GOP Rep. Walsh: Media pressure making it hard for GOP to stick by Akin

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) said on Wednesday that pressure from the media is making it difficult for Republicans to defend Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), but said he is "bothered" nonetheless by the lack of GOP support for the embattled Senate candidate.

"[C]onservatives are often cowed by the media, and there clearly is a double standard when folks on our side make an outrageous statement," Walsh said in Illinois, according to The Beacon News.

"I am bothered by this rush and silence from members in our own party to stand up for him," Walsh added.

Akin, who is running to replace incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), said on Sunday that victims of "legitimate rape" often do not get pregnant because their bodies have "ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Members of both parties quickly pounced on those comments, and many Republicans called on Akin to drop out of his Senate race, although Akin has so far remained.

Walsh spoke at an event along with Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who indicated he hoped that the controversy surrounding Akin would not scuttle the GOP's chances of retaking the Senate.

"Todd Akin's statement was wrong, and I continue to repudiate it, but this election is bigger than him," Roskam said.

"This is an election about a generation change, and if we squander this one opportunity, we will look back" with regret, he said.

According to The Beacon News, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) indicated his support for Akin to exit the race in order to put Republicans in a better position to win the Senate.

"I do hope [Akin] does look beyond himself and the impact on the nation," Hultgren said. "We are at a tipping point. We need the Senate, and we need the White House."

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