New poll: Missourians really don't like McCaskill
Yael T. AbouhalkahI like Claire McCaskill: Stand-up politician, moderate to liberal Democrat, heart in right place, supporter of Obamacare.
But Missourians….
Well, a new poll by Public Policy Polling shows they really, really must not like her.
How is it even humanly possible that - after Todd Akin’s inane remarks on rape - that the same percentage of independent voters who said in May they would vote for Akin on Monday said they would still vote for him!
The figures were in Akin’s favor, 45-41 percent, in both cases.
And overall, Akin still led McCaskill by a single point in the poll. Again, that was similar to the results from May.
(UPDATE: And here’s a conservative criticism of the PPP poll, claiming it’s being trumped up by Democrats to keep Akin in the race. Given McCaskill’s view on wanting to do that exact same thing, I can see how this conspiracy theory would take hold.)
Yes, we know the GOP voters hate McCaskill.
But as I noted to colleagues today, McCaskill has to hope that the swing voters in Missouri - the independents who actually try to have an open mind about some of these upper ticket races - will come out in November and support her over Akin.
So far, and granted it’s just one poll and a couple days into this monster news story, McCaskill hasn’t gained the kind of ground many of her supporters would have hoped for since the Akin blunder.
I know plenty of people who say, don’t worry, McCaskill will be fine. Missourians will come around to embrace her come election time, especially if Akin is still in the race.
I hope that’s true.
But I’m surprised by the lack of movement in the race’s poll, at least at this point, and I can only conclude that a lot of Missourians will try to find any reason they can not to vote for McCaskill.
Mark Hastert
9 months, 1 week agoFurther proof that there is no such thing as too stupid for some voters.
Kent Mueller
9 months, 1 week agoSo, McCaskill is now a “moderate to liberal” Democrat? A 90% voting overlap with Harry Reid qualifies as moderate to liberal? On that scale, 95% overlap must be liberal, 85% to 95% overlap would be moderate to liberal. And moderate would be..what…..80% overlap with Harry’s votes? Yeah, that sounds about right. Not.
Come on, Yael. Get a grip. McCaskill is not “moderate to liberal”. She is a liberal. Why do liberals run from who they are?
Suzanne Conaway
9 months agoJerry, How well do YOU understand Obamacare? Have you read it?
And Claire didn’t say “moderate to liberal” — Yael did. And I don’t run from being a liberal. I’m proud of it. Liberals believe in equal rights for all. If Conservatives had always been in charge, we’d still have Jim Crow laws and women wouldn’t be able to be anything but secretaries.
Mark Robertson
9 months ago“Supporter of Obamacare?” Anyone who supports Obamacare is unAmerican because Obamacare would destroy this country.(How about those 17,000 new IRS agents.) Why is this so hard for “smart” people to understand? There is a 100 trillion plus unfunded liability for Medicare and Social Security. And then you add the disastrous Obamacare, including Medidaid to that, and this country simply wouldn’t survive.
Obamacare is such a lie at every level. It is laughable that it would lower health care costs. And it is a total lie that we would be able to keep our current health care plans. If there are any changes to our current plans 2014 or after, we would be forced into those Stalinistic exchanges. It was also such a lie that Obamacare would cost under a trillion its first ten years. It would actually cost over 2.5 trillion in its actual first ten years, from 2014 to 2024. LBJ and his gang predicted that Medicare would top out at around 10 billion by 1990. It cost 67 billion that year. It is now approaching 600 billion annually, and continues to spiral out of control. Obamacare would do the same thing. We need to return to free market forces for health care, with such options as health savings accounts. Private charity is answer for the poor.
And now that the Supreme Court has ruled on Obamacare (disastrously)the CBO says that possibly 30 million won’t be covered by Obamacare. The 30 million number has always been a sham, but the Democrats have destroyed our health care system with Obamacare, and now the same amount of people won’t be covered as before, according to the Dems. You can’t make this up. And of course, a lot more people wouldn’t be covered. As usual, government intervention makes things so much worse. Thank you. Mark Robertson Independence
JR Beillenhouser
9 months agoSuzanne -
Funny you mention that when it was Democrats who set up the Jim Crow laws to begin with.
George Hunsucker
Northland
9 months agoWhat’s not to like about Air Claire: supports 0’care, voted for the porkulus bill, voted for debt ceiling increases…
Yep, sounds like a down the middle Missourian—NOT
YT, you are in a fairy land calling her a “moderate to liberal”. She is a dyed-in-the-wool lib and will hopefully be fired Nov. 6!!!
Phil Cardarella
9 months agoI am a liberal. Claire — who I have known for 30 years — is a moderate by any rational standards. Heck, on some issues she is more conservative that Goldwater or Buckley.
It is the GOP that has moved so far right that they mistake the center for Marxism. It is the GOP that defends a semi-billionaire like Romney paying taxes at a rate that would have made Al Capone blush. Heck, the Obamacare you excoriate? It is ROMNEYCARE xeroxed onto federal paper. It is more conservative than what NIXON wanted to do in1972!
George Hunsucker
Northland
9 months agoand the big 0 is just like JFK phil, right?
Suzanne Conaway
9 months agoMark, you seem to know a lot about the Affordable Care Act. Did you read it? If not, where are you getting your information.
Suzanne Conaway
9 months agoJR, the Jim Crow laws were set up by individual states by people known at the time as Dixiecrats. That is to Democrats as RINO is to Republicans.
Nonetheless, Lyndon Johnson was the one to take them on and change the laws.
Brad Hampshire
9 months agoClaire in no way represents Missouri values. Democrats have gone so far left you can’t even recognize the party any more.
Kent Mueller
9 months agoSuzanne. I know Yael said that, that is why I was addressing him on what he said.
And puh-leez don’t try to rewrite history and make LBJ the great conciliator of the races. Do you want to read quotes from him at the time? It was all about convenient politics for him at the time. And yes, the Democrats were in the majority when the civil rights acts and voting rights acts were passed. But, you are aware, aren’t you, that a bigger percentage of Republicans voted for those bills than Democrats?
Also, please don’t say liberals believe in equal rights for all in a way that implies conservatives don’t believe that. But when this subject comes up, I believe Milton Friedman said it best, and this drives at the root differences between liberals and conservatives…..”A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.” Also, a big difference is that conservatives believe in equal opportunity and not equal outcomes. Those are two very different things.
Jeff Campbell
9 months agoIt is funny that CLaire mentions LBJ as if he is a hero to the civil rights movement. Did you know that when Eisenhower was in office and was puching for a civil rights bill it was LBJ as senate majority leader who killed it? Purely political of course because LBJ knew the implications if it were the Republicans who passed civil rights instead of his democrats. Yup, that winner of a guy LBJ, hero to the down oppressed, unless it conflicted with party needs.
Phil Dearing
9 months agoI’m a liberal. Claire is great, and has been one of the best Senators we have ever had. She’s made some mistakes, but on the whole she has represented us well. We need to tax the rich, support education and get this country back on track. That involves kicking these nut job Republicans to the curb. I don’t buy this latest poll because it shows Missourian’s as stupid. I don’t think we will be stupid enough to elect Toad Akins. Just remember the Republican party is the party of ignorance. Most don’t like to think.
George Hunsucker
Northland
9 months agoRightttttttttttt Phil
You libs make sooooooooooo much sense
Paul Austin
9 months agoPhil, that’s the MOST inane comment made since the birth of YT. With Claire showing great promise breaking ranks with With-Holden Holden we let her take RINO Talents place. With populist rhetoric of naming originators of earmarks, she fell into line with the ‘get along, then go along’ likes of Reid, Durbin, Bacus, and rest. Her earmark quest? She was told to stand in the corner like a penchant child and let the big boys run the show. No Phil, it matters not who has the best chance of winning that senate seat as long as it is not Clair! A bent trash can will do!
Kent Mueller
9 months agoPhil once again bashes Romney on taxes. Romney is in the top 3% in income, and he is in the top 3% in paying federal income taxes. Nothing much there, huh, Phil.
Would you please stop misleading on his taxes?