Governor Garrett
The Texas anti-abortion law specifically does NOT allow rape as justifying abortion. Some Republican candidates take a laissez faire approach to rape in general.
When Todd Akin was running for the US Senate from Missouri two years ago, he said, “Legitimate rape cannot cause pregnancy. The female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down.”
In other words, a pregnant woman claiming rape is lying. Rape kit results, vaginal bruising, eyewitnesses, and testimony under oath don’t matter. A clever defense lawyer can claim, “My client is innocent of this so-called rape. Clearly, the woman is pregnant. It must have been consensual.”
Even many Republicans were appalled by Todd’s statement. He lost in a landslide.
The political winds may be blowing in another direction in 2022. Republicans await the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade with bated breath and lots of “campaign contributions”. The Supremes will likely toss abortion law back to the states. The GOP needs as many governorships as possible.
Garrett Soldano is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan. When asked if he would support abortion restrictions like those in Texas if he were elected, he said, “Life begins at conception. How about we start inspiring women in the culture to let them understand and know how heroic they are and how unbelievable they are that God put them in this moment. They don’t know if that little baby inside them may be the next president, maybe the next person who changes humanity.”
In other words, if a woman becomes pregnant after rape, it is God’s doing. God set up the whole thing. That baby may be the next Ronald Reagan, the next Dick Cheney.
Garrett’s message is resounding in Michigan. A video of his remarks racked up over 400,000 views. Though he has never been elected to any political office, he has the second largest campaign war chest of the eleven GOP gubernatorial candidates. Garrett certainly has the rapist vote locked up.
No matter how well the GOP gerrymanders elections so that white men remain in charge, half the electorate are women. Crap like that spewed by Todd Akins and Garrett Soldano will not get their vote.
By Ed Dufton
