Rep. Todd Akin made another impolitic statement Saturday that is gaining traction with national media outlets.

This time, the Missouri Republican, who is challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), made an analogy in which he compared his female opponent to a dog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B4f7-rNMVE

“She goes to Washington, D.C., it’s a little bit like one of those dogs, ‘fetch,’” Akin said at a campaign event Saturday in Springfield, according to PoliticMo, which obtained the audio clip.

“She goes to Washington, D.C., and gets all of these taxes and red tape and bureaucracy and executive orders and agencies and brings all of this stuff and dumps it on us in Missouri,” Akin said.

The comments came during an appearance with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has been among Akin’s few prominent supporters.

Akin has sought to portray McCaskill as out of touch with Missourians on social issues and the size of government, but he has undermined his own case through a seemingly endless series of statements that McCaskill supporters say reveal Akin’s real views on women’s issues.

During a debate last week, McCaskill charged that Akin has paid the women who work in his Congressional offices 23.4 percent less than men. Her campaign also provided data to back up the claim, which the Akin campaign disputed, highlighting the fact that Akin employs a woman as his chief of staff. The Akin campaign also pointed to more recent employment records.

“This is a false accusation to once again distract the voter from Claire’s liberal voting record of higher taxes, increased debt and personal enrichment,” Akin campaign spokesman Ryan Hite said in a statement in response.

Akin opposed the legislation known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which loosened the statute of limitations for filing claims of pay discrimination. On that, Akin is well within the mainstream of the GOP. A total of 36 Republican Senators voted against the measure in 2009.

“Todd Akin thinks the free market allows for the freedom to discriminate, and that’s clear in the way he pays women less than the men in his office,” McCaskill campaign spokeswoman Caitlin Legacki said in a statement released during the debate. “Todd Akin is opposed to equal pay laws because he doesn’t want to abide by them in his own office.

The bulk of recent public polling data shows McCaskill well ahead. Roll Call rates the race as Leans Democratic.