Ah, here we are. This is the reason Republicans were uncommonly furious with Todd Akin. Tom Smith, the GOP’s very okay first-time candidate in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race
Mark Scolforo, Associated Press: How would you tell a daughter or a granddaughter who, God forbid, would be the victim of a rape, to keep the child against her own will? Do you have a way to explain that?
Tom Smith: I lived something similar to that with my own family. She chose life, and I commend her for that. She knew my views. But, fortunately for me, I didn’t have to.. she chose they way I thought. No don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t rape.
Scolforo: Similar how?
Smith: Uh, having a baby out of wedlock.
Scolforo: That’s similar to rape?
Smith: No, no, no, but… put yourself in a father’s situation, yes.
What are the odds that Smith would have gotten this question in an Akin-less world? Slim, right? Having talked to Smith before, I know what he was trying to say and understand why he said it gormlessly. But in 2010, Republicans generally escaped these questions because no one planted them in their way.
