By Bill Raack, KWMU/NPR
St. Louis, MO. – Senator-elect Claire McCaskill says Democrats in Congress should not use their new majority to bully Republicans.
Three weeks ago, Missouri voters chose McCaskill to replace incumbent Republican Jim Talent, helping Democrats to win control of the Senate.
But McCaskill says in order to accomplish anything her party will have to reach across the aisle and be willing to compromise
"I'm serious that there should be no swaggering on the parts of Democrats around this town," McCaskill said. "It was a close election, it was not a mandate. We need to be very careful with the power we've been given and use a velvet glove instead of a two-by-four to try to move forward on some of the problems I think really need to be addressed."
McCaskill says that she hopes to use her position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to look into no-bid and so-called "cost-plus" contracts and how the government is spending money on defense.