Iowa Republican Congressman, Steve King, held a townhall meeting in Le Mars Monday where he was asked about his support of Republican Missouri Congressman Todd Akin. Akin made a controversial comment about pregnancy from rape being rare in discussing abortion.
King says he only knows what he has heard on the news. “I just heard about that on the way in here. I haven’t had an opportunity to go back and see what it is he might have been referring to,” King says. “I’ve never heard of a medical situation such as implied or stated with his statement. And I wouldn’t be willing to take a public position until such time as I look back into that and see what the facts are.”
King has previously campaigned for Akin, and King says he knows Todd Akin and his family, and that he has a great deal of respect for the family’s history. “I will tell you that I do know Todd Akin, I’ve served with him, he has… I believe it is three sons who have graduated from the Naval Academy. If you look at that family, you have to respect what the Akins have done,” King says.
The Fifth District Congressman urged the gathering to step back and observe Akin’s total record before making any decision, and not to base an entire opinion on the one comment. “Now whether he has misspoken or whether he has a position that we would have trouble agreeing with, I don’t know that,” King says.
“But I do know him and I know his family, and I’m impressed with what they have accomplished.” Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney quickly denounced the comment by Akin. Some others in the G.O.P. have called on Akin to resign.
By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars