McCain has already cancelled a fundraising event next week at the home of Clayton Williams, according to ABC News, after being asked about the remarks. Now, the Democratic National Committee is calling on McCain to return the $300,000 Williams has reportedly raised for him.

Williams made national headlines when he was running for governor of Texas in 1990. A reporter heard him make the comparison between rape and weather. “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it,” he was quoted as saying at the time.

“Mr. Williams’ comments are not only outrageous and disgusting, they degrade our values as Americans,” DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement Saturday.  “John McCain should make it clear that he understands just how offensive these comments are by not only canceling a fundraising event but also returning the money Williams raised for his campaign.”

Williams told the Midland Reporter-Telegram that he had raised $300,000 in one day from those interested in attending the fundraiser at his Midland home.

The DNC’s push to highlight this issue comes at a time when McCain is hoping to make headway with women voters, especially those disenchanted with the Democrats after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) lost the nomination to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The Republican National Committee (RNC) responded that the DNC’s attack on McCain continues Obama’s “hypocrisy and finger pointing.”

“While Obama and Democrats launch attacks on Republicans, their silence concerning fundraisers like [Code Pink co-founder] Jodie Evans and Jim Johnson is deafening,” said RNC spokesman Alex Conant. “Obama’s hypocritical attacks undermine everything his campaign is supposed to be about.”