Todd Akin Could Use a New Web Guy
Like promised, Todd Akin let the 5 p.m. local deadline pass. Now that he's officially still around, Akin is trying to use his website and social media to get support. Instead, he's only managing to further alienate himself from the rest of the Republican party and make himself look silly.
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Akin is accusing the "liberal elitist media" of trying to get him to drop out, despite apologizing, in a post on Facebook. He charges the liberal media are trying to get him off the ticket, and then asks supporters to visit a new page on his website and give a small donation and to put their signature to show their support. At press, the page has 2168 signatures.
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Except the calls for him to drop out are coming mostly from inside the Republican party. Mitt Romney, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, Scott Brown, Mitch McConnell have all called for him to drop out. Those aren't small Republican potatoes.
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Akin had particularly strong words for Mitt Romney. Romney said Akin should quit the Senate race just three hours before the deadline. Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski has the audio of Akin asking "Why Couldn't He Run His Race And I Run Mine?" to Sean Hannity later on Tuesday. Kaczynski is seriously enjoying Akin's "liberal media elite" comments, asking an Akin spokesman if Romney and Priebus count as crazy left-y journalists.
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Akin's Tuesday evening media rush began early with hilarious website troubles. When Akin first launched the page for his donation page, the page had multiple typos and a picture of a fetus next to where you submit your information. There was a typo in the headline when it was first put up. Akin used "your" when he should have used "you're." It was updated three times, at one point fixing one typo and adding another, before the copy was clean and the picture of the fetus was removed.
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And the charge that any media member on either side of the spectrum would want Akin out of the race is ludicrous. The guy is constantly producing new material for bloggers and journalists to work with. As Mother Jones' Tim Murphy tweeted, and Politico's Dave Weigel retweeted, shortly after the deadline, "RELEASE THE AKIN" Not exactly the joke someone trying to get you to drop out of a race would make, is it? Akin is going to continue, and he's going to say things, and journalists and bloggers are going to cling to him. Akin isn't going away. He's a national story now. We're stuck with him.
But, as Daily Intel's Dan Amira points out, all hope is not lost. There is still a chance Akin won't be on the ballot in November, but he'll have to pay the cost if he wants to quit, now. Akin only need court approval, and it's free if you want it, to drop out. The deadline is September 25. If he wants to go this route, the catch is he has to pay to get the ballots reprinted.
