First of all, why on earth are middle-aged politicians jumping up to claim their 15 minutes of fame by defining rape? You’d think that the Republicans might put out a memo to all their cronies asking that these (mostly) men just keep their mouths shut! But each time a throwback-to-the-1950s politician expresses his neanderthal opinion about what is and what isn’t rape, it becomes more crystal clear what the Republican agenda really is all about.

It shows their clear disrespect for women and their belief that women are (1) making up stories that they’ve been raped, (2) to be blamed for rape because of the way they dress or act, (3) not capable of making their own decisions about their bodies, and in some cases, (4) deserve to be raped because they are women.

I am stunned that independent-thinking women who value their own freedom and rights would vote for these buffoons. Even if they believe that Romney will be better on the economy or job creation (or whatever other reason), do they really believe that their rights are not going to be trampled in the next four years if he wins the election?

Here’s proof, in their own words, of what Republicans really believe about the worth of women:

And the granddaddy of them all:

According to experts, up to 60 percent of rapes in the U.S. go unreported, only 25% of reported rapes result in arrest, and one in six women will be a victim of sexual assault in her lifetime. That means out of sixty of your friends, ten have been or will be attacked. I am so angry that such a serious, invasive, and horrific crime has become treated so lightly and jockeyed about in political rhetoric. How dare they make light of such a serious crime? In response, some clever bloggers have created a (mostly) satirical site:  http://www.republicansforrape.org/.

Mitt Romney is much more polished than these kneejerk loudmouths, but he has continued to support Richard Mourdock in the latest of these outbursts. That speaks volumes.