by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Missouri's senior United States Senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, has been locked in a tight re-election race for the past several months, a situation that has left her grappling for positions that will offend the fewest voters. McCaskill, in fact, portrays herself as part of the "blue dog" coalition in the Senate, a group of Democratic "moderates" who are obsessed with not making waves.
The latest Supreme Court vacancy could not have come at a worse time for Claire McCaskill. She had somehow marshaled the courage to vote against Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first Supreme Court pick, and she hoped that enough time had passed to diffuse any anger back home that was stirred up by that vote. But along comes the Kavanaugh nomination, due out for a vote just weeks before the senate election in Missouri, and poor Claire was in a quandary. Should she stand with her party and cast a vote against this rushed nomination, or should she profess to a bit of "moderation" and support it - and hopefully keep a slice of Trump's suburban vote?
For weeks Claire sat meekly on the fence and declined to say what she would do. At one point she even indicated that she might not make up her mind until the vote was called. But then fate intervened.
Now, with the attempted rape allegation being leveled against Kavanaugh by a woman that he knew in high school, public opinion regarding the nominee is shifting - and not in a good way - and Claire has found herself in a position where she can speak honestly. Now suburban housewives in St. Louis County are beginning to change their minds about Kavanaugh - and that new political dynamic gives Claire room to maneuver herself back into the rank-and-file of the Democratic Party.
Welcome home, Claire.
Claire McCaskill's reemergence as a Democrat may or may not have a significant impact on her electoral hopes, but the shift back to her roots has won her at least one vote - mine!
Citizen Journalist
Missouri's senior United States Senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, has been locked in a tight re-election race for the past several months, a situation that has left her grappling for positions that will offend the fewest voters. McCaskill, in fact, portrays herself as part of the "blue dog" coalition in the Senate, a group of Democratic "moderates" who are obsessed with not making waves.
The latest Supreme Court vacancy could not have come at a worse time for Claire McCaskill. She had somehow marshaled the courage to vote against Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first Supreme Court pick, and she hoped that enough time had passed to diffuse any anger back home that was stirred up by that vote. But along comes the Kavanaugh nomination, due out for a vote just weeks before the senate election in Missouri, and poor Claire was in a quandary. Should she stand with her party and cast a vote against this rushed nomination, or should she profess to a bit of "moderation" and support it - and hopefully keep a slice of Trump's suburban vote?
For weeks Claire sat meekly on the fence and declined to say what she would do. At one point she even indicated that she might not make up her mind until the vote was called. But then fate intervened.
Now, with the attempted rape allegation being leveled against Kavanaugh by a woman that he knew in high school, public opinion regarding the nominee is shifting - and not in a good way - and Claire has found herself in a position where she can speak honestly. Now suburban housewives in St. Louis County are beginning to change their minds about Kavanaugh - and that new political dynamic gives Claire room to maneuver herself back into the rank-and-file of the Democratic Party.
Welcome home, Claire.
Claire McCaskill's reemergence as a Democrat may or may not have a significant impact on her electoral hopes, but the shift back to her roots has won her at least one vote - mine!
1 comment:
Claire is suffering from the same disease that seems to affect congresspeople of both parties: The urge to make all her decisions in favor of the donor class, rather than the people who elected her. This propensity has grown ever more powerful as the two parties find themselves less and less likely to form political coalitions that would make possible the will of the people. Until the parties begin to talk to each other about solutions to common problems, which have been largely ignored since Newt Gingrich urged his caucus stop dealing with the other side, the Congress might as well not exist.
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