knowledge by reading and working on the latest advances in medical studies and science developed since then, kinda like the way my mechanic was unable to assimulate the computerization needed to work on late model vehicles.
"For women and families, births resulting from unintended pregnancies have been linked to adverse maternal and child health outcomes and myriad social and economic challenges. Births stemming from unintended pregnancy are also costly to the federal and state governments."
But it really doesn't take much reading to get the nonsense out of the discussion:
www.guttmacher.org
As long as you have people in large numbers who make excuses for this ignorance and continue to vote for these Republicans, you're going to have these politicians working in our Congress.
I'm a Georgia resident and this state is full of ignorant people who will vote for the guy that has the "R" next to his name, no matter how stupid, unqualified, racist, sexist, or otherwise.
As long as the enablers are voting in large numbers in their gerrymandered districts, you'll have politicians who can honestly say anything with no accountability for what they do or say.
It's pathetic.
Stay Stupid, My Friend. Stay Really Stupid. (I'm looking at you folks who vote "R," no matter what)
The thing is that it isn't information or intelligence that Gingrey is missing. If you are familiar with the educational requirements to become an MD, you know there is a requirement to be able to absorb large amounts of knowledge, and to exercise that knowledge with a degree of mental agility.
My view is that he has infantile emotional views, and these views guide his thinking. He actually believes he is in a necessarily dominant position- both in the moral, biological and power dimensions- towards females.
One of my grandfathers whom I had a great deal of respect for- had this same kind of attitude. He was quite tipsy one afternoon I came over and he was curious about the women he saw out in my van (picture a stereotypical early 70s hippie VW van with a lot of happy hippie 18 to 24 year olds). It was a startling conversation. First, he was surprised because he previously thought I was going gay because of my long hair and the kind of flowing colorful clothes I wore. He wanted to know if I was sleeping with "those girls", but he used somewhat cruder words. It became clear from the way that he was talking that he basically looked at them in the same class as prostitutes. I kind of stumbled into the whole thing not realizing the dimensions, but he basically wanted to assure himself first that I was straight, and second, that he could appreciate how much fun I was having but at some time I had to get serious about finding a proper girl.
I said something I regret saying, and really we still don't have conversations about this kind of stuff. I will try to say it in the least prurient way. I was just being frank with him and remarked that it depended on what he meant. They were all friends of mine and I talked about two who were super smart and accomplished. So he began to suggest these were "good girls", but then I blurted out that if he meant oral that I had gone down on all of them at one time but if he meant being inside them in any way that I didn't feel that was right because I did not have romantic feelings for those particular friends.
All hell broke lose. I might as well have told him I enjoyed sodomizing men. First, the act obviously disgusted him, and he talked about how filthy "it" was. The ferocity of his reaction and the bizarre point of view he was expressing was dumbfounding. There were all of these intense taboos coming up- like I was talking about eating feces or something. When I listen to guys from the right talk about lady parts, parts of this conversation resurface- they are in a really weird and ugly place and I just don't know how to get anything across that yawning chasm. Anyway, so next he pointed out how degrading that act was for a man to perform, and lastly that I was not a man because I did not at least get corresponding service. After all, this was something all "bad" women did to men, and just on a cost benefit capitalism thing, he thought that it made me a wimp. Why wouldn't I be a predator and do the other stuff like others in my group did?
I tried to explain that I did the other things but only with people I loved because it was like merging with them.
He told me that I was all loused up and that all this merging talk is about being weak and unmanly and that I had gotten a lot of cockamamie ideas about the women's lib movement (he had some choice epithets that have gone into disuse). Anyway, he grew up on a farm so he went into that metaphor about what a real man does is deposit your seed like you would in the ground- its a dirty place. And the good woman is like the good ground- you have to choose wisely. of course she is beneath you but its where we all came from- besides you really do love her like the land- and she loves you and nurtures you in return.
It was as if I had taken a step into the 19th century agrarian world he lived in.
Lots of people have crappy attitudes about gender and relationships, and I am not claiming I don't have all sorts of ugly attitudes I am unaware of. The trouble with my conversation with my grandfather was that it was private, so it could really not get properly aired out.
Because he did have some friends that were far less conventional than he. I'll bet one of his friends would have set him straight at least some of he caveman ideas about sex. It's not like it hasn't occurred to people to do these things since the dawn of time.
But the domination thing- I still don't get how he made it work in his head. Because actually his wife was very dominant over him. Maybe he was just too emotionally blind he didn't perceive the truth about who really wore the pants in the family. It was such a peculiar dance to watch them together after that conversation. How could he have such misogynist feelings towards the person who was always by his side? And they were both pretty smart individuals. In many respects he was like a little boy- a manly boy that looked like one of those WWII cigar chewing tough sergeants.
Talking to him was a weird weird trip. I didn't particularly like going there and you had to catch him when he was tipsy to get him to open up.
Nonetheless I miss the guy. Even though there were a lot of dead rats messing up his mind.
"In my attempt to provide context as to what I presumed they meant, my position was misconstrued," Gingrey said.
If you read that statement carefully, it means that in attempting to provide context, he misconstrued his position.
Another white man weighing in on women...honest to GOD. Just.shut.up.
"I am going to talk about ladyparts so I don't have to defend my performance in Washington."
Why do we still have to protest this [nonsense]?
(see my avatar pic)
Escalate the ridiculousness by having House females start railing against Viagra and manparts...
Why is misogyny a campaign plank for these loons?
why do the people in his district keep re-electing him?
Because after they got control of the States it was possible to have all voters in a district be just like them.
Gotta love gerrymandering!
Gingrey's also the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee's panel on health care reform??
Like Michele Bachmann on the intelligence committee, Paul Broun member of the House Science Committee,
What can one say, except, Huh??
Todd Akin is "partially right." Does that mean a rape victim might become partially pregnant?
I know it doesn't, but when I read it I thought about The Princess Bride and the Billy Kristol line that there is a big difference between all the way dead and mostly dead.
That would be "Crystal," of course. I don't think Bloody Bill had the sense of humor to be in "The Princess Bride."
That's Billy Crystal. Don't confuse him with Bill Kristol.
Good to know that OB-GYN's in Georgia can be certified with a $29.95 certificate from the back of a magazine.
And I'll bet the magazine is "Guns & Ammo."
Or it is from the back of a Cracker Jack box.
How embarassing it is to admit that Rep. Gingrey is my Congressman! I voted for his Democrat opponent, which I hope absolves me of any other association with Mr. Gingrey! Regarding the comment, it's what we know about most GOP Congressmen -- They agreed with Todd Akin, despite their publicly distancing themselves from him!
I can hold my head high here in Missouri, where we kept Claire & "shut down" Todd!
Further proof of why I always ask what political party a doctor supports before allowing him to do anything to me. Outside of being unconscious in an ER, my rule is: No Republicans Ever.
It's always nice to have a moron like this come along and publicly demonstrate that being a Doctor is not necessarily proof of being intelligent. Perhaps he should join the Dr. Frank Burns Medical Society.
Yes, I agree ... sound practice.
Good luck finding a Democrat doctor if you live in Texas like I currently do! I'm constantly bombarded by Faux News in doctor waiting rooms all across Houston! Thank God for my Android phone and ear plugs!
Either Billy Crystal needs a better agent, or Bill Kristol is getting someone else's admiration...I'm not sure...But I am sure they are not the same person...
Ok, sorry I misspelled his name. Most days Billy Crystal is a lot funnier than Billy Kristol.
He is a sad person with a lot of anger built up inside of him. I read his Biography, he is not a dummy. But one has to ask, "Where they heck does he get his crazy ideals from?"Proof a bad ego does not make for a religious person.
What? "I'm not a dummy, I only play one in Congress?"
Soon the Republicans are going to have to gerrymander their districts to only include white Republican men.
They already have MominMI lol
It's unbelievable just how incredibly stupid these Republiturds are, they aren't going to learn anything until they are a tiny minority and have to struggle to even rent a neo-nazi hall to rent for meetings.
Why should Gingrey, and congressmen in similar positions to him, learn any lessons from 2012? He won 69% of the vote! Because of his safe district, he can say things like this with impunity. In fact, Georgia is so red, he could say them in the middle of a statewide Senate campaign and still win, unlike Murdoch or Akin. It might hurt the overall Republican brand, but Gingrey will never personally pay a political price. It's the same reason so many individual Republicans can still oppose everything Obama wants to accomplish despite the 2012 results. Their own incentive structure is completely reversed from the party's as a whole.
Which is why idiots elect idiots to represent them in congress. They want someone who will take a stand, and not budge from it. The thought of actually working together to run this country for the benefit of the people is beyond them.
We are in this mess because of the greed on Wall St. abetted by the egotistical, self serving jack asses in DC who are supposed to representing the best interests of the country.
I've taken the idea that I always want the one I call my medical doctor to be the one who gots A's across the board, not the ones who got B's & C's. Some of the "republican who call themselves doctors, but forwhatever reason couldn't make it as a doctor went into politics...a doctor running for office must be smart...or was he the C student and thats why he/she isn't practicing medicne anymore. Interesting thought especially if we can verify any of it.
We need to rename the Republican party to what it has become, the Rapepublican party.
We need to rename the Republican party to more accurately reflect what it has morphed into, the "Rapepublican" party.
The Republicans quiet agenda to reduce women's rights is very clear to me. When they say they really do not need Viagra and the like - and just need to have a glass of wine and relax - then things would be more equal - using their ideas.
To me the republicans are chasing away women voters - and women need to watch them closely. This is in regards to every election - local and national.
Sadly, we have just been redistricted INTO Phil Gingrey's district. His comments are certainly disturbing. At least he is wise enough to somewhat walk them back, but what are his true feelings? Big difference between not ovulating and being able to "prevent" getting pregnant via rape. Not at the same things.
I notice that the people most obsessed with women's bodies are those who'll never get pregnant.
Another stupid male being stupid. Shame there are so many of them and so many of those got themselves elected.
People, please elect men who know enough to keep their mouths shut when confronted with 'women's issues' and a microphone.
please elect men who know enough to keep their mouths shut
If they were to keep their mouths shut, we wouldn't know the depths of their stupidity. Let them keep talking!
The larger point is that these MEN haven't learned the lessons of the years they've lived, the professions they've worked in (a doctor for goodness sake!), the stories of the women around them... To think that the "lesson" of 2012 was to just speak more carefully is wrong .. but that is what keeps being presented.
I WANT these guys to say what they think/feel - as repugnant and ignorant as it may be. If that is what they believe then get it out in the open -- don't "polite speak" it away.
At the core of their remarks is basic ignorance about the violence of rape and the abuse of women (and men). Or the basic acceptance of that violence as somehow okay...?
It is this ignorance/arrogance that keeps things like the Defense of Women Act from gaining passage.
It is this ignorance/arrogance that keeps predators/rapists sitting amongst us -- some clothed in the suits of civility.
I hear that Norhteastern states [mostly blue] are donor states meaning they contribute more than they get back from the feds; and Southern states and western states (usually red) get back more than they put in. Yet it is reps from red states that voted down disaster relief for NJ and NY (blue states.) Maybe the next time there is a disaster in the south or west, we should determine whether they are red or blue, and if they are red, we should yield to their love of states rights and let them pay for it themselves.
Two wrongs won't make it right. Let's not stoop to their level.
Regrettably, Rhonda, one of the reasons these idiots can prevail is because we progressives always want to try to "hold the high ground" in order to keep from stooping to their level. That would be an effective strategy if the voters who are drawn to these kind of candidates were responsible, thinking people. For the most part, they are not. They laugh and call us names because to them "Holding the high ground" equals weakness and timidity. They believe that we have no teeth. We will not be able to effectively counter them unless we are prepared to "get right down in the mud" and fight them using their own methods. I wish it wasn't so...but it is.