Return Claire McCaskill to the U.S. Senate
Missouri voters have a clear, important choice in the nationally watched U.S. Senate race. We recommend re-electing Claire McCaskill, a smart, moderate straight-shooter.
She’s actually a two-fer vote: McCaskill can continue her effective role as a watchdog of government contract spending, especially with defense industries, and she can spare Missouri the embarrassment of promoting the dangerously backward-thinking U.S. Rep. Todd Akin.
A vote for McCaskill returns to the Senate a leading moderate, known for bipartisan co-sponsorship of sensible legislation. And it protects Missouri and the nation from more votes by Akin against fair pay measures, emergency contraception after rape or incest, and federally subsidized school lunches for low-income children.
While conservatives desperately hope to paint McCaskill as too liberal, her record is firmly in the middle. Early in her term, she even won high ratings from the conservative U.S. Chamber of Commerce, before that group turned on her in an effort to shift control of the Senate to Republicans in 2012.
McCaskill endured a relentless ad barrage from outstate secret special interests during the Republican primary. Until, that is, Akin won that election and explained his bogus theory on “legitimate rape” victims holding the power to avoid pregnancy. Republican leaders scurried for the exits, asking Akin to step aside so the party could nominate someone else.
Akin didn’t listen. Now voters need to show him the door.
The 65-year-old from St. Louis County has a deplorable record of missed votes and positions well out of the mainstream on issues from finance to foreign aid. He backed Rep. Paul Ryan’s initial Medicare plan that would have created vouchers and likely cost seniors $6,000 extra a year. Following demonstrations in Egypt, he carelessly suggested the United States cut off all foreign aid to that country.
He’s a strict anti-abortion adherent who wants to force his views on all by denying access to abortion or emergency contraception in all circumstances, including in cases of rape and incest. Even access to birth control would not win Akin’s vote in the Senate. He is too dogmatic to have in office.
Also on the ballot is Libertarian Jonathan Dine.
McCaskill, an accomplished former Jackson County prosecutor and Missouri auditor, knows the ropes in Washington.
She has stuck to her principles on opposing earmarks. McCaskill deserves thanks for trying to end a system of political favors that undermines local decisions and rewards politically powerful politicians.
She learned after arriving in Washington of the “honey pot” tales. Certain party committee leaders would skim money off the top of accounts they reviewed for home projects. Earmarks have grown to ridiculous proportions over the years and are not a fair or an effective use of tax dollars.
Among McCaskill’s votes that critics don’t want you to know about: She twice tried to cap federal spending, co-sponsoring bills with conservative Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama. She supported the Keystone XL pipeline construction, provided safety measures were strictly followed. And she successfully pushed to end the secret holds on presidential nominees, a practice that stymied filling positions under both Democrats and Republicans.
She supports reforming the health care system, making insurance affordable and accessible. She hopes in another term she can help craft more changes to the Affordable Care Act that will better control future costs.
Claire McCaskill is making a positive difference for Missouri and for the nation. She has earned a second term.
George Hunsucker
Northland
8 months agoAnd this “smart, moderate” who has voted with the big 0 95% of the time, can continue voting for bills which funnel money to hubby & pals…
air claire: porkulus=yes, debt ceiling expansionS=yes, Supreme Court nominees=yes, 0’care=yes, MO VALUES=no…
air claire is a “moderate” only at election time—vote AKIN!!!!
George Hunsucker
Northland
8 months agoyesisree star, this is the kind of honesty and ethics that should be returned to office… can you seriously support this person????????
http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/18/whistle-blower-audio-sen-claire-mccaskills-husband-cut-business-deals-in-senate-dining-room/
Dan Wood
8 months agoI’d vote for you George, before I’d vote for Akin.
JR Beillenhouser
8 months agoI’d vote for George before Akin also, but I’d vote for Akin before Claire.
Johnathon Busby
8 months agoFacts, debate performance, qualification, or education will not be the criteria used to determine the outcome of the Akin race. He’s shown he has little grasp of facts, little ability to perform (in a debate or otherwise), and he’s not qualified or educated enough to hold a GED (based on his answers to simple biology questions).
It comes down to one very simple question; how many people in Mo are willing to sell their souls to spite anyone/anything who had anything to do with Obama. How many people in Mo resent Obama’s effort to insure the uninsured so very much they will deliberately elect a man like Akin, who treats rape victims with as much suspicion as their rapist. One party promised to do everything to make Obama a one term president, and they’ve been willing to harm everyone and everything around them to make it happen. Not just the president, but anyone who dared to (gasp) support their president.
Obamacare was a pile of good intentions, if poorly executed.
David Thorman
8 months agoI can give you 40 million reasons why not to vote for Claire…. and her plane problem, remember the one she forgot to park in Illinois to avoid Missouri property tax she failed to pay…. Now it comes to light that her husband used her access to the Senate dinning room to close business deals related to stimulus money…. where there is smoke there is fire… and in this case we should fire this trained seal who clapped for Obama Care … Money for her husbands business ventures and abuse of power… Corrupt and morally bankrupt…. it is laughable that she would be investigating corruption in government contracts… talk about the pot calling the Claire kettle black….
JR Beillenhouser
8 months ago“Obamacare was a pile of good intentions, if poorly executed.”
Wow, so that makes is ok. That is the liberal mantra.
“But we meant to do well”.
The Black family is destroyed. “But we meant to do well”.
Entitlements and Obamacare will bankrupt the country. “But we meant to do well”.
The Arab spring . “But we meant to do well”.
You don’t get points for good intentions. Sorry.
Brad Hampshire
8 months agoAkin is pretty dumb. That is why all those thousands of democrats voted for him in the primary.
But Rubber-stamp Claire has got to go. It’s laughable at best that the Red Star labels her a moderate.
I’ll vote for the idiot over the crook this time.
Johnathon Busby
8 months agoHey JR; Obamacare was poorly executed, no doubt.
Now, let’s compare it to the GOP attempt to insure the uninsured. …where is it? Let the poor die, right?
“The black family is destroyed.” The conservative agenda has tried to blame that on the dems for decades. Find a new tune.
Brad; yep, exactly. That’s why Claire ran ads about Akin being “too conservative for Missouri” as “attack ads”. Because she was smart enough to know that Akin is the only person ignorant enough to lose to her. She succeeded in choosing her own opponent; smart, clever, slick (if still slimy). I’ll take the clever politician over the mental-child Akin.