Margaret, I think my head is about to explode. Richard Mourdock, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Indiana, said that “even when life begins with that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.” Just when you think the bar for stupid has been set at a new low, some Neanderthal running for office lowers it again. As if God condones rape as an acceptable means of procreation. Mr. Mourdock’s mother must be so proud.

How many more examples do you think American women need before they realize that the current Republican Party would prefer that the Nineteenth Amendment had never been enacted? Let me count the ways…

Mr. Mourdock doesn’t believe a woman who is raped should be given the respect to make her own healthcare decisions in her process of healing, but he does think that there should be an exception if her life is in danger. Unfortunately, Mr. Mourdock hasn’t met Mr. Walsh.

Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois thinks that there should never be an “exception” rule regarding abortions for women due to health concerns because he thinks women’s lives are never in danger due to a pregnancy. Walsh said that the life of a mother is never in danger because with “advances in medicine and technology, you can’t find one instance” in which an abortion would be necessary to save a mother’s life.

Of course, God’s will to bring life forth is at odds with the magical powers of my vagina according to Rep. Todd Akin, who claims that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant. “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said of pregnancy caused by rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

It hard to believe that Akin, Mourdock and Walsh don’t have this title, but to be considered one of the “most staunchly conservative Republicans” you actually have to take stupid to a disgustingly low level like Rep. Steve King did when he told an Iowa reporter he’s never heard of a child getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest. Here’s the quote: “Well I just haven’t heard of that being a circumstance that’s been brought to me in any personal way and I’d be open to discussion about that subject matter.”

Tom Smith, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania believes there is never a reason to justify an abortion. When asked how he would argue to keep the baby if a daughter or granddaughter were to become pregnant as a result of rape, Smith said that his daughter went through “something similar” to rape: “Having a baby out of wedlock.”

And then there is Rep. Roger Rivard of Wisconsin who declared that sexual assault is a crime that is often misunderstood. He said that his father had warned him that “some girls rape easy.” He explained that meant they’d verbally consent to sex, then later accuse the man of rape. Not that it matters, but I have no idea if he believes easy rape causes a pregnancy. I bet, however, that he has equally appalling views about a woman’s right to decide what she will do after the easy rape.

It might be interesting for some of you to know that while the economy was burning, 200 Republicans in Congress, including Paul Ryan, spent considerable time on a bill that would have changed the exception language about rape to be redefined as an exception for only “forcible rape”.

I am sitting here stunned at what I have just typed. As a woman I can think of no other circumstance more hateful, more humiliating, more destructive to a woman than the act of rape… forcible rape, legitimate rape, statutory rape, easy rape or just regular old rape. How have these men risen to the level of public support to represent us in our nation’s capital? And Paul Ryan is being considered for Vice President? Good God in heaven please deliver me from this madness.

The other night, I was watching the news and that horrible Bay Buchanan came on. She was dismissive of a poll that suggested the issue of abortion was more important than the economy to women. It was just impossible to Bay – a woman herself as far as I can tell – that women could possibly think that comments like those above could be more important than what those same politicians have to say about creating jobs and improving the economy. I’ve always thought Bay had a little bitch in her, something I admire in myself. But I never figured her for stupid. You don’t have to be a genius to realize that a woman’s ability to control her economic future is absolutely influenced by her ability to control her pregnancies.

Besides being stupid, Bay shares something else in common with those jackasses listed above. They are all members of the Republican Party with a platform that calls for making abortion illegal without exception.

But seriously. If these men – I’ll go ahead and include Bay in that statement just for the sake of arugment – if these men are stupid enough to have an opinion during the election about what should or shouldn’t happen with a woman’s body after a rape, then they are too stupid to hold an elected office. And if these men have to explain their statements the next day by saying “what I really meant to say was that rape is never a good thing“… well honestly… do I really need to tell you not to vote for that moron? And if you are a women voting Republican in this election, bless your heart, you clearly have bigger problems than the economy and you really might want to consider investing in some self respect.

Before I sign off, let me add one more quote to the ever-growing list of Republican Rape Philosophers:

Mitt Romney says this of Richard Mourdock, “We disagree on policy regarding exception for rape and incest but I still support him.” Romney went even further and added, “With so much at stake, I hope you will join me in supporting Richard Mourdock for US Senate.”

Women, I hope you will join me in supporting women everywhere. Vote for the guy who was smart enough to say simply, “Rape is rape. It’s a crime.” I mean it. Really.

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