GOP Senate candidate accuses Dems of distorting his rape comments
(CNN) - U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said Wednesday that he is sorry if he offended anyone by saying that pregnancies from rape are "something that God intended to happen" but accused Democrats of distorting his comments for political gain.
"For those who want to kind of twist the comments and use them for partisan, political gain, I think that's what's wrong with Washington these days," the Indiana candidate said. "I spoke from my heart; I spoke with my principle; I spoke from my faith. And if others want to somehow turn those words and use them against me, again, that's what's wrong with Washington today.
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"It is win at any costs. Let's make up issues when we can't find real ones. Let's twist, let's distort, let's deceive. And I think that's a sad process."
His initial comments came during a debate Tuesday with Democratic congressman Joe Donnelly, and they prompted outrage among liberals who accuse the GOP of seeking to undermine women's rights.
"Mr. Mourdock's lack of compassion for rape survivors is callous, insulting and completely out of touch," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Mourdock became the Republican Senate nominee after toppling longtime incumbent Richard Lugar in a bitter primary fight. The Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal, which had endorsed Lugar, announced Wednesday that it was endorsing Donnelly in part because of Mourdock's pregnancy comment.
The newspaper, which has readers in southern Indiana, wrote that Mourdock's statement "exceeded extreme" and that Donnelly represented "the only rational choice for voters."
The flap erupted after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney endorsed Mourdock in a television commercial this week. In a statement issued Wednesday, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the presidential hopeful "disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views" - but Romney still supports him, she said.
The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, stood behind Mourdock as well.
"Richard and I, along with millions of Americans - including even Joe Donnelly - believe that life is a gift from God," Cornyn said in a written statement. "To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous. In fact, rather than condemning him for his position, as some in his party have when it's come to Republicans, I commend Congressman Donnelly for his support of life."
Donnelly has said he opposes abortion but would allow exceptions for rape and incest and when the life of the mother is endangered.
The controversy comes two months after Rep. Todd Akin, the GOP Senate nominee in Missouri, touched off a firestorm over the same issue when he said "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy. Akin faced a backlash from most of his own party as well as Democrats but defied calls to step aside from numerous GOP leaders, including Romney.
A senior GOP strategist said Mourdock may not face as much pushback from Republican leaders, given the limited time remaining before Election Day and the importance of holding the Indiana seat. But Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, canceled plans to campaign with Mourdock on Wednesday.
Ayotte spokesman Jeff Grappone said in a statement, "She disagrees with Treasurer Mourdock's comments, which do not represent her views." And the GOP candidate for governor in Indiana, Rep. Mike Pence, said in a statement issued Wednesday, "I strongly disagree with the statement made by Richard Mourdock during last night's Senate debate. I urge him to apologize."
And Democrats swiftly pounced on the remark. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement describing the comment as "outrageous and demeaning to women" and called on Romney to take down his ad. Democratic groups and their allies put out web videos Wednesday morning to highlight Mourdock's comments.
"As Mourdock's most prominent booster and star of Mourdock's current campaign ads, Mitt Romney should denounce these comments more strongly than he has," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said. "He should go further and demand that the ad featuring him speaking directly to the camera on Mourdock's behalf be taken off the air, and Mitt Romney should withdraw his endorsement of Mourdock immediately."
Mourdock was explaining his opposition to abortion in cases of rape or incest when he made his remark.
"I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is a gift from God, and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," said Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer. He added that he would allow for exceptions to an abortion ban when a mother's life was in danger.
Seeking to clarify his comments, Mourdock said Wednesday that "I absolutely abhor violence. I absolutely abhor any kind of sexual violence. I abhor rape, and I am absolutely confident that, as I stand here, the God that I worship abhors violence, abhors sexual violence and abhors rape. The God that I worship would never, ever want to see evil done.
"So many people mistook, twisted, came to misunderstand the points that I was trying to make. ... If they came away with any impression other than that, I truly regret it."
CNN's Kevin Liptak, Dana Bash, Paul Steinhauser, Rachel Streitfeld and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
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Let's see if Romney has the courage to unendorse Richard Mourdock. My bet is no – not this close to what he thinks will be his election. coward.
Shocking and stupid that he would come out and make such a statement if he truly wants Romney to win. Just stupid. I agree with Lar5...where on earth did the Republican party go? What happened to the party?
For anyone to twist his words??? His words were not twisted. He said rape pregnancy is God's will. Fool. Why does he have to put himself out there like that during an election?
Well I guess it was God's will for Hitler to exterminate the Jews! How any woman or anyone for that matter can vote for a Republican is beyond my comprehension!
Mourdock and Akin need to be whacked out.
I believe that all Republicans are STUPID! lets see how much air this gets with Anderson Cooper OR is he still trying to spin bayonetts & Horses, Moron just proof that all republicans even MR A. Cooper are a bunch of Clowns.
So...God's will huh? We need to run every Republican out of this country on a rail. I have had enough of Crazy!!!
This is why church and politics do not mix.
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I have noticed that the GOP candidates who make these type of comments are all affiliated with the Tea Party.
Indiana is full of hicks.
I think Mourdock has his gods and devils confused.
Anyone who says that any adverse traumatic event to a human is "God's Will" should have a bucket of dung thrown on them... Statements like this show why fundamentalist belief is a form of mental disability and reflects a very real deficiency in critical and rational thinking.. Kick him out of the congress and give him disability retirement pay, he's not fit to serve the public as a rational representative.
Are you kidding me? God's Will? What a Loon!
Funny how Ann Coulter knows the best "r" word for this lump of nothing. Doesn't qualify for being a man or anything else.
Look everyone, religion...
Anyone who says that any adverse traumatic event to a human is "God's Will" should have a bucket of dung thrown on them... Statements like this show why fundamentalist belief is a form of mental disability and reflects a very real deficiency in critical and rational thinking.. Kick him out of the congress and give him disability retirement pay, he's not fit to serve the public as a rational representative.
Seperation of CHURCH and STATE. There was a good reason for it in the beginning, I think we should keep it that way! This person needs to be voted out!
Unbelievable. And to think, this was a party I was going to vote for. President Obama, you now have my vote.
smh mourdog? im no longer undecided im voted for obama because this republicans scared me
In many states a rapist who fathers a child with his victim retains the right to pursue custody of or visitation with the child; this leads to a continuing torment of the rape victim, which is just what the rapist is after.
He's only speaking what's in his heart–and Karl Rove is some mad !
Richard must be a product of rape!!! 🙂
Using that logic, rapists are simply doing god's work.
Religious dogma makes people stupid.
I agree where is the real GOP and where did these idiots come from? Worse than that more idiots vote for them!