We all remember former Rep. Todd Akin, the Missouri Republican who coined the phrase "legitimate rape" and spotted Democrats a huge gender gap during the 2012 election, followed by a soul-searching "autopsy report" and GOP candidate workshops on how to talk to the ladies, right? ...read more

Great news for people who love terrible news: legitimate rape is back! Republican State Representative Rick Brattin is introducing a bill in his home state of Missouri that would require a woman seeking to end her pregnancy to get written permission from the man who got them ...read more

As the GOP continues to fail miserably at reaching out to women (or anyone else who is not an old white man), Todd Akin continues to helpfully make the rounds talking about "legitimate rape," as he did in an interview on MSNBC Thursday morning. In case you missed it, ...read more

The problem with an apology that's demanded is that it's an apology that's insincere. If the world is coming down on top of you and people are calling for your head and insisting that you agree to an act of contrition to make amends for your sins, by its very nature that act ...read more

By Bob Cesca: It's inconceivable that in the 21st Century we'd be debating the archaic notion of torture in this country as if there was any question about whether it should be used. Now rape has entered the discourse, and there's a very specific reason why it's been so ...read more

Welcome to this week's edition of The Daily Banter Mailbag! Today, Bob, Ben and Chez discuss the future of the Obama cabinet; Todd Akin's latest sexist remark; and their desert island first lady choices. The questions: 1) What changes do you think might be coming in the ...read more

You've got to give it to Gingrich - the man's ability to leap from astute political timing to disastrous miscalculation is nothing short of astonishing. Gingrich was once the Republican front runner until his fantasies about moon colonies and the enormity of his intellect ...read more

By Chez Pazienza: When it comes to presenting a unified, impenetrable messaging front, there's nothing more fearsome or impressive than the GOP talking points machine; the Republicans simply know how to stay on point and move as one when they're dishing out their own branding. ...read more

I'm still currently on vacation, so won't be posting lengthy pieces on the Banter till next week. Given election season really is warming up, it's a shame not to be diving into this stuff full throttle, but I've been working flat out without a single break for almost a year so ...read more

The Daily Banter Headline Grab (via Yahoo! News): TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — His Republican National Convention curtailed by a threatened hurricane, Mitt Romney conceded Sunday that fresh controversy over rape and abortion is harming his party and he accused Democrats of trying to ...read more

The Daily Banter Headline Grab (via TPM): Before Mitt Romney appeared via satellite on an Ohio TV station WHIO Thursday, his campaign told a reporter it would prefer Romney did not get questions about Todd Akin. Fortunately for the Romney campaign, Akin wasn’t on the WHIO ...read more

By Bob Cesca: One of the prerequisites for being a political writer/junkie is a natural and sometimes frustrating inability to keep my yapper shut. Admittedly, I have a big mouth. Nevertheless, being an outspoken critic of current events and politics is especially dangerous ...read more

By Chez Paziena: Yesterday evening I popped up a quickie post over at my blog, Deus Ex Malcontent, that generated quite a bit of push-back. (For the record, it's always the minor brain droppings, as Carlin used to say, fired off on a whim, that seem to earn me the most ...read more

The Daily Banter Headline Grab (via Yahoo! News): Despite the pleadings of top Republicans, from Mitt Romney on down, to drop out of the Missouri Senate race, Rep. Todd Akin has held firm: He is staying in. An important deadline has now passed. Under Missouri election law, if ...read more

By Bob Cesca: The Republican Party is assembling its platform in preparation for the big convention starting next week. With horrendous timing, the party issued the following plank regarding abortion, via CNN: “Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration ...read more

By Chez Pazienza: I'd really like to be surprised by Republican Rep. Todd Akin's breathtakingly contemptible comments about "legitimate rape" and the inner-workings of the female reproductive system, but doing so would mean that I haven't allowed myself to be completely ...read more

By Bob Cesca: The last two days are unprecedented for the Republican Party. For the first time in memory, the Republicans have almost entirely condemned a fellow anti-choice congressman, Todd Akin, because he was too extreme on the abortion issue. This could mean one of two ...read more