Todd Akin, Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Missouri is taking questions after speaking at the Missouri Farm Bureau candidate interview and endorsement meeting in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP)

Earlier this week, Todd Akin said something stupid, ignorant, insensitive, biologically incorrect and unhelpful to his cause.

I’ve seen a lot of candidates for political office say and do some pretty stupid things. I’ve seen plenty of sitting politicians say and do stupid things and get re-elected anyway.

But I’ve never seen so many public calls from members of that politician’s own party to step down from the nomination, so that someone who’s foot doesn’t take so many trips to their own mouth could be nominated in their place.

I didn’t see these calls after a woman aspiring to be a U.S. Senator issued an ad proclaiming she wasn’t a witch.

I didn’t see these calls after another candidate grabbed the neck of a man trying to take a video of him.

So I was quite surprised when I started seeing calls for Akin to step aside.

Sure what he said was stupid, but was it worse than choking a constituent trying to exercise his right to take a video of whatever he likes?

Apparently it was, but what really struck me as terrible about the situation earlier this week was that Congressman Akin refused to step down when virtually every prominent group and person within the Republican Party was asking him too.

Admittedly, there were already tensions between the congressman and the state party establishment, as he managed to win the nomination despite being neither the choice of the establishment or of the Tea Party.

Add to that that he is very much a social issues candidate in what everyone in the GOP would like to be an economic election, and that his campaign staff apparently consists of his wife and his son, and it is understandable why the state party would want him out.

And finally don’t forget that he was clearly the preferred candidate of the Democratic Party in Missouri as well, who saw him as the least threatening candidate to go against the very vulnerable first term senator Claire McCaskill.

So with his poll numbers tanking quickly, and funding from the NRSC and the giant GOP SuperPAC American Crossroads withdrawn, I thought he would put party above himself and get out while he still could.

As everyone knows now, he did not.

He cited very flawed polls that showed him tanking in support as a reason to stay in the race, and didn’t see the irony in thanking his opponent for being gracious when she said that he should stay in the race.

What kind of ego is necessary to be oblivious to all this information? What kind of ego is required for a candidate to think they can win in a relatively moderate state with a favorability rating 28 points underwater, and without any funding from SuperPACs and the national party?

He said that God told him to get in the race. Being religious is fine, and I myself am quite religious, but as The Newsroom pointed out a few weeks ago it is absurdly arrogant to try to tell people that God spoke to you and endorsed your campaign.

Needless to say, Akin will never receive another message from God saying that he should get out of the race, but he shouldn’t require one to realize that he should.

A poll came out today showing him down 10 points against his opponent. That’s a drop of roughly 15 points since he started this mess. His favorable ratings are even worse, he’s 28 points underwater on that issue, and the arrogance he’s displaying won’t help that one bit.

Further at issue here are the stakes of this particular election.

Republicans have a real shot at taking back control of the Senate, and repealing Obama’s healthcare law requires control of the Senate. For Congressman Akin to stay in the race despite the need for Republicans to win every single seat they can to pass an agenda that he certainly agrees with, shows that he is putting his own political career (which is over regardless of whether he drops out) above the interests of his party, and putting career over country and party is hardly the way to solve precisely the issues Akin would like to solve.

Some politicians, notably former Governor and current talk radio host Mike Huckabee are saying that Akin is being crucified because of his position on abortion.

That is hardly the issue here.

Many people in the Republican Party agree with his position or are at the very least sympathetic towards it.

They still want him out of the race, though, because he’s been a tremendous distraction from what the message this year should be.

They want him out of the race because he gave opponents an opportunity to paint the entire pro-life movement with a broad brush of insensitivity and scientific ignorance.
But mostly they want him to stay out of the race because we have enough politicians with ego problems, and elevating one more doesn’t do us a bit of good.

Tucker is a junior majoring in political science, economics, and public policy.