Washington state GOP Senate candidate state Sen. Michael Baumgartner told Red Alert Politics in an exclusive interview that liberals have adopted the strategy of trying to scare the voters in a bid to hold onto power, and their obsession with the Todd Akin story is the latest example of this.

He caught headlines last week on liberal websites like the Huffington Post and those on the Left have seized on his comments telling a blogger with Seattle Met magazine’s PubliCola blog to “f**k off.” The candidates comments to the blogger were made in a private e-mail that was sent in the wake of Rep. Todd Akin’s now-infamous rape comment, and the e-mail was later published.

Baumgartner previously issued a statement condemning Akin’s remarks, calling them “ignorant” and “inexcusable.”

But the blogger pressed Baumgartner, a devout Catholic who holds to his church’s views on abortion, asking him how his view differed from Akin’s.

Baumgartner had chosen to ignore the Akin comments and instead focus his campaign on what he sees as liberal hypocrisy on the war in Afghanistan, where he worked as a civilian in a national-security role. He says he is not interested in getting involved with “culture war” rhetoric, but the blogger pushed the issue anyway.

He expressed his frustration with some things said in their discussion about the Afghan war and responded to the blogger with an e-mail saying: “Josh, this is Pat Feeks, a Navy SEAL killed last week in Afghanistan. Take a good look and then go f**k yourself.”

The blogger made several comments that Baumgartner felt were inappropriate or respectful of the situation.

“I don’t regret using the language with him; it was a personal comment, and he absolutely had it coming,” Baumgartner said, but notes that he would not have sent the email had he known it would be made public.

Liberals are embarrassed by the lengthy war in Afghanistan, which continues to take money and lives, according to Baumgartner.

Their silence is completely hypocritical in his opinion because the situation is about as desperate as it was during worst days of the Vietnam War when Left-wing protesters and others filled the streets demanding a withdrawal.

“I think there is some blatant hypocrisy on the Left,” Baumgartner said. “I think most people would like to pretend that the war is on the back pages and it’s really not going on.

“For some of them it’s all George Bush’s fault no matter what.”