McCaskill: Akin makes 'Michele Bachmann look like a hippie'

Senator Claire McCaskill had a few words for her Republican challenger in the Missouri Senate race after he called her less than “ladylike.”

“This is somebody who kind of makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie,” McCaskill said in describing Rep. Todd Akin on Morning Joe Friday. “He is very much in the group who would never be part of the compromise that we need to find to address the fiscal cliff. He would never be a part of the group in the middle that figures out ways to solve these problems, that works across the aisle.”

Akin, who stirred up controversy and provoked the ire of his own party last month by making false statements about female biology and using terms like “legitimate rape,” complained to reporters on Thursday that McCaskill was “much more sort of ladylike” during her 2006 campaign.

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“In the debate we had Friday, she came out swinging, and I think that’s because she was threatened,” Akin told a Bloomberg reporter.

“I’m at a loss. I don’t know exactly what his accusation that I’m not ladylike means,” McCaskill said. “I try to be strong and informed, and I think the debate was tough for Todd.”

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Following his “legitimate rape” comments, McCaskill a moderate Democratic has sought to highlight Akin as a “fringe” candidate with extremist views.

“I hope this motivates my supporters even more,” she said. “It seems to have.”