Monday is shaping up to be a long one for Rep. Todd Akin now that his weekend suggestion that “legitimate rape” only rarely leads to pregnancy is dominating the day’s news cycle inside the Beltway and out of it.
The latest development: Sen. Scott Brown has not only joined the chorus of politicians decrying Akin’s remarks but appears to be the first GOP lawmaker to come out and publicly call for Akin to end his campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri.
Here’s Brown’s statement (via Politico):
As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin’s comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong. There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking. Not only should he apologize, but I believe Rep. Akin’s statement was so far out of bounds that he should resign the nomination for US Senate in Missouri.
Brown, of course, is locked in a tight re-election battle in liberal-leaning Massachusetts with Elizabeth Warren. Slate’s Dave Weigel spent some time up in the Bay State recently to check in on that race, you can read his take on the high-profile showdown here.
