This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 14, 2012 - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Republican challenger Todd Akin have both launched new TV spots that, together, focus on her three top campaign issues: Social Security, Medicare and student loans.
McCaskill's ad, announced Tuesday, features college students who disparage Akin’s comment last spring that federal involvement in offering student loans amounts to “stage III cancer of socialism.”
Akin's spot, which also began Tuesday, seeks to defend him from Democratic assertions that the congressman wants to privatize Medicare and Social Security.
His ad accuses McCaskill of "desperate and misleading attacks." McCaskill and national Democrats say they're simply highlighting Akin's own words.
The competing ads signal that, for the moment, the two are battling largely on the issues that McCaskill is highlighting -- and not the Republican attacks against her, that primarily focus on federal spending.
Both sides accuse the other of mischaracterizing views, and not representing "mainstream Missourians."
McCaskill's new ad does imply, through the students' comments, that Akin believes that student loans are “stage III cancer of socialism." Actually, Akin has used that phrase to decry federal involvement in the loan process – not the loans themselves.
“I was not saying that student loans are a cancer. I referred to the policies where there is a government takeover of private industries,” Akin said last April, after President Barack Obama had blasted the congressman’s use of the “stage III” phrase.
Akin has said that he prefers the previous setup where banks provided the loans, with a government subsidy to keep the interest rates low.
Congress has moved during the Obama administration to return to the system – in place decades ago – in which the government issued the loans directly. Federal officials say the direct-loan route is cheaper.
McCaskill contends that eliminating federal student loans would mean that only rich families could qualify for bank loans to pay for college -- and that young people who are middle-class or poor would be unable to afford higher education.
Akin’s campaign has countered by noting that, while he is critical of the government's role, he has repeatedly said he supports lower-interest loans. Akin recently did vote to extend the lower federal interest rate of 3.4 percent for another year, rather than let the interest rate almost double in June.
But McCaskill campaign spokesman Erik Dorey contended that Akin's views are clear, regardless of attempts to muddy them. “Todd Akin’s positions are not only outside Missouri’s mainstream, but they’d have a devastating impact on Missouri’s students and families,” Dorey said.
“Federal student loans are the first rung on the ladder for 185,000 Missouri students who are trying to pull themselves up," Dorey continued. "Whether it’s ending affordable student loans, privatizing Medicare and Social Security or abolishing the minimum wage, Missouri’s families can’t afford to have a Senator like Todd Akin, who simply isn’t on our side.”
Akin focuses on Obamacare, McCaskill's plane
The Akin ad is running statewide, and his first since winning the Aug. 7 primary, his campaign said late Monday. It contends that recent ad attacks by McCaskill and the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have been “misleading, deceptive, false.”
In particular, Akin's spot asserts that he “fights to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security.”
However, the ad doesn't dispute the key points of the Democrats' attacks -- that Akin long has sought to change how both programs work. (Akin's campaign also has said he doesn't dispute how his stances are characterized on McCaskill's attack web site,truthaboutakin.com)
Still, Akin's ad is more evidence of the political power of the Social Security and Medicare issues, which isn't surprising since a sizable chunk of the state's most reliable voters are retirees who receive both benefits.
Akin’s campaign appears to be responding to the latest DSCC ad – and McCaskill’s campaign pitch for weeks. The Democrats have been spotlighting the congressman’s own voice from various public appearances, in which he states that he has concerns with how Social Security is set up.
Akin also has stated his support, and voted in favor, of the proposed budget of House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, now the running mate of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Ryan’s proposed budget transforms Medicare into a voucher program for people now under age 55. Ryan and his allies have contended that the change will protect Medicare in the long run, while Democrats say it would force future elderly to spend more than $6,000 a year for health care than they do now.
(Akin also has noted that he voted against Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, which he says is too costly for the federal government.)
The "protect and strengthen'' language in Akin's ad is in line with recommendations from the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
Akin’s ad then swiftly pivots into some of the key Republican attacks against McCaskill, notably that she “has voted with Obama 98 percent of the time,” and that her family failed to pay St. Louis County property taxes on their now-sold plane for three years.
The ad visually jabs at McCaskill by showing her flying in a plane.
(However, it turns out that Akin also was late paying some of his property taxes, although the amount was less than the $300,000 in taxes and penalties paid by McCaskill).
Akin's ad also asserts that McCaskill was “the deciding vote” to pass the federal health insurance changes, officially known as the Affordable Care Act and unofficially called “Obamacare.” McCaskill was among the 60 supportive Senate votes – the minimum needed to pass – so each of those votes could be seen as the deciding vote. (Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., cast the last supportive vote.)
The ad notes that the Affordable Care Act also trims about $700 billion from Medicare over 10 years. Democrats and Factcheck.org emphasize that the cut comes from reducing payments to insurance companies for the most expensive Medicare Advantage plan, and curbing payments to providers, including hospitals. Ryan’s plan also trims $500 billion from the multi-year cost of Medicare.
Akin spokesman Ryan Hite said in a statement, “It’s sad to see Senator McCaskill immediately resort to false, negative attacks but it’s also not surprising because she has nothing to stand on when it comes to defending her very liberal record in Washington ….”Anyone who votes with President Obama 98 percent of the time is out of the mainstream with voters in Missouri, but that’s exactly what Claire McCaskill has done during her time in Washington and we intend to hold her accountable.”
(Start of update) Tuesday morning, McCaskill's campaign issued a counter-response. "Just last week, Todd Akin's campaign confirmed the statements in our ads are factually correct, so it's interesting to see how quickly he's changed his tune," said McCaskill communications director Caitlin Legacki.
"Regardless of what spin Akin tries to put in his new negative ad, the truth of the matter is that Todd Akin's positions on privatizing Medicare, privatizing Social Security, abolishing the minimum wage and ending federal support for student loans are far outside Missouri's mainstream...." (End update)
