Let me start by saying that I am not Todd Akin's biggest fan. I did not vote for him in the Republican primary because I felt like he would have trouble getting elected due to his very outspoken conservative beliefs (remember when comparing federal student loans to stage four cancer was the most controversial thing Akin had said?). I am always one to follow William F. Buckley's advice to Republican primary voters: Vote for the most conservative candidate who can win. I felt all three of the leading Republican candidates were conservative, but I felt either Sarah Steelman or John Brunner would have a better chance of winning the Senate seat for the GOP.
After Mr. Akin made his now infamous "legitimate rape" comment, I felt very strongly that he should leave the Senate race and allow a more electable conservative like Steelman or Brunner to take up the Republican mantle against Senator Claire McCaskill. I still feel that Akin made a very selfish decision to stay in the race, a decision that could very well cost the Republican Party control of the U.S. Senate when all is said and done.
That said, I will still vote for Todd Akin when I go to the polls on November 6. Why would I vote for someone who I clearly believe made a mistake by staying in the race? My answer is simple: Claire McCaskill. Claire McCaskill was swept into office in 2006, which was a terrible election year for Republicans who were hampered by the unpopularity of the Iraq War. McCaskill has been a key ally of President Barack Obama throughout all the political battles of the last four years. While McCaskill likes to play the "moderate" card, she has supported some of the largest and most egregious expansions of federal government power in our nation's history. She was a key vote in support of the health care legislation which is now universally known as Obamacare. She has voted to confirm liberal, activist judges who continue to chip away at our constitution rights from their perches on federal courts. She has very rarely strayed from the Democrat party line, unless her vote was unnecessary to the powers that be.
If her liberal record is not enough to convince a majority of Missourians to oppose her, perhaps this week's developments are. A major news story broke earlier this week saying that Senator McCaskill's husband, a wealthy nursing home owner, has been using his wife's connections to make deals in the backrooms of the United States Senate. There have been whisperings and allegations of the crony capitalism involved with Senator McCaskill' and her husband throughout her political career, but this recent story connects all the dots. Claire McCaskill is abusing her office and abusing the trust of the people of Missouri to advance the financial interests of her husband.
Todd Akin said a dumb thing. He has apologized for his comment and I believe he has learned from the experience. Claire McCaskill is abusing her office to garner political favors for her husband. To me, there is no comparison. McCaskill's behavior is infinitely worse and should disqualify her from holding the office of U.S. Senator.
Current polling seems to favor McCaskill, but it will be very interesting to see if this recent news story (which appeared as a headline on the popular Drudge Report) will have the impact that it should on this election.
No comments:
Post a Comment