Michigan GOP Hopeful: ‘If Rape Is Inevitable…Lie Back and Enjoy It’

It’s a day that ends in Y, so a Republican candidate is showing his ass on bodily autonomy. Michigan state congressional candidate Robert Regan made horrific comments about rape while on a livestream for Coalition to Rescue Michigan on Sunday.

While the conservative group discussed giving up on the loss of the 2020 presidential election, Regan stepped in. “You know, having three daughters, I tell my daughters, well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,” Regan said. “That’s not how we roll. That’s not how I won this election. We go right at it.”

This vile man won his primary with 33 percent of the vote for the West Michigan’s 74th District. Before his bizarre remark about enjoying rape (they just let anybody talk these days), Regan was considered a frontrunner for the seat’s special election in May. He could hold the seat until December.

What’s particularly vile about these comments is that Regan’s made being a Father of Daughters a central part of his origin story. His daughters’ photos and basic life facts are all over his campaign website, including their places of work and schooling. During his first run for office in 2014, his daughter Stephanie tweeted, “If you’re in Michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. Tell everyone.”

Over and over, Republican politicians make horrifying comments about rape, and they never seem to learn from the backlash. Most notably, Missouri Senate hopeful Todd Akin in 2012 tried to convince people that in cases of “legitimate rape,” women can’t become pregnant, because our bodies have ways to shut that whole thing down. More recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promised to “eliminate all rapists” from the streets of Texas, as if it was as easy as rounding them up with a lasso. These men show us time and time again that they believe the violation of our bodies is, at best, amorphous concept that only happens to Jezebels.

Jezebel reached out to Regan for comment, but got his voicemail that includes a recording of Ronald Reagan’s speech about tearing down the Berlin Wall. Since the self-declared “Robert Regan, the big kahuna” didn’t answer my phone call, I must assume Regan’s “out achieving one of [his] goals” and neglecting his voicemail. That must be why his mailbox is full. Don’t worry; I texted him for good measure.