Oh boy - "Claire McCaskill Will Not Attend Democratic National Convention"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/claire-mccaskill-not-going-to-dem-convention.php?ref=fpa

"Claire McCaskill will not be attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, a McCaskill aide confirmed to TPM Tuesday. McCaskill joins a list of vulnerable Democratic politicians whose home districts are hostile ground for President Obama and who will be steering clear of the convention.

“In years when Claire is on the ballot, she has historically not gone to the convention,” the aide said, “because she believes it’s important to stay in Missouri to talk to voters.”

snip -

I guess I can see the point....but....come on!

[bigwillq]

1. But I guess she's better than nothing.

[DJ13]

2. .......

[frazzled]

3. And guess what

I get emails (for some unknown reason, perhaps because I'm a woman registered Democrat) from her campaign/office at least once a week. I never read them, but this time I'm going to open the email and press the "unsubscribe" button. Hopefully there'll be a space in which I can write my reasons for kicking her off my email list.

[Iggy]

4. GOOD

let's hope most of the democrats stay home-- saves millions of dollars.

same applies to the repug convention.

[EC]

5. I don't recall any repubs

skipping their parties big bash because the voters in their districts don't like their party. Does this really work? Do the indies in Missouri really care one way or another if she goes or not? The same with the 3 from West Virginia...I think they all are just wrong about this, I don't think anyone cares if you went to your parties convention or not. Isn't it kinda expected?

[onenote]

8. Your recollection is quite faulty.

In 2008, several Repubs who were up for reelection that year announced that they were skipping the repub convention, including Pat Roberts, Libby Dole, Ted Stevens, Gordon Smith, Susan Collins, and John Sunnunu. Roger Wicker originally hinted that he wasn't going, then that he was, and then used Hurricane Gustav as an excuse not to go. Ultimately, Dole,Sununu, Stevens, and Smith lost their elections, while Collins, Wicker and Roberts won.

This year, at least one repub, Denny Rehberg, who is runing against Tester in Montana, has announced he's skipping this year's repub convention.

[jenmito]

11. Thanks for posting this. I just asked if Repubs. ever skipped BUSH'S conventions.

[EC]

13. You're saying I'm getting old and forgetful?

You're right....

[onenote]

14. Nah, you probably just weren't paying as much attention to what the repubs were doing in 2008

as you are now paying to what Democrats are doing in 2012. Which makes perfect sense, actually.

[KamaAina]

24. You just made Liddy Dole's head explode

She HATES being called 'Libby'.

[pstokely]

26. Will the Steelman, Brunner or Akin (the Repuke candidates) be skipping the Repuke convention?

?

[pstokely]

25. A lot of people in MO are ticket spliiters, Nixon won big while Obama narrowly lost

She probably thinks this will prevent her from being seen as an Obama rubber stamp.

[freshwest]

29. She's vulnerable and the GOP is after her. I hope she stays in office.

[MADem]

6. Well, North Carolina isn't a friendly place these days, either.

She may as well just spend the time on her ground game. She'll need every vote if she's vulnerable, so why not go do what she needs to do. She could always fly in on the last night, shake hands around the delegation, and race home if she'd like.

[WI_DEM]

7. polls I've seen haven't indicated Obama doing all that poorly in MO

The media, however, will use this negatively against the president.

[pstokely]

27. Mittens doesn't appear to much more popular than Obama in MO

polls haven't shown Mittens to be ahead by much, one poll even showed Obama ahead by a point

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. Stupid

stupid not to go in the first place but even more stupid for unnecessarily IMHO publicizing it.

[jenmito]

10. Have any Repubs. in congress skipped Repub. conventions when BUSH was president? n/t

[onenote]

15. The only notable repub that seems to have skipped the 2004 repub convention was Colin Powell

who, of course, wasn't a candidate for anything.

However, four years later, when Bush was off the ballot and McCain was running to replace him, a number of well-known repubs skipped the repub convention. Undobutedly, their desire to appeal to indpendent voters played a role in their decision as did the opportunity to continue to campaign at home rather than lose a week on the road. McCaskill, as the article notes, skipped the 2004 convention, again for the stated reason that she had her own campaign to attend to.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

17. But isn't it common for political appointees to skip their respective conventions?

[KharmaTrain]

12. Conventions Are Party Infomercials...

They offer no real purpose than to showcase the nominee in the best possible light and stroke the egos of the base. Mittens has said he will name his VP nominee prior to the rushpublican swillfest in Tampa so even that element of "surprise" will be gone. Being an incumbent, there's also little suspense over this year's DNC. Other than having her mug on stage of 15 minutes (probably only seen on C-SPAN) there's not much else for Sen. McCaskill or any other candidate to be there. In an election year where SuperPacs are throwing millions into Senate races, Sen. McCaskill needs to spend as much time as she can working the state...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

16. I'm not sure what's sadder. The fact that Democratic politicians must distance themselves from

Democratic leaders or that you'll NEVER see a Republican diss the Republican Party by skipping its convention.

Republicans fear their base. Democrats LOATHE their base!!

[onenote]

21. Republicans did skip the 2008 convention.

Last edited Wed Jun 27, 2012, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Some pretty big names stayed away: Libby Dole, Gordon Smith, Pat Roberts, Roger Wicker, Susan Collins, Ted Stevens, John Sununu.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

36. Thanks for the correction, but it didn't require you to be a fucking jerk in the process.

Your rudeness was unnecessary

[onenote]

37. You are correct. And I apologize

I just overreacted to your post and its "shouting" (capitalizing) the assertion that Democrats "loathe" their base. I feel like I am a part of the base and I don't feel "loathed."

But that doesn't excuse my snark. I've edited it out.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

38. I really appreciate that. Thank you. Perhaps my comment was too hyperbolic, but

I feel like the Republicans go out of their way to appeal to their base while the Democrats often take their base for granted. "Loathe" was too harsh a word, probably.

However, I still support the party, especially the ones who do all they can to stand up to the special interests. Their voice has been silenced.

Ultimately I believe we're on the same team and I will work hard to get more Democrats elected to office, especially at the local and state level. The party is really struggling there.

[hedgehog]

18. What's her voting record?

Blue dogs just muddy the waters and encourage people to stay home on election day.

[Sky Masterson]

19. What a wimp..

I'll vote for her still, but god damn!

[LiberalFighter]

20. Whoever is telling her to avoid the convention should be fired.

Probably some numbnut that doesn't have a clue about political campaigns.

[Thrill]

22. Cowards

Not surprised.

[Cracklin Charlie]

23. Cherokee Purple for dinner tonite!

Claire has been getting absolutely hammered with daily ads (Obamacare and job killing policies) from crossroads for over two years now. I think this is not such a bad idea for her. There may be some Missouri independents, but the right wingers are gonna slam her from now until November. We need to keep her, as we are already stuck with Barf Blunt.

For some reason, the big R's in Washington and elsewhere HATE her.

[pstokely]

30. But will Steelman, Akin, or Brunner be going to the Repuke convention?

Obama isn't real popular there (outside of KC and STL) but Mittens doesn't appear to popular there either. Maybe she can connect them to Mittens by disconnecting herself from Obama.

[TeamPooka]

28. It's like dating someone that doesn't want to be seen in public with you so...

why are you together?

[Swede Atlanta]

31. Let's not rush to judgment.........

Claire is a progressive but she recognizes she is from a swing to red state....

For her, she needs to balance the political equation. Does she attend a convention that might be vitriolic against RMoney when her state could be tracking solidly for him?

She needs to do what she believes is strategically appropriate for her re-election bid. I will not, nor will I allow other progressives, to chastise her for a calculated decision.

I would love to see her at the convention. But if her absence improves our chance for an additional seat in the Senate, I go for the Senate seat.

[pstokely]

33. Mittens doesn't appear to be much more popular than Obama in MO based on polls

Last edited Tue Jun 26, 2012, 11:29 PM - Edit history (1)

But why does she even need to attend the convention?

[littlewolf]

35. the only thing I can think of is ...

I believe she was one of the first Senators to come out
(I could be wrong)
and endorse the President over Hillary ....

[pstokely]

39. Most of these people complaining don't even live MO, what benefits does she get going to the con

Same people outside of WI who bitched about Obama not coming to WI during the recall

[DCBob]

32. Dumb.

This will backfire on her.

[pstokely]

34. Is there a benefit to her going to the convention?

?