By the Honorable Tim Jones
Claire McCaskill has had a rough time closing out “Election 2018.” First, she was caught hiding behind a pillar at a public town hall meeting after spying a camera in the room. Then, she rejected the views of rural Missouri by stating “I can give up a few votes in the Bootheel.” Finally, Project Veritas, a group dedicated to investigating and exposing corruption, dishonesty, and misconduct, caught McCaskill staffers on-camera saying “people just can’t know” that she is more aligned with liberal politicians, and that she “essentially” lies to get elected. It’s clear McCaskill is no moderate politician, and it’s time for her to go.
Just a few months ago, Senator McCaskill was given the opportunity to return taxpayer money to working-class Missourians via the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, a major reform that has benefited working families and made America more competitive on a global stage. Unfortunately, she once again put her party first and voted against it. Under this legislation, a working-class couple making $120,000 with 2 kids has seen their taxes drop an average of $3,400. America’s corporate tax rate has dropped from 39%, the highest among any of the 36 developed nations that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to 21% (now in-line with the OECD average of 22%). It’s no wonder U.S. GDP increased over 5.4% in Q2 2018, growth America hasn’t achieved in nearly a dozen years!
One of the reasons it is so important to put more money in the pockets of taxpayers is due to rising healthcare costs. Senator McCaskill voted for Obamacare in 2010, legislation that has hurt working-class Americans by replacing the free-market with government regulated-insurance markets. The result has been less choice, higher premiums and deductibles, higher prescription drug costs, and 43% higher healthcare costs since its inception. McCaskill frequently targets pharmaceutical companies for their large profits, but those profits have risen due to her vote in favor of increasing government spending on pharmaceutical products, another by-product of Obamacare. The resulting price increases due to higher demand and less choice continues to cost Americans. The Kaiser Family Health Foundation is projecting spending on health care to continue rising through 2025, as it has since the Obamacare exchanges opened in January of 2014.
Healthcare coverage was a top line issue for some Democrats during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While Claire McCaskill voted for 100% of President Obama’s judicial nominees, including Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, she voted against both of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominations. Unfortunately, Senator McCaskill has demonstrated that towing the party line is more important to her than judging each nominee fairly based on their qualifications, record, and written opinions.
Here in the “Show-Me” state, actions speak louder than words. That is why a recent poll named McCaskill the least popular Senator seeking reelection in America. While she tries to tell us that her “moderate” views represent all Missourians, McCaskill’s actions show that she turns her back on Missouri as she flies her private jet to Washington D.C. to cast votes on the Senate floor and out to Hollywood to collect bags of cash from far leftwing liberals. As Missourians continue to see that Claire now owes her allegiances to K Street and Tinsel Town and no longer to The Show-Me State, it’s no wonder that all recent public polls firmly show that Attorney General Josh Hawley is establishing a clear lead in the race to become Missouri’s next U.S. Senator. It’s time we taught Senator McCaskill what is important to Missouri by showing her that Missourians have figured out that she no longer considers our state her home.
Tim Jones is a Former Speaker of the House for the State of Missouri. He is currently the Chief Communications Officer for The First Rule Media Network, a St. Louis based, national in scope, full service, media, communications, and government affairs company.
