Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) of New Hampshire was scheduled to be in Indiana today, campaigning in support of Republican Richard Mourdock's Senate candidacy. Those plans were scrapped this morning.
Mourdock, of course, declared last night that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something God intended," which is why he's comfortable with laws that force women impregnated by rapists to take their pregnancy to term.
The larger question now is why Mitt Romney isn't following Ayotte's lead. The Republican presidential hopeful appears in a television ad on Mourdock's behalf -- Romney's only general election ad for someone other than himself -- and Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, has supported Mourdock's campaign financially.
Team Romney has said he "disagrees" with Mourdock's comments, but that's really only the first in a series of questions. Will Romney ask that his ad supporting Mourdock be taken down? So far, no. Will Romney pull his endorsement? Apparently not.
Greg Sargent added:
This is only going to snowball from here on out. Dems and women's groups are launching an all-out attack on Mourdock's comments, arguing that they illustrate a deeper problem within the GOP. This comes even as the battle for the female vote is intensifying, with Obama and Dems hammering Romney daily for his positions on abortion, contraception, women's health, and pay equity, in an effort to paint the candidate and his party as hidebound, reactionary, and fundamentally untrustworthy on the issues that matter to women.
I'd just add that the Todd Akin flap is illustrative. In August, Romney denounced the Missouri Republican and called for his withdrawal. Mourdock, however, still enjoys Romney's support.
Until Romney can explain why, these questions are likely to continue.
