Extremists Help Democrats to Retain Control of the United States Senate

Although this registered Republican is not in favor of the United States Senate remaining under control of the Democrats, justice has been done in the defeats of two GOP candidates: Missouri's Todd Akin and Indiana's Richard Mourdock. These men, with the utterance of just a few ignorant and incendiary words, demonstrated that they are not fit to serve as among the most powerful and influential individuals in the nation.

Akin infamously made a distinction between women that are "legitimately" raped and those that are not (the rape "fakers"), and indicated the bizarre belief that a woman who has been raped can ward off pregnancy through wishing it away.  Mourdock told us that if a woman has been raped and becomes pregnant, it was "God's will." I suppose Mr. Mourdock would also consider it God's will that a precious child was fatally mauled by painted dogs at the Pittsburgh Zoo as his mother and horrified onlookers looked on helplessly.

Messrs. Akin and Mourdock were originally expected to win their races handily, but failed to do so because they inserted foot into mouth, demonstrating themselves to be more closely linked to a caveman mentality than to any political party of the twenty-first century.

Representative Akin was urged to withdraw from his race, including by many prominent GOP members, but he defiantly and arrogantly refused, demonstrating a belief that he is more important than party and country. Most shamefully, some members of the party lent support to his campaign after his obstinacy kept him on the ballot.

Despite my desire for the Republican ideals of limited government, minimal taxation, and swift and stern punishment for heinous criminals to prevail, I could not have voted for a Todd Akin or Richard Mourdock. It is fortunate for the American people and for our nation's reputation in the world that they were repudiated at the polls. Either of them would have been a cancer on the Senate and a continuing affront, particularly to women, notwithstanding any laudable initiatives they might have proposed.

If the GOP wishes to perform some soul-searching to determine why it failed in this election, it should begin by taking a long, hard look at the extremism inherent in those like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock.