You almost have to laugh watching Todd Akin. Oh, heck, I do laugh. At the convention the Missouri delegates are sore and Akin is ripping Priebus.
"Rep. Todd Akin's campaign says Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is putting a petty personal grudge ahead of the party's interest in winning the Missouri Senate seat."
"In a video posted on YouTube Monday by Revealingpolitics.com, Priebus said the national party wouldn't send Akin "a penny" even if the embattled Republican were running neck-and-neck with vulnerable Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill."
"He could be tied. We’re not going to send him a penny,” Priebus said. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has threatened to pull $5 million in planned spending on the race if Akin doesn't withdraw."
"Akin campaign manager Perry Akin took exception in a statement Tuesday."
"Reince Priebus' comments are extremely disappointing," Perry Akin said. "He claims the mantle of freedom, liberty and the good of America, but this betrays his apparent personal vendetta against Todd Akin. He is putting party power and political games ahead of the good of the country."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/08/akin-camp-rips-priebus-133521.html
What Akin and his fans seem to to realize-one of the most high profile fans being Mike Huckabee who's scheduled to speak at the convention, is that Akin is about as unpopular as is possible to get.
Claire McCaskill, God love her, is playing this exactly right. She's just rolling with the punches. Really she doesn't need to say too much and she isn't.
On the one hand her lead is still just 6.8% which is not that big in a way, considering the nastiness of his comment.
On the other hand. he has a truly abysmal approval rating, upside down by a 35 point margin-23 approve, 58 disapprove.
Still his own stubbornness-according to some GOP operatives the real problem are his consultants-is leading him to insist on this as a crusade. While the GOP still hopes he'll finally give up-Priebus' comments could not be clearer that he can count on no support-the longer it drags out the less likely it gets, and even if he were finally to get discouraged, it would be too late to properly reintroduce a new candidate.
No matter what he says about Claire McCaskill, in truth, he is her best friend. Anything he does other than quitting helps her, and every day he doesn't, he helps her.
The other question is how much in the way of "coattails" Akin is on other races, even the Presidential race in Missouri. That remains to be seen. But it will have to be some help. I myself have taking to referring to the GOP abortion plank, as the Akin Plank.
So whatever you make of Reince's position on Akin-it's not personal. He's literally an infection that can only spread.
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