Despite Congressman Akin's glutinously sincere plea for forgiveness, Republican Party bosses are determined to see him ousted from the race against Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri. They think he's roadkill in the state, and a stain on the GOP brand nationally.
Even Mitt Romney, who as the Republican presidential candidate is the party's de facto national leader, has called on Akin to quit. (By the way, The Guardian's reference to Republican "difficulties on abortion" is an example of wishful reporting. The party is as unified on the issue as the Democrats are, probably more so, and nationally they can claim to be winning the argument).
So is Akin a dead douchebag walking? Not necessarily. As the ever-excellent Ben Smith points out, Akin is used to being in a fight with the party leadership. He is part of a conservative party-within-a-party that runs on anti-Washington anger, within which being dumped on by GOP bosses is a badge of honour. So far, he's digging in and soaking it up.
Of course, parts of that counter-establishment are also calling him on him to go, and that may well prove fatal. But if Akin can persuade enough right-leaning Missourians that he's the victim of an establishment witchhunt, he might just make it to polling day. At which point, he'll lose.
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