Richard mourdock said this. The i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that god intended to happen. Eliot some republicans backed off michigan quickly. Mike pens has urged Richard Mourdock to apologize. And others say quote Richard Mourdocks comments damage all republicans especially romney as the fight for the womens vote intensifies. This could be a defining moment for romney and he should immediately denounce both murdoch and the comment. With the policy poll showing the lead to romney. With the race neck and neck, romney does not need the gender gap to come to the fore. Andrea saul would only say governor romney disagrees with Richard Mourdocks comments, and they do not reflect his views. Romney continued airing this Richard Mourdock endorsement the only ad he has released backing a Senate Candidate. Im backing Richard Mourdock as senator. Richard will be the 51st vote to repeal and replace governmentrun healthcare. Hell stop the reidpelosi agenda. Eliot he told reporters, i quote, this is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a republican president mitt romney would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own healthcare. As for Richard Mourdock, he tried apologizing but only confusing people on where he stood. I did not intend that god pushes people to rape or supports evil in any way. I believe its wrong when people want to take what i said and twist it. But if any way people came away with the wrong meaning for that i do apologize. Eliot murdochs opponent congress man donnelly wanted more. As someone running for the United States senate it is hurtful to women to survivors of rape, and to their families to have said this. Eliot it could be hurtful for Richard Mourdocks chances too, according to the poll, murk dock is leading donnelly by five points. Maybe he should have taken a listen from missouri congressman todd akin. He was expected to beat Claire Mccaskill handily but thats before he talked about the rape and the magical powers of a womans body to shut down. Now there is a sixpoint lead. The only surprise there is it isnt bigger. Here to discuss the war on women congresswoman jacki speier fromcal. Beyond shock. How do you react to this craziness . I dont believe it. Most women think its a joke when they hear it. How are those words coming out of who we think must be intelligent people. Theyre running for congress, running for presidency. Yet they are saying it, and i do think they believe it. They do not want to allow abortions for women who have been victims of rape. Eliot i think you are right this is why it makes it so much more important where words have been misspoken and not meant. They do mean it. The republican platform is crazy, not as crazy as this statement but theyre crazy. There are 40 members of congress who subscribe to a view like this. There is insane stuff. Well, you know, mitt romney has said he would support a personhood amendment to presume that at conception life that prevents abortion for women. Eliot it would criminalize it. It would but there are more than 1. 3 rapes a year in this countries and anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 pregnancy that is result from that. Are we going to say sorry you went through this horrible situation but you have to have this baby. Eliot there are so many layers to this, and its a throwback to a totally different era. Mitt romney still has not honest from the republican public publicwhere is the Republican Leadership . He would want to see roe versus wade reversed. He wants to appoint judge who is reflect that opinion. He wants to get rid of funding for planned parenthood. He has bought into the whole deal from the republican perspective. And it would really take us back in time to1972 when women didnt have that right. Interestingly enough you know back then only a third of the working force was female. Thats not the case today. Eliot this isas the president said in the debate a few days ago this is a social agenda from an entirely different era of american society. Yet, mitt romney doesnt seem to be paying yet at least a huge political price for this. He hasnt, and i think its our responsibility to make it clear to the women of this country that you are about to lose some very, very important rights. That no longer is it a decision about your Reproductive Healthcare going to be between you and your physician. The government is moving in, and theyre going to be telling you what you can and cannot do. Eliot are republican women pushing back . I got to believe, and i may be fundamentally wrong about this, but i got to believe that the republican women and theyre a big demographic they may be saying this is a not a party that i want to be a part of. I dont think so. Not one republican woman in congress has spoken up. Not one. Eliot is that right . Not one. Eliot that is an amazing statistic. For 55 sometimes ontimes on the house floor the republican majority has put up bills to undermine womens Reproductive Health discriminate in terms of healthcare and restrict abortion. Thats one a week since theyve been in power. Eliot where is the ideology of a Republican Party that talks about a government that is noninvasive in our lives . Why do noninvasive apply to wall street fraud but not the health and reproductive rights of a woman . That inconsistency always bothers me. It does not seem to resonate. Get government out of our business except when it comes to women and their bodies. Eliot will mitt romney pay a price . Will the gender gap that had been yawning sort of outcome determinative in the president ial race then disappear. Will it reemerge because of this . I sure hope so. I really want to wake up american women and say there is a lot at stake here. Its not going to start with the Supreme Court justice. It will move to every imaginable part of womens healthcare. Eliot right. Do you think when you look at the Supreme Court, for some of us, i understand as a lawyer im in a tiny sub group but i care so deeply about that. That alone would make me vote for president obama. Do you think chief Justice Roberts or alito do they agree with the desire to overturn roe v. Wade and let states enact crazy laws that it would be pushing . I dont know. I havent studied what their views are but i cant imagine they wouldnt be. They werent selected by president bush because they were prochoice, thats for sure. Eliot you said not one republican woman has stood up. When you talk with them oneonone, do they display discomfort . Not to raise these hard issues and to push people, do you ever say to this, please, lets make this a bipartisan effort . Lets push against this . They have been silent. They have not engaged in this issue at all. When you think about planned parenthood, the money we provide to planned parenthood, 97 of it goes to provide Breast Cancer screening. Why wouldnt you want pro women or College Women to access those kinds of screenings, yet they wouldnt lift a finger to protect it. It is an insane warped view of the world that is so troubling that i fear there politics has done to an unfortunate direction. Especially when you remember that nixon signed the funding for contraceptive care at planned parenthooded back eliot and the Clean Air Act the clean water act the epa incredibly liberal president despite Everything Else. Jacki speier, thank you for joining us on the show. Im joined by terry oneil, president of the National Organization for women. Thank you for joining us. Eliot, its great to talk to you. Eliot so now how do you lead the crusade. Youve been unshackled, as it were, now youre ability to go out and say look who they are. How do you lead that effort so that in the next couple of weeks people can rip the mask and veneer off of mitt romney. Thats what weve been doing for months, making the case and getting the word out to women for what is at stake for women in this election. I thinki think voters very understandably have a hard time wrapping their brain around the real danger that is presented to women by mitt romney, todd akin, Richard Mourdock, and paul ryan. I am met very often with disbelief. No those men are not really trying to redefine rape to be forcible. Yes, they are. No, says voters, theyre not really trying to stop rape victory from stopping pregnancies. Pregnancies inmany pregnancies in this country are caused by rapes. And 17 states preserve fathers rights not only would rape survivors be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, but the rapist himself may have legal right to have access to that victim and to the child produced by the rape. Its absolutely outrageous. I think it is so outrageous, eliot, that people have a hard time believing it. But the reality is what it is. Mitt romney is right in the thick of this deeply misogenistc policy. Eliot i remember when i first heard it several months ago i was shocked. I have lived to a certain extent in the political world i think that number has to be expressed and explained at a broader level. 32,000 pregnancies from rape every year makes this issue very powerful and pointed. I hope that gets out there and is discussed. It was shocking to me. It really is, and its an indication of the level of violence against women generally. We have a wonderful violence against women act, and it has dramatically reduced the incidents of violence and sexual assault, but it has no way eliminated it, and women remain vulnerable to sexual assault. As we know the fbi defines rape as penetration however slight without consent. Its all about consent. Thats the right way to understand it. Not the way that todd akin and paul ryan want to understand it as its some how forcible. I think that these men not understanding that is probably what makes them so incredibly dangerous. They refuse to acknowledge the full humanity of women when they refuse to even try a little bit to step inside the shoes of a woman who has experienced sexual assault. By the way people who think mitt romney is some how backing away from Richard Mourdocks statement, i want to make it very clear to your viewers, he is not backing away. He says a lot of things, but when hes unmarked, when he doesnt know the cameras are rolling, for instance, years ago he tried to bully a woman who was in his congregation in the Mormon Church whos blood clots were making her pregnancy lifethreatening and she had permission from the hierarchy to abort that baby. He went to her and said why should you get off easy. Her father was so angry that he kicked mr. Romney out of his house and said dont you ever do that again. But this is the mitt romney who supports Richard Mourdock who believes the rape victim should be forced to bear a pregnancy forced by rape. Eliot should he not only pull the endorsement it seems to me he shouldeither you subscribe to what Richard Mourdock said, you cant have it both ways. Hopefully the pressure will build on romney and unmask him because he has done a great job of being a mist to what his core positions are. My organization and my partners throughout the Womens Movement were doing everything we can to get the story out and get the word out of who mitt romney really is, and the policieses that he really will impose on us. Im hopeful. I think women who look at this kind of thing will remember, their moms will talk to them and tell them the stories about the way it was in the 1950s and 60s. We are not going back there and we will, in fact defeat these men. Eliot congresswoman jacki speier said something remarkable not republican woman elected to congress has stood up to object to the war on women waged by the Republican Leadership. How can you use that as a galvanizing argument to say were not partisan by nature, but my goodness, folks look at what is going on here. This is a party that simply doesnt get it. Absolutely. Eliot, i fear for the Republican Party. My organization is nonpartisan. We support issues. We support womens rights no matter which party will support that. But the radical fringe has taken control of the Republican Party. They are chasing out good women like Olympia Snowe lisa markowsky. They have chased out moderates like Richard Lugar in indiana. Theyit is not surprising to me that republican women are completely under the thumb of this very male dominated radical fringe. I say radical fringe because those men dont represent the desires of most women in america or of most men in america. They really are fringe. Theyve got a ton of money from people like david and charles koch and grover norquist, and karl rove and his ability to reach out to huge funders. They are simply using their outside money to get political influence that in a democracy they should never have. Eliot also what theyve done is redefine what moderate means these days. Unfortunately were out of time. Terry oneil, thanks so much for your time tonight. Thank you. Eliot a programming reminder, im heading out west in los angeles to appear on realtime with bill maher. Thats friday at 10 00 p. M. Eastern on hbo. Ill have my view on what mitt romney needs to say later on in the show. vo brought to you by courtyard. vo answer in a moment. vo brought to you by courtyard. Now find the most hard core driver in america. That guy, put him in it. Whats this . [ male announcer ] tell him hes about to find out. Youre about to find out. [ male announcer ] test it. Highlight the european chassis 6 speed manual, dual exhaust wide stance, clean lines have him floor it, spin it punch it, drift it put it through its paces is he happy . Oh ya, hes happy [ male announcer ] and thats how you test your car for fun. Easy. Eliot republicans love screaming that president obama some how wont let American Companies pump oil. That is so blatantly false. That it brings us to the number of the day. One. Thats where were heading. The world as number one producer of oil. Weve also passed russia to become the second largest producer. We could surpass saudi arabia by 2020. In fact, the more production numbers you look at, the more ridiculous the republicans arguments become. The u. S. Production of liquid hydrocarbons will probably end seven percent higher this year than last. The biggest gain in the single year since the truman administration. As for the price at the pump, republicans keep comparing gas prices now with the cost right after petroleum and Everything Else in the u. S. Economy took a crash dive in 2008. But in real numbers the average price is about the same as four years ago. Were having a massive surge in Oil Production and mitt Romney Thomas jefferson said that a successful democracy depended on an informed electorate. Our countrys future depends on you. To help you make informed decisions, watch current tvs politically direct lineup. Only on current tv. Take the time to learn about the issues. Dont just vote, vote smart. Eliot republican india Indiana Senate candidate michigan said even when life begins this a horrible situation of rape, it is something that god intended to happen, and re reignited the war on women two weeks before election day dragging mitt romney rights back into the line of fire. Lets go to the host of the war room, governor jennifer granholm, is this crazy continuing to be crazy akin all over again . Explain this. I wish i could explain it. I cant even put myself in his shoes. But i do know that his position, which is to say abortion should be illegal in all cases including rape or incest, the only exception he makes is for the life of the mother. That position is the same position as 40 house members. 40 g. O. P. House members. What is amazing to me, eliot is that this is not part of our regular conversation regarding how were going to close this gender gap. Most americans, men or women dont think that there should be a complete and total ban on abortion, even in the cases of rape or incest. Thats an outlier position. Weve got candidates now in the u. S. Senate from indiana missouri these house members who believe that. This is an opportunity certainly for the Obama Administration and the obama Political Team to say women, do you really want to have the ryanromney ticket. By the way ryan is in the same place in the white house that would affirm essentially that kind of position, even though romney, of course, there should be an exception for at least rape and incest you are. Eliot thats his position as of 3 23 this afternoon but it could change by 8 00 tonight. Exactly. Eliot the etchasketch. Before we get into the politics of this, at a larger level what is becoming clear to me is there is a strain of thinking in this nation. Its not just a few crazies on the fringe as much as we would like to think it is, who have this perspective. And some how the issue of choice has not continued to grow in terms of Popular Support for a womans right to choose, but were stuck in a rigid 50 50 and there is a significant block that takes what we view as crazy positions. Why have we reached this point of equilibrium and why are we not more successful in pushing a point of consensus. Many people have not thought through to the logical end of what a position like todd akin or Richard Mourdock would be if you have no exceptions for rape or incest, what is the penalty for a woman who is raped who seeks an abortion . What is the penalty for a woman who is not raped and