Payroll Tax Cut

Collins, McCaskill Unveil Jobs Plan -- Including Millionaire Tax Increase

Brian Beutler | December 6, 2011, 2:45PM

Sen. Susan Collins (R - ME), left, and Claire McCaskill (D - MO), stand together during a presidential signing ceremony for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act at the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 22, 2010.

As reported earlier, Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Susan Collins (R-ME) just dropped the details of their plan to extend the payroll tax cut, which includes other economic growth proposals. And both sponsors were explicit about the fact that their goal is to entice GOP senators to break their anti-tax streaks.

First the details on the legislation.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Collins, McCaskill Push Millionaire Surtax That Exempts 'Small Business'

Brian Beutler | December 6, 2011, 10:27AM

Sen. Susan Collins (R - ME), left, and Claire McCaskill (D - MO), stand together during a presidential signing ceremony for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act at the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 22, 2010.

Two senators, one Dem one Republican, are trying to break the GOP objection to raising taxes on millionaires to fund job creation measures. If they're successful, it will become the key to passing President Obama's payroll tax cut proposal, and driving a wedge between powerful anti-tax activists and the Republican party. But if Republicans object it will expose the hollow nature of their overwhelming opposition to taxing the affluent.

When Republicans object to small tax increases on millionaires they claim Democrats are proposing to raise taxes on "small businesses" or "job creators."

This is basically a distraction. Some businesses are organized as pass-through entities, in which federal taxes are paid by the owner as individual income taxes, including a hypothetical surtax on millionaires. But this is a small share of filers, and some of these filers are major, privately held companies -- not small businesses.

To strip Republicans of this objection, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) are proposing to exempt these entities from the millionaire's surtax, and put the remaining revenue to paying for President Obama's payroll tax holiday.

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Government Shutdown

Senate Averts Government Shutdown Threat, Funds FEMA

Brian Beutler | September 26, 2011, 6:40PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

The threat of a government shutdown, and the possibility that FEMA will run out of money this week, will both be averted, thanks to some clever accounting and the GOP's lack of will to keep holding disaster relief funds hostage to budget cuts.

On the Senate floor late Monday, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced an agreement by which the Senate (and presumably the House) can dispense with all the sturm und drang about offsetting disaster aid and pass legislation that will keep the entire government -- including FEMA -- open after September.

The measure passed 79-12.

What ultimately broke the impasse was FEMA's announcement Monday that it won't run out of funds early this week -- a presumption House Republicans had hoped would force Senate Democrats to accept a partisan budget cut, on the threat that disaster victims would otherwise be deprived of assistance for days or even weeks.

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Claire McCaskill

McCaskill So 'God-Damn Mad' About Wartime Contracting Abuses

Susan Crabtree | September 21, 2011, 5:08PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

While channeling President Harry Truman and fuming about wartime contracting waste and abuse, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) dropped a "god-damn" just for emphasis at a Senate hearing Wednesday.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who chaired the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, was thanking McCaskill for her "excellent testimony," noting that he was struck by her reference to Truman who proceeded over a bumpy reconversion from a wartime economy.

"I know you're keeping that spirit alive," he told her. "It struck me that if we could go and interview him about this commission report and then release the transcript, we would have to delete several expletives."

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Balanced Budget Amendment

It's A Trap! The Hidden Pitfalls Of GOP's 'Cut, Cap, And Balance' Plan

Brian Beutler | July 18, 2011, 1:24PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on, and likely pass, a conservative Republican plan called "Cut, Cap, and Balance." The package will include some immediate, as-yet unspecified spending cuts, a statutory cap to keep spending below 18 percent of GDP, and a promised separate vote on a Constitutional amendment that requires Congress to maintain a balanced budget, but essentially forbids any future tax increases.

It would also raise the debt ceiling through 2012 -- an ancillary benefit for Republicans who are looking for any way to pin the consequences of a debt default, should one happen, on Democrats. Indeed, the GOP feigned shock and anger Monday when the White House, as expected, issued an official veto threat -- turns out President Obama's the one threatening to wreak havoc on the country.

Of course, later in the week, the Senate will follow suit, and there Cut, Cap, and Balance is expected to fail.

For Republicans, it's the perfect alignment of popular sounding policies -- "spending cuts" a "balanced budget" and, finally, an end to this debt limit brinksmanship -- minus the a scintilla of accountability or transparency. And for Republicans trying to make nice with conservative activists, it will give them cover to later vote for a much more modest plan to cut some spending, raise the debt limit, avoid default. But the details have been intentionally obscured by most conservatives, and they reveal the plan to be the most radical fiscal policy the GOP has aligned behind in years -- one that makes the Republican's current budget proposal to phase out Medicare appear moderate by comparison.

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Medicare/Medicaid

Poll: Voters Ready To Penalize Democrats Who Mess With Medicare

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 24, 2011, 8:40AM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Voters in key Senate swing states don't want cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits -- and they're prepared to exact revenge on politicians who vote in favor of them.

That's according to new Public Policy Polling (D) numbers from Ohio, Missouri, Montana and Minnesota, where Democratic Senators face what could be tough reelection fights. The polling, published first by TPM, was sponsored by a coalition of progressive groups.

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Claire McCaskill

McCaskill: House GOP Is Skirting Its Own Earmark Ban

Igor Bobic | May 19, 2011, 4:40PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

When it comes to earmarks, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is accusing House Republicans of wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

House Republicans, she told reporters earlier this week, have added numerous line items for special projects into the defense-authorization bill, and thus, are violating their own self-imposed earmark moratorium.

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Oil

GOP Closes Ranks Around Continuing Oil Subsidies

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 1:15PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Republicans senators who in the past have supported ending tax subsidies to big oil companies are prepared to vote Tuesday night with their party leadership to keep those subsidies in place.

"I'm going to vote with my party," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during a Senate vote Tuesday afternoon. "I just think oil subsidies have to be part of a bigger package. If you had expanded drilling, I would consider reducing the subsidies or eliminating them if you got more drilling as part of the package.

"I'm leaning against it because it looks like it's political," said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL).

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WI-SEN

Russ Feingold, Potential Senate Candidate, Rips Democrats For 'Corruption'

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 12:48PM

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Ousted from the Senate in 2010, Russ Feingold, may have fewer Democratic friends to count on if he chooses to enter the race to replace retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). The progressive icon eviscerated his former colleagues in an e-mail for his advocacy group Progressive United on Tuesday, accusing two prominent Democrats of enabling "corruption" by opposing new transparency measures on political donations.

"This culture of corporate influence and corruption is precisely what we as Progressives United want to change," he wrote. "So we've decided to take on those legislators who are unwilling to stand up to corporate power, and we're naming names."

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Medicare

Congress Returns From Recess -- To Decide The Future Of The Country

Brian Beutler | May 4, 2011, 9:37AM

The killing of Osama bin Laden put domestic politics on the back burner for members of Congress, who returned to Washington on Monday after a two week recess. But only briefly. Already Republicans are eager to change the topic, and both parties are returning to the enormous business at hand.

Democrats arrived on Capitol Hill Monday having walked deep into enemy territory. A series of missteps, driven by divisions within their party, have helped Republicans move the center of the legislative debate on Capitol Hill far to the right. Now Dems are trying to hold the line as the GOP advances on a decades-long goal of eroding the social safety net.

Over the past several months, Democrats have ratified two key GOP positions: first that reducing the deficit should be the government's top priority; and second, that the best -- if not the only -- way to do this is by slashing spending. That's a formula for eviscerating necessary programs, particularly the big entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Democrats are belatedly waking up to this. They spent the recess attacking Republicans for voting to phase out Medicare, and trying to box them into ending tax loopholes that serve as corporate welfare for oil companies. But these peripheral political fights are actually stage-setters for the main event.

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EPA

Ads Hit McCaskill, Brown On EPA Votes

Melissa Jeltsen | April 29, 2011, 1:07PM

Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

A Republican and a Democratic senator who both face re-election in 2012 are coming under attack for their votes to reduce the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory power.

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Libya

Senate Hawks Berate Gates Over Handoff Of Libya To NATO

Susan Crabtree | March 31, 2011, 5:46PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates endured nearly six hours of grilling from Congress Thursday, with the most combative questioning coming from -- surprisingly -- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and a group of Senate hawks on the Armed Services Committee who support military intervention in Libya.

McCain expressed grave disappointment about the decision to have the U.S. military forces step aside and allow NATO to take control before Muammar Qaddafi has been toppled from power.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked why the U.S. couldn't simply bomb Qaddafi like President Reagan tried to do in 1986 when he sent cruise missiles into the Libyan leader's palace, killing one of his daughters, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said rebel setbacks over the last two days have been "unsettling."

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Claire McCaskill

Claire McCaskill Went After '04 Primary Opponent's Private Plane in Ads

Benjy Sarlin | March 28, 2011, 12:07PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Already on the hot seat over unpaid taxes and state reimbursements for her husband's private plan, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) now faces her toughest attack ads on the issue yet -- her own.

In 2004, McCaskill successfully challenged against Democratic Gov. Bob Holden in a primary and made his use of a state-funded jet a recurring issue in ads. The TV spots are now coming back to haunt her after Politico's Ben Smith posted two of them on Monday.

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MO-SEN

'Claire Air': How Bad Is It For McCaskill?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 22, 2011, 2:40PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) attempted to bring an end to the series of bad stories about her air travel on a conference call with reporters yesterday.

"I have convinced my husband to sell the damn plane," she said. "He has hired a broker, and I can tell you I will never set foot on the plane again."

It's not a bad plan. The private twin-engine plane, which McCaskill owns along with her husband and several investors, was meant, McCaskill has said, to provide a convenient (and, she says, cheaper) way to get around Missouri on official business. But in addition to hastening her trips to constituent meetings, the plane has given her opponents plenty of runway to launch attacks as her 2012 reelection campaign begins.

Though the ethical questions are murky, and McCaskill has opened her checkbook to repay the real expense of the flights and the unpaid taxes she owed on the plane, there's no denying that the optics surrounding the private flights are about as bad as optics can get.

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Claire McCaskill

'Air Claire' Scandal Turns: McCaskill Ponies Up $287K In Back Taxes

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 21, 2011, 5:06PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Well, this isn't the way to put a scandal to bed. As if the fact that she charged taxpayers for her flights around Missouri in a private plane she owns with her husband and several investors wasn't enough, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has revealed that she hasn't paid personal property taxes on the plane for four years.

And what's worse for McCaskill supporters, she suggested there might be more plane-related bad news to come.

The Senator told reporters today she's sending a check for $287,273 to St. Louis County, where the twin-engine plane she used to hop around Missouri is based. According to Politico, McCaskill also "said she had campaign lawyers looking into the flights to determine if any more in-kind contributions needed to be reported to be in compliance." That means there could me more news about the plane Republicans are already calling ClaireAir down the road.

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Claire McCaskill

Missouri Republicans Step Up 'Air Claire' Attack On McCaskill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 21, 2011, 11:15AM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

First they turned Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-MO) private flights into a full-blown ethics complaint, and now, not surprisingly, the Missouri Republican Party is turning them into an election issue.

With a full-page ad running in today's Springfield, MO News-Leader, the state party is making clear that they plan to make a major issue out of the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars McCaskill spent on a plane she owns with her husband and other investors. McCaskill is a favorite 2012 pickup opportunity among the GOP, and it seems clear they're relishing the scandal.

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Claire McCaskill

Claire McCaskill Faces Ethics Complaint Over Private Plane Travel

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 15, 2011, 11:46AM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

If Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) thought returning the $88,000 in taxpayer money she spent on flights aboard a private plane she owns a piece of would make the scandal go away, the Missouri Republican Party would like to inform her she's got another thing coming.

The party clearly smells blood in the water, and they've filed a formal ethics complaint against McCaskill -- a top GOP target in 2012 -- to make sure the story stays around for a least a little while longer.

As first reported by Politico last week, McCaskill sent the U.S. Treasury $88,000 after an investigation by the paper into her state travel found she "spent nearly $76,000 in public funds since 2007 to fly on a charter plane she co-owns with her husband and other investors."

McCaskill denies any wrongdoing and her office says neither she nor her husband made a dime from the use of the aircraft, which the Senator used mostly to crisscross her homestate. McCaskill ponied up the $88,000 "to cover all costs associated with the flights," according to Politico.

The state GOP says that's an example of too little, too late. Plus, they say they've got evidence that the flights broke ethics rules.

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Senate '12

Poll: Sen. McCaskill Looks Vulnerable For Defeat In 2012

Jon Terbush | March 8, 2011, 3:53PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) may face a tough road to reelection in 2012 according to a new PPP poll of registered voters that shows her just barely squeaking past a number of potential challengers.

McCaskill won election to her first term in 2006, but by a slim two-point margin in a year when Democrats romped to victory nationwide. As a result, her seat has been viewed as a toss-up heading into 2012, something the poll's results seem to confirm.

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Social Security

McCaskill: I Will Vote Against Social Security Cuts

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 12:07PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

There's a lot of early maneuvering about entitlement reform happening on Capitol Hill, and as is perennially the case in Washington, "entitlement reform" translates into Social Security cuts.

Progressives won't abide by that, but if a bipartisan consensus forms around it, they may be outnumbered.

But a recent fundraising letter from Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) should cheer them a bit.

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | February 18, 2011, 5:57PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

• Fox News Sunday: Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

• NBC, Meet The Press: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

MO-SEN

Report: Former GOP Sen. Talent Won't Seek Rematch With Dem McCaskill

Eric Kleefeld | January 25, 2011, 5:23PM

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO), who had been eyeing a possible comeback bid in 2012 for the Senate seat he held until his defeat in 2006, is now reportedly out of the race after all. Instead, he'll be sticking with the private sector -- and backing Mitt Romney for president.

Had he run, Talent would have faced a primary race against former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

Politico reports:

Talent's decision against a 2012 campaign was telegraphed in recent weeks with his lack of activity in the state an an overseas trip with almost-certain presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

...

Talent backers said the former senator just did not have the stomach for what would have been a contentious primary and bruising general election at a time when he was content in the lucrative private sector and serving in an advisory role to a likely presidential candidate.

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MO-SEN

PPP Poll: Dem Sen. McCaskill Faces Tough Race In 2012

Eric Kleefeld | December 1, 2010, 4:00PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

A new survey of Missouri from Public Policy Polling (D) shows a close race in 2012 for Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

McCaskill was tested against three potential Republican nominees, with all trial heats ending up within the margin of error: Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder leads McCaskill 46%-44%; McCaskill edges former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, who just declared her candidacy today, by 45%-44%; and former Sen. Jim Talent, who lost to McCaskill in the Democratic wave year of 2006, leads her 47%-45.

The survey of registered voters has a ±4.3% margin of error.

A key number here is that President Obama's approval rating in this perennial swing state is currently at just 43%, with 52% disapproval. McCaskill's approval rating as a senator is also only 43%, with disapproval at 44%.

MO-SEN

GOPer Steelman Launches Campaign Against Dem Sen. McCaskill In Missouri

Eric Kleefeld | December 1, 2010, 1:07PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Senate candidate Sarah Steelman (R-MO).

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who first picked up her seat for the Democrats in 2006, now has her first official challenger for 2012, with former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman announcing her run.

Steelman was previously elected Treasurer in 2004, then lost the 2008 Republican primary for governor, in which the party establishment had supported her opponent. She has reportedly been encouraged to run by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Steelman sounded some Tea Party-style notes in her announcement, saying in part that her campaign is about "stopping the Washington elites from making America more like a European country instead of recognizing that people still flock to America because they know they can build a better life for their families."

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Mitch McConnell

Senate Republicans Pass Earmark Moratorium

Brian Beutler | November 16, 2010, 5:53PM

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

As expected, the Senate Republican conference passed an earmark moratorium resolution this afternoon. It's non-binding, but expresses the view of the full GOP caucus.

Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn and Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill are pressing to make the ban statutory. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't wild about the idea, but he promised to work with both members to bring the issue up for a vote in the Senate.

The GOP conference also approved a balanced budget resolution authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

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MO-SEN

Former GOP Sen. Talent Considering Rematch Bid Against Dem McCaskill

Eric Kleefeld | November 12, 2010, 11:23AM

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) is gearing up for a possible rematch with Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who defeated him back in 2006, Real Clear Politics reports.

At least four well-known Republicans in Missouri are exploring the race against McCaskill, but GOP operatives say Talent is farthest along and has been positioning for another run ever since he stood down in early 2009 when Rep. Roy Blunt decided to pursue the seat GOP Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond is vacating in January.

...

In an interview on Thursday, Talent said of the Senate race, "I am looking very carefully and very seriously at it."

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Harry Reid

If Harry Reid Loses, Who Will Win The Democratic Leadership Race?

Brian Beutler | November 1, 2010, 7:07AM

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) at a press conference in April 2010.

If Nate Silver is to be believed (and he usually is) Democrats are just about as likely to keep control of the Senate as Harry Reid is to lose his election.

That would leave Democrats to choose a new Majority Leader -- and two of Washington's most famous roommates poised for a political fight over the top job in the Senate.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Conference Chair Chuck Schumer spent a fair amount of the 111th Congress privately -- but nakedly -- wooing their fellow Democrats, hoping to secure the votes they'd need to ascend to Majority Leader if Reid loses.

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Claire McCaskill

Claire McCaskill Says Conway's Tactics 'Close To The Line' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 18, 2010, 1:40PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) says she's worried about Kentucky Democratic Senate nominee Jack Conway's decision to make his opponent's 30-year-old college stories a campaign issue.

"This ad is a very dangerous ad because it reaches back to college," McCaskill said, referring to Conway's latest spot attacking Rand Paul over his years as an undergrad at Baylor University. "I think the ad came close to the line, but what is interesting about this ad is how Rand Paul handled it. I think it shows how thin-skinned and how unready he is for the kind of give-and-take that you've got to be willing to endure if you're going to be at the top levels of discourse in politics."

McCaskill criticized Paul, the Republican nominee, for walking off the stage at a debate last night without shaking hands with Conway.

"The idea that [Paul] wouldn't shake his opponent's hand, I think, is wrong under any circumstances," she said.

Conway has been ripping Republican Rand Paul over allegations that he blindfolded a woman and asked her to "worship Aqua Buddha" while member of a club at Baylor University that Conway says "mocked Christianity." After a hard-hitting debate centered mostly on Paul's college career, Paul called Conway "an embarrassment to this race" and refused to meet Conway when the forum was over.

[TPM SLIDESHOW - TPM's Day At 'Fancy Farm': Kentucky Pols Spar At Annual Political Kickoff Picnic]

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Secret Holds

McCaskill Expects Vote On End To Secret Holds Before The End Of The Year

Brian Beutler | June 22, 2010, 11:44AM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

The push to end the Senate's much-derided practice of allowing individual members to secretly hold legislation and nominees may come to an end before the year is out. After rounding up 67 signatures on a letter calling for an end to the practice, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) says the technical work of changing the rules will begin in earnest tomorrow--and Democratic leadership has her back.

"[Next comes] testimony in front of the Rules Committee Wednesday morning, and then hopefully they will report out a rule change and we'll get a chance to vote on it in the next few weeks," McCaskill told reporters yesterday evening.

Unlike most legislation, which needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, a rules change requires the agreement of two-thirds of the Senate. She nabbed her 67th signatory last week.

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Claire McCaskill

McCaskill: 51 Senators Have Signed My 'No More Secret Holds' Pledge

Eric Lach | May 5, 2010, 1:28PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) says 51 Senators have signed her letter pledging to abandon the practice of placing anonymous holds on legislation or nominations.

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Audit the Fed

Sanders Concerned White House May Kill Fed Audit Amendment

Brian Beutler | May 4, 2010, 3:40PM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has rounded up an impressive, bipartisan array of cosponsors to an amendment he authored requiring an audit of the Federal Reserve. Just today, he added Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to a list that includes 12 Republicans, seven Democrats, in addition to Sanders himself.

In the past, a different version of legislation opening up the fed to audit received 59 votes--one shy of the 60 required to break a filibuster. But eight of the Republicans who voted no are now cosponsors of Sanders' amendment. That should mean it's a shoo-in, right?

Not necessarily.

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Obstructionism

McCaskill Rails On 'New Low' Of GOP Obstruction (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | March 24, 2010, 3:19PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

We reported earlier that Senate Republicans this week are blocking committee hearings from taking place, and Sen. Claire McCaskill this afternoon excoriated the GOP for "taking game playing to a whole new level."

McCaskill (D-MO) had to cancel a hearing she'd had planned about police contracting in Afghanistan. She said the hearing was to examine a "very important" element of the war, and detailed the top officials expected to participate.

She asked the chamber, "So what do I find out this morning? The Republican Party is not going to let us have the hearing? What in the world?"

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Al Gore

Gore Group Targets Bayh, McCaskill, Lincoln To Build Support For Climate Legislation (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | February 10, 2010, 12:06PM

Fmr. Vice President Al Gore

Repower America, a project of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection is upping the pressure on swing-vote Democrats to support legislative action on climate change.

In a spot that's set to run for at least three weeks on cable and local network affiliates in Indiana, "real Hoosiers" tell viewers to contact their senators...including Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)--a long-time hold out on climate legislation.

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Claire McCaskill

Give It Back, Then! McCaskill Swats MO-GOP For Stimulus Hypocrisy

Brian Beutler | February 10, 2010, 10:59AM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

It's not always easy being a Democratic politician from Missouri. The Republican-controlled state government there pulls no punches attacking Democrats in Washington--and by extension Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)--for reckless spending, even as Missouri itself, bruised by recession, benefits from that spending. Well, now she's hitting back.

McCaskill has written a sharply-worded letter to two particularly critical Missouri state legislators. The letter, dated February 9, takes the lawmakers to task for blasting the stimulus while using the funds to help bridge the state's budget gap. She writes, "I have noticed that you and many of your colleagues have been highly critical of some of the emergency spending that has gone on since the financial meltdown in September 2008."

[A]s I consider your suggestions, especially regarding the stimulus program, I need additional information.

You are about to use almost a billion dollars in stimulus dollars in your current budgeting process. Please advise me as soon as possible what cuts you would recommend to your committees and the rest of the legislature to make up for these funds if we decided to rescind the unspent stimulus funds.

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Bob Casey

Senate Leadership To House: Health Care's On You

Brian Beutler | January 20, 2010, 10:39AM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

After an early morning meeting today, members of the Senate Democratic leadership said outright what many suspected after last night's election: The fate of health care rests with the House.

I asked Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Democratic Steering Committee, whether there was any chance Senate Democrats would embark on another round of health care votes if the House sent a modified bill back their way.

"I think at this point, given the new senator from Massachusetts' position, I think that that would be tough to do," she said.

Asked whether the fate of reform rested with the House, Democratic Conference Secretary Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), said, "I think so."

So what's next for the Senate? Leaders and rank and file members say: Jobs, jobs, jobs.

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Jim Clyburn

Clyburn Compares Health Care Battle To Struggle For Civil Rights Act

Christina Bellantoni | December 31, 2009, 8:55AM

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn compared health care reform to the struggle to pass the Civil Rights Act, telling a Democratic colleague that people forget the compromises needed decades ago for the legislation to break a filibuster.

In comments at the start of a conference call, Sen. Claire McCaskill made a crack that the political climate has gotten tougher since Fox News became more powerful and said that's one reason why there is opposition to the health care plan.

"The 30-second soundbyte is what's got all this up in the air," agreed Clyburn (D-SC). "Every big social change you go through this. It will take six to eight years before this all settles down."

Their remarks were captured as a Wednesday afternoon conference call about the Democratic National Committee's proposed changes to the presidential 2012 nominating calendar began. The call was open to the press and the public.

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Health Care

Snowe, Nelson, McCaskill, and Lieberman "Commend" Baucus for Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 3:23PM

It's not ironclad, but it's the first strong sign that Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill might win the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) when all's said and done.

She, along with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have released a joint statement 'commending' Baucus' efforts and saying, basically, if consensus is to be found, it will be here.

"We commend Chairman Baucus for his efforts to forge a health care reform proposal that has the potential to gain broad bipartisan support," the statement reads. "While we each have outstanding concerns we wish to see addressed, Senator Baucus has taken an important and critical step forward with this legislation, which is budget neutral and reduces future health care costs according to CBO."

This isn't the same thing as a wholesale endorsement of the bill, but it's a step in that direction from Snowe, who just yesterday was emphasizing her concerns. You can read the entire statement below the fold.

Late update: Chuck Todd reads a bit more into the statement than I do.

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