W. Todd Akin: “If we sort of back up a little bit from what you have said and take a look, and the subject here that we are talking…”

“If we sort of back up a little bit from what you have said and take a look, and the subject here that we are talking about today is cutting government. If you take a look at the Department of Energy, the Department of Energy was founded years and years ago with the purpose of making sure that we were not dependent on foreign oil. Now, that department has grown with more and more and more buildings and bureaucrats and people in it I'm sure with well-meaning intention. But as the Department has grown, we have become more dependent on foreign oil. Now, there is something in that equation that's fundamentally nuts, so we have to take a really good look at this subject. I am interested, too, and sometimes I point out to my constituents, I think people don't understand this, but our opinions in this Chamber are pretty divided. If I were to say to some of my constituents that there is a big difference between Republicans and Democrats on the abortion issue, they would go, Gee, whiz, no big surprise. But they may be surprised to know that if you look at voting records, there is a bigger difference on development of American energy between Republicans and Democrats than there is on the abortion issue.”