Obviously, Mourdock's opponent pounced on the quote. "The God I believe in and the God I know most Hoosiers believe in, does not intend for rape to happen -- ever," Donnelly (D) said in a statement. "What Mr. Mourdock said is shocking, and it is stunning that he would be so disrespectful to survivors of rape." Disrespectful indeed. Is it more disrespectful that saying "some girls rape easy," like Republican state representative Roger Rivard said a couple of weeks ago? Or how about Congressman Todd Akin saying that it's rare for women to get pregnant from "legitimate rape?" Who knows any more -- these offensive rape comments are really starting to pile up!

As we mentioned earlier, though, Mourdock's statement really puts Romney in a bind. Not long after the "gift from God" quotes made headlines, Romney's press secretary Andrea Saul said in a statement, "Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views." She would not say whether or not Romney's endorsement of Mourdock still stands. Things get even more complicated for Romney when you take into consideration Paul Ryan's endorsement of Mourdock. "Please, please send us Richard Mourdock," Ryan said according to Mourdock's campaign materials. "We NEED this man in the United States Senate."

Mourdock, understandably, has been quick to defend himself against the backlash. "What I said was, in answering the question form my position of faith, I said I believe that God creates life. I believe that as wholly and as fully as I can believe it. That God creates life," he said in a post-debate press conference. "Are you trying to suggest that somehow I think that God pre-ordained rape? No, I don't think that. That's sick. Twisted. That's not even close to what I said. What I said is that God creates life."

We'll just leave you with the original quote. One last time" "I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," said Mourdock. Is this the man we NEED in the Senate?

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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