Area417

Senator Bond Shafts Missouri

While Senator Claire McCaskill (D) made good on her promise by voting against cloture on the Kennedy/Bush/McCain immigration sham, Senator Bond flipped Missourians the bird by voting for cloture.

Late in the afternoon, Senator Bond (B, for Bozo) tried to convince Sean Hannity's listeners that he had done a wonderful thing. The reasoning went something like this: now Bond gets to take the Senate floor and explain to his partners in crime why this is such a bad bill. Bowled over by his skilled oratory, they will be properly chastised and wonder why the hell they every considered this steaming turd of a bill. (The whole thing was pretty difficult to follow. Bond's explanation was convoluted--in fact, he sounded positively senile). Adding to the confusion was the fact that Hannity thought Bond had voted against closure.

Senator Bond, I'm sure your constituents are letting you know know in no uncertain terms that we much prefer McCaskill's no B.S. approach to the matter. Not that you seem to care.

I'd hope that Missouri Republicans can get over their partisanship long enough to call Senator McCaskill's office and THANK HER. I called...right after I fired off a rather acid critique of Senator Bond's performance to his DC office.

So Where Does McCaskill Stand On Immigration?

The Politico reports that Senator McCaskill has said that the immigration fiasco bill would need to "change a lot" in order to win her vote.  But what does that mean? That we aren't giving away enough? That is isn't tough enough? With Missouri's junior senator, it's difficult to say.

We do remember, however, what she said during her campaign:

* We are a sovereign nation and border security has to be a top priority, especially since 9/11. Additionally, it's about American workers and the middle class.

* This new program would cost our taxpayers $54 billion over the next 10 years. I can't see how we can ask taxpayers to pay this price in support of foreign workers we may not even need and put at risk programs that Missourians rely upon.

* Big corporations that exploit illegal immigrants for cheap labor hurt the economy because they bring down wages and cost American jobs. I am also aware that once those illegal workers are removed, we have an entirely new set of labor force issues. I believe that we need to crack down on our illegal immigration problem first, enforce our laws evenly and fairly, and then put the labor needs of this state on the table to deal with that out in the open.

If you want to attempt to pin Senator McCaskill down on her position, here's the contact information:

Washington Office: Phone:  (202) 224-6154   Fax: (202) 228-6326

Main District Office:Phone: (816) 421-1639   Fax: (816) 421-2562

While you're at it, hold Senator Bond's feet to the fire. He may be contacted at the following:

Washington Office: Phone:  (202) 224-5721   Fax: (202) 228-8149

Main District Office:Phone: (573) 624-2488    Fax: (573) 634-6005

The rumor is that Senator Bond is considering retiring. While he may not care that you won't vote for him again, he may  (unlike Bush) still care about the Republican Party enough to keep it from committing suicide.   

On Earmarks, Social Security, and B.S.

$300,00 for mapping the catfish genome? $2.5 million for a virtual spray paint simulator system?

ABC news recently did a spot on Americans For Prosperity's crusade to end such dubious earmarks. You can see the video here.

***

Speaking of earmarks, the Democrat overlords refused to let real earmark reform come to a vote.

Senator DeMint's bill, S. Res. 123 would expose those guilty of saddling the public with their pork projects by posting the bill, with the requester's (and recipient's) name attached, on the internet at least 48 hours prior to consideration. 

Such a system would go a long way toward helping voters identify which Senators are wasting our money.

Our own Senator McCaskill was one of five cosponsors of DeMint's bill, so kudos to Claire! I've had harsh words for her in the past, but I must give credit when credit is due.

Pat Toomey, president of The Club for Growth, had this to say:

The Democratic leadership passed earmark reform unanimously when the issue was hot, but now that the appropriation process is under way and its special-interest cronies are knocking at its doors, it is all too eager to sweep the issue under the rug,” Mr. Toomey continued. “Democratic leaders want to tell taxpayers they voted for earmark reform out of one side of their mouths, but brag about their pork-filled goody bags out of the other side. American taxpayers will see through this hypocritical charade.

***

McCaskill was the only Dem who voted for S.Amdt 489, which would have protected Social Security funds from unrelated spending by established a reserve. (Republicans should heap scorn on Olympia Snowe (ME) and Senator Smith of Oregon for voting against this amendment.)

I hope voters remember that Democrats, known for their demagoguery of  Social Security, voted against this amendment.

Looks like the Dems just exposed their real motives for rejecting privatizing Social Security and it has nothing to do with your retirement.

Ask Claire McCaskill to Stop Amnesty Bill

Here's a copy of the fax I sent to Claire McCaskill, asking her to honor her campaign promises.

Senator Claire McCaskill
825A Hart, U.S. Senate
Washington, MO 20510

Dear Senator McCaskill,

I am counting on you to stop Senator Kennedy's amnesty bill.

Senator, Missouri is counting on you to stand by the views you shared with us during your campaign:

* We are a sovereign nation and border security has to be a top priority, especially since 9/11. Additionally, it's about American workers and the middle class. I could not have voted for this bill because I disagreed with the provisions on undocumented workers.

* This new program would cost our taxpayers $54 billion over the next 10 years. I can't see how we can ask taxpayers to pay this price in support of foreign workers we may not even need and put at risk programs that Missourians rely upon.

* Big corporations that exploit illegal immigrants for cheap labor hurt the economy because they bring down wages and cost American jobs. I am also aware that once those illegal workers are removed, we have an entirely new set of labor force issues. I believe that we need to crack down on our illegal immigration problem first, enforce our laws evenly and fairly, and then put the labor needs of this state on the table to deal with that out in the open.

Your words, Senator, concerning a bill that wasn't as bad as the one now proposed.

P.S. Missouri's voters are counting on you to oppose Senator Kennedy's giant amnesty bill.

So Much For The "Straight Talk Express"

Much like our own Claire McCaskill,  who cozied right up to the lobbyists she disparaged during her campaign, John McCain has his hand out to people he once eschewed.

Just about a year and a half ago, Sen. John McCain went to court to try to curtail the influence of a group to which A. Jerrold Perenchio gave $9 million, saying it was trying to "evade and violate" new campaign laws with voter ads ahead of the midterm elections.

As McCain launches his own presidential campaign, however, he is counting on Perenchio, the founder of the Univision Spanish-language media empire, to raise millions of dollars as co-chairman of the Arizona Republican's national finance committee. (Solomon, John. McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit, Washington Post)

For me, this puts another check in the plus column for Ron Paul, who had this to say about the now infamous McCain-Feingold bill:

The legislation will do nothing to curb special interest power or reduce corruption in Washington, but it will make it harder for average Americans to influence government. “Campaign finance reform” really means the bright-line standard of free speech has been replaced by a murky set of regulations and restrictions that will muzzle political dissent and protect incumbents. Justice Scalia correctly accuses the Court of supporting a law “That cuts to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government…This is a sad day for freedom of speech.”

What others are saying: NH INSIDER-McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit, Daily Kos-McCain flip-flops on campaign financing

Citizens Against Government Waste Name Claire McCaskill And Six Others As "Porkers Of The Month"

 

Citizens Against Government Waste honor Senator Claire McCaskill with a joint Porker Of The Month award.

...For failing to live up to campaign promises to reform earmarks or eliminate corruption and attempting to preserve a giant loophole in earmark reform legislation, CAGW names the seven freshmen senators who voted to kill the DeMint earmark amendment its Porkers of the Month for January 2007.

Link to Citizens Against Government Waste: porkerofthemonth

The Reformer, Claire McCaskill

KC Buzz Blog has also noted Crusader Claire's little problems with donations to her campaign.

The Federal Election Commission says Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign may have accepted “excessive and/or prohibited” donations from 19 people in the final weeks of the 2006 election.

The commission sent a letter to McCaskill for Missouri this week, asking for further information about the donations, which were made between Oct. 19 and Nov. 27, then disclosed Dec. 7 of last year.

How is it that this former state auditor, who says she's going to use her auditing skills to closely monitor government spending, can't even keep tabs on her own campaign finances?

Claire McCaskill And Reform (Or Not)

Update: While McCaskill claims she wants to see more transparency regarding lobbyists, all of her fundraisers are closed to the press. (Stearns, Matt. Ethic reforms won't change D.C. overnight)

Continuing from the previous post, it should be noted that Crusader Claire recently hired a former lobbyist as her chief of staff.

Sean Kennedy’s appointment last week as McCaskill’s chief of staff follows his tenure since 2004 as a lobbyist for SBC Communications, now part of AT&T.

...McCaskill will serve on the Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications and reviewed the AT&T-SBC merger.

“If I were AT&T, I’d probably be pretty happy that my guy is now chief of staff to a member of the Commerce Committee, and I would have expectations,” said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan Washington watchdog group. “The challenge for Sen. McCaskill’s office is going to be not giving undue access to a former employer. It’s hard to say ‘no’ to people you used to work with and give other people the same access and treatment.” (Sterns, Matt. Senator hires ex-lobbyist Kansas City Star

Missouri blogger The Source sees problems with McCaskill too:

Unfortunately, Claire McCaskill’s finance committees have a history of discrepancies and inaccuracies. Now that she is attempting to skirt the law and raise money for them, the Source thought it would be a good idea to make sure she’s doing so legally this time around...

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)

McCaskill Warns Dems "No Mandate"

There's at least one newly-minted Democrat Senator who seems to get it. From today's Kansas City Star:

There is no mandate in our country right now. Our country is very divided. We need to be respectful of the other party and try to work together. If I’ve got to raise a ruckus about that (with fellow senators), I will.

Have no fear, Senator. We will be watching closely to see if you are truly the independent voice for Missouri that you said you would be.

...McCaskill was candid about her concerns that Democrats might start to “swagger” after their stunning victories Tuesday and that she might need “to knock some heads.

McCaskill went on to say that her office would actually read the audit reports put out by the General Accountability Office.

FactCheck.org Finds Talent Ads Deceptive

*FactCheck examined several ads that Senator Jim Talent is running against Claire McCaskill:

In four separate TV spots Republican Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri falsely attributes several unflattering quotes about his opponent to the Kansas City Star. Our examination reveals that the quotes actually come from rival Claire McCaskill's political opponents and critics, not from the Star's reporters or editors.

In another case, where a Talent ad uses a phrase that actually did come from a
newspaper, it is out of context and misleading. The negative remark was
in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial that was endorsing McCaskill for election.

You can find their analysis here.

*FactCheck.org bills itself as "a nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U. S. politics."

Wouldn't Wanna Be In Claire McCaskill's Shoes...

Update: KY3's blog notes that Dems are beginning to have doubts about McCaskill.

If there's a big, steaming pile to step in, McCaskill will find it.

First, McCaskill expressed surprise that us hillbilly types (meaning anyone who lives outside of St. Louis or Kansas City) thought about anything other than running coon hounds and eating pork rinds:

...Freesoiler cannot help but be amused at the fact that, even in what she means to be a moment of humility, McCaskill still exposes her ignorance and prejudice about rural voters. McCaskill admits that she was wrong to assume that rural voters don't care about "...College education tuition, health care, being able to afford a tank of gasoline. They care as much as we do" (Emphasis mine). The "we" McCaskill speaks of refers to the enlightened, megalopolitan denizens of St. Louis and Kansas City...
(Link:Chapter the Twelfth: In Which Claire McCaskill Shows Yet Again That She Just Doesn't Get It, The Radical Republican)

(If memory serves, didn't McCaskill emphasize (back in 2004) that she would be the "first urban governor" in who-knows-how-many-years?)

Then there's her idiotic statement about how Bush "let people die on rooftops in New Orleans because they were poor and because they were black." (See Outside the Beltway for more)

Claire even managed to step in it with her base when she did a blow-by at the local NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. Not only did she leave within 10 minutes of her arrival, her political director was hot on her heels and was absent when he was called on to "convey greetings from McCaskill."

One attendee wrote:

So far you have been a huge disappointment to black people, but we are use to candidates from the Democratic party doing this and yet we still vote for them. That is probably why you don't care about us either, because you feel that black people will vote for you anyway. (Link: Pub Def Weekly)

And last, but not least, Pub Def Weekly reports that a McCaskill staffer barred a local Democrat from a meeting of elected St. Louis officials:

Jeff Smith, who recently won a tough primary election for State Senate and has no opposition in the general election, was stopped at the door and asked to leave by McCaskill's political director, Brandon Davis. He told Smith the meeting was only for "elected officials." (See article McCaskill Rallys Democrats,Aide Kicks Jeff Smith Out of Meeting)