McCaskill Follows Lead of Dean, Other Northeastern Liberals in Opposing Alito Nomination

JEFFERSON CITY – Last Monday, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, a Northeastern liberal, broke the news to Missourians that Claire McCaskill would oppose the nomination of Samuel S. Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his remarks to a Kansas City audience that included McCaskill, Dean said, “If Claire McCaskill were in the Senate, there would be one less vote for Judge (Samuel) Alito.”1 Dean’s announcement was not refuted by McCaskill until Thursday when the Missouri Republican Party began raising questions. One day after she refuted Dean’s announcement, McCaskill admitted that she opposed Alito’s nomination.
“Last week, Missourians witnessed Claire McCaskill come to grips with her status as a handpicked candidate of Northeastern liberals,” said Missouri Republican Party spokesman John Hancock. “They engineered her candidacy, are financing her campaign, and in return she is doing their bidding.”
Since word first broke that McCaskill was entertaining a run for U.S. Senate, Northeastern liberals have been at the forefront of her decision-making process. In July 2005, she traveled to Nantucket Island, Massachusetts for a meeting sponsored by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headed by New York Senator Chuck Schumer. The meeting was hosted by Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and prominently featured Schumer.2 Later in the summer, Schumer, who had McCaskill “on speed dial”, traveled to London, England to have dinner with her.3 It was there that New York Newsday reports that McCaskill agreed to run.4
Since her announcement, McCaskill has benefited greatly from the support of Northeastern liberals. To date, $1 out of every $6 she has received has come from Schumer, Kerry and George Soros. In addition, McCaskill has already received substantial financial assistance from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy’s leadership PAC, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s leadership PAC, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed’s leadership PAC, and a committee of New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg.5 In a sign of continued support, New York’s other liberal Senator, Hillary Clinton, has been reportedly planning a New York City event for McCaskill.
“Senators Jim Talent and Kit Bond are representing Missouri’s values and interests by supporting the nomination of the highly qualified Alito,” said Hancock. “McCaskill represents the values and interests of elite Northeastern liberals, and her opposition to Alito proves that to be true.”
1 Kansas City Star, January 19, 2006
2 Kansas City Star, July 12, 2005
3 Gannett News Service, October 28, 2005
4 Newsday, November 13, 2005
5 FEC, Missourians for McCaskill