Senator Claire McCaskill Meets Campaign Volunteers in Jeffferson County

“The most patriotic thing you can do in America is to get in there and make a difference in these elections,” Senator Claire McCaskill told volunteers in Arnold preparing to canvass the area to talk to undecided voters. “Make sure our country reflects our values. That’s what this is about.”

McCaskill is currently home in St. Louis while Congress is in recess. McCaskill appeared relaxed with her volunteers and down to earth. She even joked with them about the day after the upcoming primary.

“Tuesday is going to be like Christmas. I’m finally going to get to unwrap the package and see who I’m going to beat in November,” she said to a round of laughter.

McCaskill said that while she is home she plans to visit with her supporters every day.

“I think (my daughters) assumed that as we begin this really intense work period, we’d go some place for a big photo op. I said, no, no, we’re not doing that," she said. "We’re going to go around to a number of offices around the greater St. Louis area--but get away from St. Louis. Get out to Franklin County, down to Jefferson County and look the people in the eye.”

The Senator spent Saturday on a campaign kick-off doing just that. Arnold was the third stop on her schedule, after visiting with volunteers in St. Charles and Washington. Around 40 people filled a small campaign office in Arnold to hear the senator speak before they head out to canvas their neighborhoods looking for undecided voters and asking them to vote for McCaskill.

Joan Barnhart was one of the volunteers, with a map and a couple bumper stickers in hand. She said she had done this before in 2008 and expected to spend a few hours walking around a nearby subdivision. Barnhart said the volunteers were given a list of undecided voters to seek out and tell them why they should vote for McCaskill.

“It’s a big deal to me that we do well here,” McCaskill said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get this across the finish line in Jefferson County. I will tell you the county I will watch the closest in November--it’s Jefferson County. Because if I win Jefferson County, I’ve been elected to another six years.”

Before the volunteers got to work McCaskill gave them pointers on her “big three” issues.

“If they want to talk about health care, you say, do you know they want to privatize Medicare? And what does that mean to you and your family?” she said. “Medicare has been that promise that you can get health care if you’re a senior. They want to blow that up,” she said, accusing Republicans of wanting to put “profiteering ahead of caring.”

“The second thing they want to do is privatize Social Security. In other words, take the word security out of the phrase. I don’t think we’re at a point in this country that we’re going to say to our elderly that you’ve made the wrong bet--now you starve.”

Her third point was her desire to keep college education affordable. “The federal government’s involvement in college loans has made a difference in this country.” She pointed out how thousands of area young people have been able to get Pell grants to attend Jefferson College or a local university. “We take away that? I don’t think a bank is going to take a chance on a 17-year-old who’s family can’t afford to send them away for school.”

McCaskill talked to her volunteers for about fifteen minutes and wrapped up by telling them how she’s very proud to hold Harry Truman’s old Senate seat.

“Those of you who haven’t been to my office in Washington probably don’t know what a freak I am about Harry Truman. I’m totally enamored with Harry Truman as a public official. Why is that? He wasn’t afraid to make people mad. He wasn’t afraid to make decisions that wasn’t popular. And he said things very plainly and simply.”

“And do you know what he’d say about the Tea Party? Well, I will not say it out loud because it would involve some curse words,” she said, getting another laugh from the volunteers.