“Claire McCaskill Struggles To Explain Why She Wants A Third Term”
Emily Jashinsky
Washington Examiner
June 4, 2018
Claire McCaskill seems to think being a Democrat is reason enough for Missouri to give her a third term in the Senate.
Asked one of the easiest questions politicians face, McCaskill turned a softball into a curveball last Friday. “Why do you want a third term?” Radio host Steve Kraske asked in an interview. “And some might wonder ‘why aren’t two terms enough?'”
Normal answers might include: I love Missouri; there’s more work to be done; I care so much about the people of this state; I’m very concerned about healthcare, the middle class, jobs, etc.
McCaskill went a different route.
“I think that’s a good question, um and I, it was probably the circumstances, um, that I found myself in as it related to what’s going on in Missouri and in this country,” the senator stuttered, adding, “I think we need a check and we need a balance.”
McCaskill proceeded to tout her bipartisan bona fides, asserting that Missouri “has always, I think, benefited from the fact that we have both parties that have some power.”
“After the election of 2016, when the Republicans swept everything, I felt a certain obligation to step up again,” she said.
That’s probably a very effective argument to make to a chunk of independent voters, but McCaskill chose an odd time to flesh it out. As an answer to Kraske’s question, the implication is that she’s essentially a Democratic placeholder with nothing unique to contribute in the upper chamber.
