The rhetoric in the race for New York’s 25th Congressional District was taken to a new level Tuesday. Incumbent Democrat, Louise Slaughter is trying to tie her Republican challenger to controversial comments made by a U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri over the weekend about rape.

“Women in Western New York – the birthplace of the women’s rights movement – will not tolerate the Brooks-Ryan-Akin agenda to erode the progress we’ve made and take women back to the dark ages,” Slaughter said.

Missouri Congressman, Todd Akin’s comments that it is rare for women to get pregnant in cases of “legitimate rape” have drawn strong criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.  Monday, Slaughter’s GOP opponent, Maggie Brooks, released this statement:

“I condemn, in the strongest of terms, the extremely insensitive remarks recently made by United States Senate candidate Todd Akin. His dialogue, which was denigrating to both victims of sexual assault and all women, has absolutely no place in our public discourse. I call upon Mr. Akin to apologize for his troublesome statement.”

Brooks is a Pro-Life candidate but supports exceptions in the case of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.  Slaughter, apparently not satisfied with Brooks’ response to Akin’s comments, attacked the Monroe County Executive for “aligning herself with radical Republican leaders seeking to redefine rape and deny choice to women.”

“Paul Ryan and Todd Akin agree on more than just redefining rape and taking away women’s health choices – they also agree on sending Maggie Brooks to Washington to go along with their agenda,” said Slaughter.

Brooks has accepted support from National Party leaders.  Both House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Speaker John Boehner, have made visits to Rochester to support Brooks.  But Brooks has made it clear she’s willing to break with her party.  Brooks opposed the GOP majority’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women in the house, because it placed “unnecessary restrictions on access to domestic violence services for victims who desperately need help.”

Brooks also came out against certain parts of the Ryan Budget, including the idea of overhauling Medicare.  But Slaughter’s camp said Brooks has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from “PACs who have led the attack on women’s health.”  Slaughter also laid out 30 donors to Brooks’ campaign that are “Pro-Life.”

“Maggie Brooks has been deliberately hiding her anti-choice views from the public during this campaign, and has repeatedly aligned herself with some of the most conservative voices in Washington who have tried to strip women of their health care rights and redefine rape to satisfy their radical ideologies.  The only thing we really know about Maggie Brooks is that she’s willing to take money from any right-wing group that will try to buy her a seat in Congress.”

While disappointed with the attacks, the Brooks campaign wasn’t surprised by what it called Slaughter’s “scorched earth” tactics. 

“She (Slaughter) will do and say anything to stay in Washington. Perhaps she should answer as to why two-thirds of her fundraising support is coming from Washington liberal special-interest groups and labor unions,” said Brooks Campaign Manager Noah Lebowitz.

Lebowitz said Brooks has raised the majority of her campaign funds from “everyday voters and job creators who live in Monroe County.”  Lebowitz suggested this latest attack is an effort on the part of the Slaughter Campaign to distract from the Congresswoman’s record.

“Louise Slaughter has spent over 25 years in Congress voting for trillions in crippling debt, higher taxes, and more spending,” said Lebowitz.  “There is no doubt that voters will reject the hyper-partisan brand of Washington politics that Louise Slaughter has shamefully brought to our community.”

Political insiders in both parties have expected the attacks in the race to heat up.  Slaughter is seeking her 14th term in Congress but was recently redrawn into a district much more favorable to a GOP challenge.

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