Tag: Campaign 2012

Meet U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Ks.), aka, the Naked Swimmer of Galilee

Trish


Those are not his beautiful kids.

It was all fun and games on Aug. 4, 2011 until U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R), 36, of Hutchinson, Ks., decided to strip naked before plunging into the Sea of Galilee.

Yoder’s idea of an apology: ‘Regrettably I jumped into the water without a swimsuit’

“There’s no question there was a sense of lightheartedness and there were those who were drinking alcohol,” said Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, who was at the dinner but did not swim.

After prodding from the waiters, some of the Americans dived in. Of the 30 members of Congress on the trip, a little more than half went swimming in the Sea of Galilee.

Yoder, who’s serving his first term in Congress, was among the last to jump in, and was the only one who was completely nude. As he dived into the water naked, someone screamed that he was not wearing any clothes, according to the GOP sources.

Soon after that the swim came to an end.

This wasn’t the first time the freshman Congressman took things a little too far.

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Message to GOP Convention Goers: If You Enjoy Your Visit to Tampa, Thank a Democrat

Trish

billboard

Ruth’s List Florida is making sure those attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa know who to thank if they find the visit pleasant.

A billboard posted at the intersection of I-275 and Armenia Blvd. reminds the thousands of GOP faithful that while Tallahassee is almost 100 percent Republican, the rest of the state is not.

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Hang Tough, Todd Akin. Be Too “Legit” to Quit!

Trish
akin
Rep. Todd Akin (R/Tea - Mo.)

Here’s the deal. If, as almost every Republican of note is asking, Rep. Todd Akin quits the race for U.S. Senate from Missouri by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21, another Republican will be allowed to replace him on the ballot in November.

Republicans see a dead man walking, and are laying on the pressure to get poor Todd out. It’s not that they disagree with him over abortion, mind you. They just realize that his parsing of some difference between “rape” and “legitimate rape” leaves them at a disadvantage with women voters (again), and with that feeling that Akin says women’s bodies have toward rapist sperm: they want Todd out.

Democrats who are interested in retaining control of the Senate need to show Todd some love. Send a note of encouragement. Tell Rep. Akin to hang in there and keep fighting.

Republicans are dying to take control of the now Democratically-controlled Senate, the only thing that’s been standing between Americans and bat shit crazy for the past two years. They were fine with the tea party-backed Akin and men like him, who want to make all the choices for women so we don’t have to worry our empty little heads about them. But once Akin became a symbol of a small portion of what’s wrong with their party, they were anxious to shed him.

Among the Republicans lining up to urge Akin to quit:

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Romney Campaign Tries to Cover Up Paul Ryan’s Position on Abortion, Denies He Advocates Banning Abortion for Rape Victims

Jon Ponder

New York Times:

A campaign statement that neither Mitt Romney nor Representative Paul D. Ryan opposes abortion in rape cases contradicts Mr. Ryan’s earlier position on the issue.

The statement was issued late Sunday in response to a widely condemned comment earlier in the day by Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri, that in cases of what he called “legitimate rape,’’ women’s bodies reject a pregnancy. Mr. Akin was explaining why he opposes abortion in the case of rape.

“Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin’s statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape,’’ a Romney campaign spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg, wrote.

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Paul Ryan Co-Sponsored ‘Forcible Rape’ Bill Last Year with Missouri Tea Party Senate Candidate Rep. Todd ‘Legitimate Rape’ Akin

Jon Ponder

From left: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), co-sponsors of "foricible rape" bill
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), left, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), co-sponsors of "foricible rape" bill
As we noted here yesterday, Missouri tea party Senate candidate Todd Akin made a bizarre assertion about women’s reproductive systems:

AKIN: Well you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

This was not a gaffe. It reflects a policy position, and Akin — who is running to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill — is not alone in advocating misogynistic views on rape. Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan co-sponsored the bill with Akin last year that introduced the term “forcible rape” into the political lexicon:

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Romney Was Arrested for Disorderly Conduct in 1981

Jon Ponder

Buzzfeed:

According to what Romney told the Boston Globe in 1994, he had taken his family off to Wayland, Mass.’s Lake Cochituate, about an hour outside Boston, for a summer excursion. As Romney prepared to put his family boat into the water, a park officer told Romney not to launch because his license appeared to have been painted over. The officer told Romney if he put his boat into the water he would face a $50 fine.

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Paul Ryan Was a Vocal Advocate for Bush’s Stimulus Bills: ‘You Have to Spend a Little to Grow a Little,’ He Said in 2002

Jon Ponder

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Last week Congressman Paul Ryan was caught lying about the fact that after he voted against the stimulus bill he requested at least $25 million in stimulus funding for his district. Now, via Huffington Post, we learn that in 2002 he was a strong advocate of Republican efforts to pass George Bush’s stimulus bills:

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