Claire McCaskill: Politics As Usual

Missouri's junior senator knows which side her bread is buttered on.

While on the stump, she knew voters were sick of the undue influence of lobbyists, so she styled herself as a crusader for change. The banner on McCaskill's campaign site still trumpets "Claire McCaskill, Bringing Real Change and Accountability to Washington" and features her "15 point plan to make sure Washington works for us."

But, like most politicians, once she arrived in Washington, it was a different story:

Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, won election last year with a populist campaign bashing special interests and corporate lobbyists. This week, she invited dozens of them to a fundraiser: $1,000 per political action committee, $500 per individual. Among the invitees were some of Washington's biggest interests: Big Ag, Big Pharmaceutical, Big Telecom, Big Tobacco.

Hosting the fundraiser: Blackwell Sanders, a law and lobbying firm that Richard Martin, McCaskill's campaign manager, just went to work for as a "government affairs" specialist. (Sterns, Matt. Culture of money, access enduring under Democratic control McClatchy Washington Bureau

Do you suppose the clients of Blackwell Sanders (listed here on Open Secrets) will have easy access to McCaskill's office?

McCaskill defended herself, noting that it takes mountains of money to get elected. "Each individual senator has to make sure that their moral compass stays sharp and that they don't blow the line." (Hananel, Sam. McCaskill raises money from "broken system" she wants to change Kansas City Star)