Todd Akin

Todd Akin

William Todd Akin (* 5. July 1947 in New York City ) is an American politician of the Republican Party and is considered representative of the religious right . In 1988 Akin was first elected to the 86th electoral district in the Missouri House of Representatives, to which he was a member until 2001. From 2001 to 2013 he represented Missouri's 2nd Congressional electoral district in the US House of Representatives . In 2012 he lost the US Senate election to the Democratic mandate holder Claire McCaskill after a controversial statement on abortion.

Family, education and work

Todd Akin was born in New York in 1947 as the eldest of four sons of Paul Bigelow Akin and his wife Nancy Perry (née Bigelow) in New York City. When the family moved to St. Louis , Akin attended a private, non-denominational school ( John Burroughs School ) in the local suburb of Ladue . After graduating from school, he went to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester , Massachusetts , from which he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in industrial engineering. From 1972 to 1980 Akin served in the Missouri National Guard ( US Army ). He then took up a second degree at the Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. The Westminster Creed is mandatory for faculty members at this institution, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of America . During this study, which he in 1984 with a Master of Divinity graduated (MDiv), he became a member of the student association ( fraternity ) Phi Gamma Delta .

He then worked at IBM and the Laclede Steel Company . Laclede Steel was founded in 1911 by his great-grandfather Thomas Russell Akin (1867-1945) in Alton , Madison County, Illinois . The company went bankrupt in 2002; In 2003 production was resumed under new owners and a new name - Alton Steel Inc.

Akin married Lulli Boe in 1975. The couple have four sons and two daughters.

Political career

Akin's political career for the Republicans found support from the start in the homeschooling movement as he and his wife home-schooled their children. From 1988 to 2001 he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives .

In the 2000 election , he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC, in Missouri's second congressional district, where he succeeded Jim Talent on January 3, 2001 . There he was a member of the Armed Forces Committee , the Budget Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee and a total of four sub-committees.

In May 2011, Todd Akin announced that he would run for the seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill in the 2012 election to the US Senate . Opponents in his party's primary election were Sarah Steelman , Missouri's former Treasury Secretary . McCaskill saw Akin as her ideal opponent and intervened in the Republican area code, among other things, by direct mail, which only ostensibly supported their campaign, but were actually designed to mobilize conservative Republicans for Akin. In addition, she punctured him with survey data to support him against his opponents in the area code. Akin won the primary and therefore faced McCaskill in November 2012. He clearly lost the main election after controversial socio-political statements (see controversies ).

Since Akin ran for the Senate, he did not run for re-election in the US House of Representatives in 2012. His mandate ended with the swearing in of his successor, Ann Wagner , on January 3, 2013.

Positions and controversies

Akin was considered one of the most conservative congressmen and was supported by the religious right and the homeschooling movement. He was a member of the Republican Study Committee and the Tea Party Caucus , in which the supporters of the Tea Party movement have come together.

Akin believes in the myth , popular in conservative circles , that the Pilgrim Fathers first lived in a kind of socialism . When that didn't work, they rejected socialism as unbiblical and as a kind of theft and therefore switched to capitalism . Like the Pilgrim Fathers, Akin believes that the Bible should be viewed as a “ blueprint ” for all of society, not just in matters of personal daily life, but also in business, education, and government.

Akin is a strict anti- abortionist from the moment of conception; therefore he wants to ban the contraceptive pill after birth . That goes for Akin even after being raped . In an interview during his Senate election campaign in August 2012, he claimed that pregnancies were very rare after a “legitimate” rape (which can also be misunderstood as “lawful”), because in such a case the female body has ways stop pregnancy. Even if it is assumed that this does not work, the perpetrator should be punished, but the child resulting from the crime should not be aborted. After this statement had led to violent criticism far into his own party and suddenly made him known throughout America, he said he had made a mistake. His comment arose spontaneously and did not change anything in his deep empathy for raped women; he did not comment on the medical aspect. Akin attracted so much attention that Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and Vice- Candidate Paul Ryan made it clear shortly thereafter that they "would not oppose abortion after rape" and "disagree with Mr. Akin's statement."

Akin's offensive emphasis on religion also sparked controversy. He criticized the bias of NBC Sports for US Open golf tournament in 2011 because of this, although with parts of the Pledge of Allegiance was highlighted, the 1954 Formula inserted "under God" but was omitted. Akin said: "At the heart of liberalism is a hatred of God and the belief that government should replace God." After criticism from some clergymen, his press spokesman made it clear that Akin had only spoken about the fundamental difference between two political ideologies and not about individual (left) liberal persons.

Web links

• Todd Akin in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rootsweb - Genealogy - Akin .
2. ^ Website of the Convenant Theological Seminary .
3. ^ Thomas Russell Akin in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 4, 2017.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Akin Cares Little about Pressure from GOP Leaders. In: Fox News of August 22, 2012.
5. ↑ Alton Steel reopens at former Laclede Steel site. In: St. Louis Business Journal, October 13, 2003.
6. ↑ Allison Yarrow: Meet Todd Akin's Wife, Lulli. In: The Daily Beast , August 20, 2012; Jim Salter, Henry C. Jackson: Akin cares little about pressure from GOP leaders. In: Bangor Daily News , Aug 22, 2012.
7. ↑ John Eligon: One Coalition Stays True to Todd Akin: Home-Schoolers. In: The New York Times, September 25, 2012.
8. ^ Todd Akin Announces Missouri Senate Bid. In: Roll Call Politics of May 17, 2011.
9. ^ Claire McCaskill: How I Helped Todd Akin Win - So I Could Beat Him Later. In: Politico of August 11, 2015.
10. ^ GOP's Akin, Mourdock loose Senate elections. In: The Washington Post, November 7, 2012.
11. ^ Brian Tashman: Right Wing Continues to Push "Socialist Pilgrims" Myth. In: Right Wing Watch of November 24, 2010.
12. ↑ Kyle Mantyla: Prayercast: Rep. Todd Akin. In: Right Wing Watch, December 17, 2009.
13. ^ Robin Marty: Todd Akin Doesn't Know the Difference Between Contraception and Abortion, But He Wants "It" Outlawed. In: RH Reality Check from August 10, 2012.
14. ↑ Missouri GOP Rep. Todd Akin: "Female Body Has Ways to Shut Down" Pregnancy in Case of "Legitimate Rape". Transcription. In: Littlegreenfootballs.com from August 19, 2012.
15. ↑ Evan McMorris-Santoro: Akin On "Legitimate Rape" Comment: "I Misspoke". In: Talking Points Memo from August 19, 2012.
16. ↑ Sebastian Fischer: Republicans go swimming. In: Spiegel Online from August 20, 2012.
17. ^ Brian Tashman: Akin: "At The Heart Of Liberalism Really Is A Hatred For God". In: Right Wing Watch, June 24, 2011.
18. ↑ Miranda Blue: Rep. Todd Akin Refuses to Apologize for Saying Liberals Hate God. In: Right Wing Watch, June 28, 2011; Brian Tashman: Rep. Akin Is Sorry ... That You Misunderstood Him. In: Right Wing Watch, June 29, 2011; Brian Tashman: Faith Leaders Meet With Akin's Staff To Seek Real Apology. In: Right Wing Watch, June 30, 2011.