Akin and his allies buy last-minute ad time

In the final days before Election Day, Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin and his allies are making one last push to flood the airwaves and win over Missouri voters, in spite of his controversial comments on rape and abortion.

Akin and the Missouri Republican Party are spending $700,000 in television ads in the race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, with $386,000 coming from the state party. Akin's most recent ad features veterans who support the Republican. "He's the one that got the V.A. to send me to the Mayo Clinic," one Iraq war veteran says in the ad. "I am living proof that he does fight for veterans and I'm voting for Todd Akin and every other veteran should vote for Todd Akin too."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which typically helps fund GOP Senate races, reportedly declined to comment on whether it was contributing to this investment. Earlier this year, after Akin suggested in an interview that women couldn't get pregnant from "legitimate rape," the NRSC said it was dropping its financial support for Akin, as did other conservative organizations. McCaskill, one of the most vulnerable senators up for re-election this year, has hammered Akin for those remarks and has maintained a slight lead in polls. Akin, however, is close on McCaskill's heels in the red state.

A conservative super PAC called Now or Never, meanwhile, announced Wednesday it's spending $800,000 to support Akin, even though the group formerly supported Akin's primary challenger Sarah Steelman. In an ad, the group acknowledges Akin may not be ideal candidate: "You don't have to agree with everything he says, but in the Senate, you can be sure Akin will vote for Romney's policies," a narrator says.

The group isn't required by law to disclose its supporters, but a spokesman told McClatchy it is comprised of 10 businessmen and political operatives who work in both Washington and Missouri.

Another super PAC linked to Republican Sen. Rand Paul, called America's Liberty PAC, is reportedly spending six-figures in the coming days as well to support Akin.

While multiple groups are helping the candidate behind the scenes, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich hit the campaign trail with Akin this week to back the Senate candidate publicly. Gingrich hosted a set of fundraisers for Akin Tuesday and on Wednesday led a rally for him in Kansas City.

"There is no other race in the country that will send a bigger signal to the moneyed Republican establishment that it is votes that matter and citizens that matter," Gingrich said at the event, the Associated Press reported.

While Akin and McCaskill remain in a brutal battle against each other, Akin this week extended his condolences to his opponent after her mother died. After slowing down her campaigning in recent days to be with her mother, McCaskill was back on the trail on Wednesday.

[ctromley]

So essentially, the party that keeps hammering us about the importance of values and principles did the right thing by turning their backs on Akin. But then when it looks like it might hurt them, they say, "You don't have to agree with everything he says...."

Well, I do have values and principles. That means I will not support a party filled with two-faced, opportunistic weasels. I count several Republicans as my friends. They're good people. Better than these politicians who represent them.

Has integrity lost all its value?

[ctromley]

Typez, do you not realize that the biggest joke against GW was that any time something would come up that made him look like a fool, he'd say, "9/11!." You're doing the same thing with Benghazi. It's called mis-direction. It's what one does when there is no rational rebuttal to a coherent argument.

Benghazi was an extremely chaotic situation. You can't "know" anything until the dust settles. By the way, Condoleeza Rice said essentially the same thing.

You're trying to build rage against a tragedy, exploiting it for political gain. I'd like to know where your rage was when it became inescapably clear that we spent a trillion dollars and killed 100,000 people to find WMDs that never existed. And to avenge the 9/11/01 attacks against people who had nothing to do with it. You want rage? I'll give you rage.

The truth about Benghazi will come out and we will fix the problems. Good government acknowledges and fixes its problems, and learns from them. It doesn't deny them and hide from them.

[usunus]

The election of the likes of Todd Akin and Elizabeth Warren to the Senate will strengthen and reinforce the Washingtonn gridlock.