This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 22, 2012 - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is seeking to kick-start her campaign for re-election — but in a way that doesn’t kick out her Republican rival, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin.
On Wednesday, McCaskill, the Democratic incumbent, met with several dozen veterans in Overland and St. Charles to promote her record on veterans’ issues — her campaign’s chief focus this week during a statewide tour.
At a stop at the VFW hall in Overland, McCaskill cited her efforts to “expand access to health care for rural veterans,” to correct the poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and “to clean up the mismanagement” at Arlington National Cemetery, where graves were mismarked and remains misplaced.
McCaskill then detailed various of Akin's votes during his 12 years in Congress — against military bonuses and pay raises, cutting the military and veterans’ budgets, “against extending TRICARE to National Guard members and reservists, and in opposition to providing health insurance for active duty military families.”
(Akin’s campaign declined Wednesday to respond.)
But what McCaskill didn’t want to talk about Wednesday was how her campaign might be affected by the continued controversy over Akin’s public comments about “legitimate rape’’ that have prompted Republican Party leaders — nationally and in Missouri — to pressure him to step down.
The national GOP wants to replace Akin with a candidate deemed more likely to defeat her, especially since McCaskill is the top target in the Republican effort to take over the U.S. Senate.
Akin has been on TV and radio to defend himself but otherwise has not campaigned.
Meanwhile, McCaskill's campaign has continued to run anti-Akin attack ads, including one challenging his opposition to federally subsidized student loans.
McCaskill: GOP 'voters have spoken'
In response to repeated questions Wednesday from reporters, McCaskill gave variations of the same answer: “Missourians who have voted in the Republican primary have nominated Todd Akin, and I think this election will provide very stark contrasts between Todd Akin and me.”
Her gentle refusal to deviate from that response prompted press chuckles about the fourth or fifth time she said it.
At one point, McCaskill did add that the Aug. 7 primary — in which Akin defeated two well-known rivals — “was an election conducted under the Constitution of the United States, it was held lawfully and the voters have spoken.”
McCaskill has been careful about how she has talked about Akin, even before the controversy broke last Sunday. That’s because it was an open secret for months that Democrats — nationally and in Missouri — saw Akin as her best hope of survival in November.
McCaskill and Akin long have agreed that they hold stark differences on a variety of issues, including: Social Security, Medicare, minimum wage, federally financed student loans, the federal school-lunch program — and abortion.
A former prosecutor, McCaskill initially condemned his latest controversial statement that started off the current frenzy, when Akin told TV reporter Charles Jaco that in cases of "legitimate rape," women rarely got pregnant because their bodies have "ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
(Akin’s aim was to justify his opposition to abortion in cases of rape, a stance that he still holds. However, the congressman has spent the last few days apologizing for his initial assertion and emphasizing that he now no longer believes that women who have been raped don’t get pregnant.)
McCaskill has subsequently made note of Akin’s apology and has sought to move on. But in the wake of the continued national political frenzy, that can be difficult.
Like Akin, McCaskill is finding that each of her political moves and comments is scrutinized. In her case, the situation is reminiscent — although far less grave — to that of Republican John Ashcroft in 2000, when he was trying to restart his campaign following the airplane crash that killed his Democratic rival for the U.S. Senate, then-Gov. Mel Carnahan.
Ashcroft was carefully campaigning — and finding every action or word analyzed — as the Democratic drama ensued over who would replace Carnahan, prompting a high-profile and partisan debate among leaders in both parties when the choice was the governor’s widow, Jean Carnahan.
McCaskill steers clear of GOP battle
McCaskill, like Ashcroft, is trying to keep her distance from that discussion. She declined Wednesday to comment about any of the speculation about Akin's possible replacements, instead repeating her prepared response: “Missourians who have voted…”
Wednesday’s behind-the-scenes talk — made public via social media, blog sites and national news outlets — included rumors that state GOP party leaders had proposed a possible candidate switch in which Ann Wagner, now running to replace Akin in the U.S. House, would become the new Senate candidate, while Akin would return to be the GOP candidate for the 2nd District House seat.
Akin’s campaign declined comment on such reports, and those close to U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., denied that the senator had been involved in any such proposal. The state Republican Party continued to decline to return phone calls.
Wagner was simply the latest in a litany of names to surface as possible replacements for Akin.
An Akin spokesman did say that the congressman will soon begin holding public campaign events, although no firm dates were mentioned. Akin did fire off on Wednesday another fundraising appeal via email.
The news website Politico reported that Akin also flew to Tampa on Wednesday to meet with the Council for National Policy, a group of influential social-conservative and evangelical political activists and donors.
McCaskill, meanwhile, said she plans to focus on a different topic each week. Her focus on veterans — long one of her favorite issues — is to continue next week when retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. and an Army vet, travels to Missouri to join her on the campaign trail.
“I think this election will provide very stark contrasts between Todd Akin and me," she said. "I look forward to showing Missourians how we differ on many issues.”
The challenge for McCaskill is to avoid appearing too eager.
