The Slatest

Karl Rove on Monday suggested that Rep. Todd Akin won't just lose this November's battle with Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, he'll lose by a wider margin than any GOP Senate candidate in recent history.

"I know Todd. He’s a good man. He has a good heart," Rove told Politico's Mike Allen at preconvention media event in Tampa, Fla. "But he said a real stupid, indefensible thing from which there’s no recovery. And if he really cares about the values of conservatism and pro-life, then he will not go down in defeat with the biggest loss of any Republican candidate for Senate in the modern history."

Rove has made no secret that he wants Akin to abandon his campaign and clear the way for another Republican to challenge McCaskill. American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the conservative super PAC and the affiliated nonprofit Rove helped found, were quick to sever financial support for the Missouri Republican in the wake of his "legitimate rape" comment.