***UPDATE: AUDIO ADDED*** Karl Rove, please stop smearing Steve King

I was listening to Hannity’s radio show on the way home and heard Karl Rove accuse Steve King of, just yesterday, refusing to disavow Todd Akin’s remarks on legitimate/illegitimate rape. He said that’s one of the reasons he thinks King will be a bad candidate for Senate in Iowa.

UPDATE: Here’s the audio and partial transcript of Karl Rove from from Hannity’s radio show:

ROVE: Now look, I must admit my personal view is he’s not a particularly strong candidate. He ran behind Mitt Romney in the most Republican district in Iowa. That just is unimaginable for a sitting Congressman who’s supposedly been able to build a lot of bridges across the line.

And I do, I personally do think he’s got some problems.

Yesterday he said he would not disavow Todd Akin’s comment that a woman’s body has the ability to distinguish between a legitimate and an illegitimate rape – whatever that means.

HANNITY: Steve King said that?

ROVE: Steve King said that YESTERDAY. YESTERDAY.

And look, he’s a strong member. But first of all there’s a sign of weakness here. When you’re a sitting Republican member of Congress and you’re running behind Mitt Romney as he’s losing the country by 3 points and by losing your state by whatever it was, 6 or 7 or 8, that ain’t a good sign for your future candidacy.

And second of all, when you refuse to distance yourself from a comment a lot of people in Iowa, especially women, are going to find obnoxious, it makes me worried.

But that’s not what happened at all. Here’s The Hill’s report on it:

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Wednesday he considers former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) a “friend” and told a radio interviewer he would not disavow the former GOP Senate candidate over his controversial comments on “legitimate rape” and abortion.

King, who is considering a Senate run in Iowa, neither embraced nor disagreed with Akin’s comments while speaking on the nationally syndicated Andrea Tantaros show.

“Well, I had never heard of that theory before it was uttered in Missouri. I have not seen anything come out since that, so I know nothing about that theory,” King said when Tantaros pressed him on whether he agreed with Akin’s comments.

“What I have said is that I’ve served here in Congress with Todd Akin. He was a friend going in, he’ll be a friend coming out. But what happened in Missouri isn’t relevant to what goes on here in Iowa.”

Steve King won’t disavow the man, Todd Akin, because he considers him a friend. He said he knows nothing about that ‘theory’ that Akin spouted and obviously didn’t support it. But as far as the man he’s served with, he considers him a friend and won’t let the media force him to do something he knows isn’t right.

But instead of reporting it accurately, Rove basically smears him. If Rove is as good as people tell him he is, perhaps he’d bother to get the details correct because there’s a world of difference between disavowing a friend and disavowing something that friend said.

But I have another question. What the heck is Andrea Tantaros even asking Steve King about this for in the first place? Is she trying to create division? C’mon Andrea, stop acting like a Lefty and focus on issues of substance.

One last beef with Karl. I’ve heard in interview after interview Karl lump Richard Mourdock in with Akin, saying Mourdock said God intended rape. Again, that’s not what he said Karl and if you care about integrity at all, you’ll stop smearing him too. He said God intends life, not rape. Do your dang research.

UPDATE: It looks like Mark Levin agrees with me:

Karl Rove flat out lied about Rep. Steve King

He told Sean Hannity moments ago that King endorse Todd Akin’s rape comment in Missouri. Here is the article to which Rove is referring:

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/281459-rep-steve-king-says-he-stands-by-todd-akin

King specifically did NOT endorse the comment. He said he would remain friends with Akin as they were friends when he served in the House. This is the kind of sleaziness conservatives are fed up with. And Rove went on national radio and smeared King with this lie.


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