McCaskill: Clinton should be more careful in how she describes Trump voters

[jalan48]

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said in an interview on Sunday that former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton needs to be more careful in how she describes President Trump's voters.

"For those of us that are in states that Trump won we would really appreciate if she would be more careful and show respect to every American voter and not just the ones who voted for her," McCaskill told MSNBC's Kasie Hunt.

McCaskill also spoke out against Clinton's remarks earlier this month.

“Those are kind of fighting words for me, because I’m partial to Missouri voters,” she said.

“I think they were expressing their frustration with the status quo. I may not have agreed with their choice, but I certainly respect them.

And I don’t think that’s the way you should talk about any voter, especially ones in my state.”


http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/380231-mccaskill-clinton-needs-to-be-more-careful-in-how-she-describes-trump-voters

I have to agree with McCaskill on this one. Blaming the voters is a poor strategy for Democrats. Focus on the opponent and the issues.

[Botany]

1. " ... if she would be more careful and show respect to every American voter ... "

Like the ones who chant "lock her up?"

Or the one I passed in S.W. PA 2 weeks ago with the Hill for Prison,
The Bitch got Americans Killed in Benghazi, and NRA stickers.

[jalan48]

3. If you're running for public office why blame the voters? They are who they are.

[Botany]

7. No making nice to these shits .... they are lost and never will vote for a D

Link to tweet

[jalan48]

10. It's not about making nice. It's about not calling them names when you are a candidate running

in an election. How does it help to disparage the people whose votes you need to win?

[Botany]

12. Those people will never vote for McCaskill

And Hillary is a private citizen and she can say anything she likes now.

[jalan48]

14. Well, I imagine this is why McCaskill is speaking out.

[stlsaxman]

59. What are talking about?!?!? "Those people" are 3/5ths of her base.

McCaskill wouldn't even have a job if it weren't for "those people." Claire gets millions for their army bases and infrastructure in Middle Missouri... RED Middle Missouri.

[Demsrule86]

83. Some Trump voters do vote for McCaskill and with mid-terms coming up in red areas, now is not the

time to make nasty comments about Trump voters. Probably some of the voters from PA were disillusioned Trump voters. There are some in Ohio too.

[TheDebbieDee]

35. It's the "Be nice!", "Take the high road!"

Manner makes Dems appear WEAK! DEMS need to show they have some spine!

Stop being polite to these phuckers - if they had their choice they'd kill or DEPORT us all...

[jalan48]

37. With all due respect I don't think every one in a group is the same. Do you think Obama would have

been elected President twice if he had used this kind of language? I don't disagree about many of the Trump voters. However, the question is, does Hillary continuing to speak this way help Democratic candidates to win? McCaskill's a Democrat and she doesn't think so.

[TheDebbieDee]

52. Obama was elected twice because he stood up

For his beliefs and gave Dems and Progressives a reason to come out and vote FOR him.

All the timid, red-state Dems (like McCaskill) can do is keep a low profile and NOT say anything to rile up the red voters and by doing this McCaskill is suppressing her own supporters! McCaskill doesn't say anything to fire up the LEFT- she only acts to placate the RIGHT! This is why right-leaners (and some progressives like me) feel Dems are SPINELESS!

And when red-state Dem candidates like McCaskill lose, who pays the price? WE DO!

[jalan48]

54. I agree with what you say about Democrats standing up. However, Obama never called the other side

"deplorable" even though he knew many of them were. I think making it about other Americans rather than the issues is a mistake.

[TheDebbieDee]

56. Well, I think that NOT throwing red meat to your

own supporters once in a while in addition to forcefully and loudly stating your position on issues only serves to suppress the vote of those who would vote FOR you!

Red state Dems DO take their voters for granted and that is why this placating to voters on the right - voters who will NEVER vote for them results in their weak-@$$ es being voted out!

Dems in red states placate the right while lulling their base to sleep! And that's why Dems in red states will always be RUNNING SCARED!

[jalan48]

75. I would think Trump would be enough reason to vote Dem this year. I think Clinton's comments

are having the opposite effect. They are being used by Republican candidates to energize the right. Who ever responds to being called names in a positive manner?

[TheDebbieDee]

85. These DEPLORABLES are not going to vote for

McCaskill or any other red state Dem PERIOD! Get over it!

[ollie10]

39. Obama said take the high road, I believe

Hillary also said calling half of Trump supporters was a major mistake.

Major mistake=lost votes. Maybe enough to win WI, MI and PA?

We need to learn from our mistakes, not rinse and repeat.

[TheDebbieDee]

55. "Taking the high road" is a line from a popular song

from the 40s, I believe!

But my point was that it wouldn't hurt Dems to throw their own supporters a little red meat once in a while to motivate them to come out and VOTE for them!

Staying on the high road doesn't produce ANY memorable soundbites or anything worth putting on a bumper sticker or t-shirt! Dems should STOP putting their supporters to SLEEP!

[ollie10]

58. Obama won twice. I think he knows what he is doing

[TheDebbieDee]

61. Obama's not running for office and these weak-@$$, polite

red state Dems ARE running for office. They need to motivate their base and give them a reason to come out to vote FOR them...

[ollie10]

80. Neither is Hillary

That doesn't stop her from saying things that Ds who are running for office have to explain.

The Rs smile at their gift, to the chagrine of Ds trying to win in November.

[TheDebbieDee]

90. You're missing my point completely...

The point is that red state Dems, Hell! Any Dem can rile up Dem & Progressive voters to get off their sofas and vote FOR them offsetting the hurt fee-fees of the stupid DEPLORABLES!

Hushing up a private citizen who was the victim of the theft of an election by the Russians, the criminal branch of the republican party and the mis-informed voters of this country is not the answer and I am one of the 65 million of her voters that DOESN'T want her to go away and shut up!

I've had my say and I'm done with this thread. Have a great week...

[ollie10]

91. Well, you missed my point.

I was not trying to hush up anybody. The Constitution guarantees free speech and I support that guarantee.

It is my right, however, to have my opinion about whether a speech is politically helpful to our side or politically hurtful.

I would love it if our candidates could just go out there and spread our message. We have the winning message. We should pound it in, time and time again.

Hillary's speech distracted. It was unnecessary for her to whine about the deplorables in India. The unskillful way she said it made it even worse. She implied that entire sections of the country are backwards for crying out loud.

Now, every D running for office is going to have to be asked their opinion of what Hillary said. On a best case scenario, it is a distraction away from focusing on our message.

Hillary herself admitted that saying 50% of the Trump supporters were deplorables was a huge mistake. I understand why she said it. A lot of them ARE deplorable (although we must keep in mind that even Hillary was only talking about 50% of Trump supporters!). And it feels good to vent. But elections are supposed to be for winning elections, not venting.

Since we lost three states we should/could have won (WI, MI and PA) by razor thin margins, it behooves us to stop making huge mistakes in the future.

[MFM008]

88. These "people"

Are responsible for the worst president in history.
The most venal, vile, repulsive, sadistic,greedy, thieving POS on the world stage.
They can fuk themselves with a garden weasel
And then contract Ebola.
Not concerned about their little feelings.

[treestar]

31. They are responsible for their own behavior

what is the "blame?" They are helpless and have to be racists and misogynists and Hillary can make them be that way by describing them that way?

Oh and Hillary is not running for any public office.

[hatrack]

2. Uh, Claire? Hi there! Missouri voter here who voted Clinton . . . .

Shall I tell you about my "frustration with the status quo"?

[MichMary]

5. Do you want Claire to keep her Senate seat,

or be defeated by Josh Hawley? She needs to do what she has to to win more votes. I don't blame her a bit for distancing herself from those remarks.

[hatrack]

11. Apparently the only person more obsessed w. Hillary than Shitstain's voters is Sen McCaskill . . .

It might be nice if, for once, she conceded the existence of Missouri voters who voted for her, and who made her victory possible in 2012.

This would be a refreshing change from deploying Kleenex, epi-pens and binkies for the precious fee-fees of those who despise politicians like her ((D)), who despise people like me (big-city liberal) and who despise democracy itself, as manifested in their votes for Orange Julius Caesar.

And yes, I'm bloody well aware of the circumstances this year.

[MichMary]

16. Okay, how do you want her to

acknowledge your existence and still attract Trump voters without addressing Clinton's remarks? She IS going to be asked repeatedly about them. She certainly can't agree with them. "No comment" probably wouldn't work much better.

This is a serious question. Remarks that appear to denigrate Trump voters put candidates like Claire McCaskill between a rock and a hard place.

[ollie10]

40. Of course she will be asked about hillary's comments.....

....and so will a lot of other Democratic candidates.

This is why the comments were such a harmful mistake.

[pintobean]

49. I know a lot of people in Mo

who wouldn't vote for Hillary, no matter who she was running against, but they voted for McCaskill. She doesn't have the luxury of running against a Todd Aiken this time. Hawley is wrapping Clinton around McCaskill's neck like a 30 ton anchor chain.

Trump won Mo 57% - 38% over Clinton.

I don't need Claire to kiss my ass, I need her to win.

[MuseRider]

51. Kansas neighbor

and I know exactly what you are saying. Things are different around here but there are those that would let us go just to stick up for the private citizen who is making it real hard for us to keep moving closer to a democracy. We sure do not have one here and I would hate to see you lose yours.

[LonePirate]

4. I am sorry, Claire, but I cannot respect people who vote due to bigotry and willful ignorance.

[MichMary]

8. Trump won Missouri by a lot.

McCaskill only won her Senate seat in 2012 because the Rs ran Tod "Legitimate Rape" Akin. This time it appears that she has a credible opponent. If she doesn't show at least a little respect for those voters, the Rs will gain a Senate seat, regardless of the steaming pile of excrement occupying the WH.

[DFW]

21. You are unfortunately correct and she is only too aware why she won her seat back in 2012

I talked to her about that in person at her last swearing in, and she said flat out that if Akin had not come out with his ridiculous remark, he would have been the one being sworn in on Jan. 3, 2013 and not her.

She is a realist and she is the one having to face Missouri voters in November, not Hillary. She knows what she is up against, and she knows the people of her state better than any outsider. Until the election is over, the most important thing McCaskill has to concern herself with is the good graces of the voters of Missouri (if they have any left), and not whatever inconvenient truths Hillary may have to remind us of. Stating the obvious is not always the most useful tactic, especially if there are Missouri voters who might be willing to vote McCaskill back in as long as their Trump vote isn't continually tossed back in their faces, reminding them of how deplorable they were. Reminding them of how deplorable they ARE will only send them right back into the Republicans' arms.

[MichMary]

25. Every Dem Senator up for re-election

in a state Trump won better come up with an acceptable response because they are going to be asked about those remarks in every interview by the media between now and the election.

[DFW]

32. Agreed--they need to have their response memorized now

There is no excuse for getting surprised by such a question, or for being unprepared to answer it immediately and with confidence.

[treestar]

33. So the remarks of Hillary Clinton would not be a big factor

They are going so red that how could Hillary's remarks alone drive them to vote for a Republican Senator? Sounds like what Hillary says would make no difference. If she spoke of them with love and understanding they would just say it's a lie.

[poboy2]

43. This is the 'why', and she's doing what she thinks she needs to do/say.

If anything, she doesn't want them energized. Hillary saying what she said may get them out to vote.
McCaskill wants those voters demotivated and less likely to go out and vote. Thats the main issue w/what Hillary said.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

65. One of the first things you learn in competitive teams sports is do your trash talk after the game.

Don't give the other side ammunition to get motivated or psyched up.

Any halfway sane trump voter is at least a little bit demoralized at this point. No need to re energize them. Let them stay home. You don't have to kiss their ass. Just let them stew in their own juices.

People here used "nasty woman" as a rallying cry. Why can't they understand that kind of thing
works both ways?

Trash talking when you aren't even running is stupid.


I saw one of these in Menards while visiting red area hell in down state Illinois just a couple weeks ago.

[poboy2]

66. Perfect examples

and -You don't have to kiss their ass. Just let them stew in their own juices.

[Jspur]

71. The part about Trash Talking

in sports is not necessarily true. I'm a huge NBA fan and hate the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors talk a lot of trash before games and look at their success which is 2 championships in 3 years. In the Warriors case it's worked to psyche themselves up to win. The same could be true for the Dems by calling the other side names they could possibly be galvanizing their own base.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

77. Why do you hate The Golden State Warriors?

Most people don't like it and you better be real fricken good. And when you lose people love to see you fall.

[Initech]

6. Really? We're supposed to play nice with people who want to throw us in jail?

Sorry but fuck that!

[walkingman]

9. After listening to her interview - depressing. It would obviously be a case of making

a decision based upon the lesser of two bad choices. Our nation is in a leadership crisis.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. For electoral purposes it's best not to suggest they are Deplorable even though we know they are.

[jalan48]

15. Exactly.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth."

-Michael Kinsley.


Back to your original post. It is okay for us to vent about Deplorables, for a candidate it's unwise.

[poboy2]

47. all true/facts of life. -nt

[Freethinker65]

17. McCaskill was able to put out a clear statement of her differences with how Hillary sees some voters

I see this as a positive.

Hillary gets to speak her mind, as she should. Hillary is no longer running for office. McCaskill gets free airtime to differentiate herself from Clinton to Missouri voters.

[romana]

72. This

It's political strategy, not personal. McClaskill and Clinton both know this.

[Ninga]

19. why stir the pot? Why bring it up?

The continued hammering everything HRC says and does is a mystery to me.
Did Sen McCaskill take to the airwaves and pound the podium in support of HRC while she was vilified over and over and over by raging Trump and raging crowds?
Did she? I don't remember.

[jalan48]

20. Her opponent brought it up.

"McCaskill's potential Republican 2018 challenger seized on Clinton's remarks and tied them to McCaskill and her support of Clinton in a recent campaign ad."

[Ninga]

22. That's to be expected. McCaskill has many other choices and ways to respond to that

ad other than throwing HRC under the bus for speaking the truth.

"I can only speak for myself, Missouri voters know I am a champion in DC for their values"...

Etc etc...

[jalan48]

23. She chose not to. It won't stop with Missouri-it will appear in every election coming up.

Why should our candidates need to respond in the first place? It distracts from the issues and makes it about the voters.

[riversedge]

78. I agree with you.

[beachbum bob]

24. should not ever piss off voters, hillary should have been calling trump out for what he is

SCUM....

[betsuni]

26. "More like taking millions in speaking fees from Wall St. firms and banks after leaving office."

[BeyondGeography]

27. No brainer

Politically speaking.

[MichMary]

28. "Honesty" is

telling the neighbor lady she's fat; "tact" is knowing she is, but choosing not to tell her.

Politicians should always choose tact over honesty.

[Johonny]

29. A turd is still a turd by any other name

If you're still supporting Trump, then their is something deeply wrong with you.

[treestar]

30. She can say what she wants as a private citizen

Hillary is not running. It is Claire's problem. Is she admitting Hillary has a lot of influence?

Plus the Deplorable voters are voting Republican anyway.

[BeyondGeography]

41. Not really

Hillary is Red Bull for wingnuts. The average citizen can question the healthiness of their worldview all he or she wants and it wouldn’t come up as a question for other Democrats.

Anyway, she knows. Which, being a good Democrat, is why she won’t be going there again between now and the midterms.

[oasis]

34. Claire can't say it, but I will. Fuck Deplorable dumbasses until THEY change!

[Eliot Rosewater]

76. Claire is doing damage control as she sees it, what WE as liberals would NOT want to do

is make a big deal out of that she is saying it because in a perfect world she would not say this, does not want to, but is doing it to try and get voters.

What I dont like is seeing this BROADCAST on democratic sites, liberal sites.

[oasis]

87. I back Claire's campaign strategy 100%.

We need her in the senate now more than ever.

[lunasun]

36. will she blame her loss on others like Clinton ? She better have something to offer MO voters

She will probably lose but not because of Clinton

[ismnotwasm]

38. Fuck Trump Voters

Jesus I’m sick of this sick.

[BannonsLiver]

42. Whatever she needs to say to win works for me

[Proud Liberal Dem]

45. Political speak

for, "I'm afraid that my opponent will use this against me in the midterms."

[Downtown Hound]

46. She should be more nice to the people that demonize her at every turn

while turning a blind eye to Trump's atrocities?

Um, whatever.

[gratuitous]

48. First off, that's private citizen Hillary Clinton

Please refrain from trying to abridge her First Amendment rights, Senator. Second, as for those Missouri voters who wore shirts with such sentiments as "Fuck Your Feelings," I can't say that anyone should be overly solicitous of the tender fee fees of such persons. Third, if they're as frustrated with the status quo as you seem to think they are, who's set the status quo for the last eight years? Can't Missouri voters quite make out who's wielding the whip hand?

[NCTraveler]

50. "but I certainly respect them. "

Really sorry to hear that, McCaskill.

[tazkcmo]

53. She has got to go.

I detest this senator and patiently await the day we get a better Democrat to get rid of her.

[workinclasszero]

60. You do realize that Missouri is a hardcore republican blood red state right?

The dammed republicans control the state government as well. Our POS republican Governor was arrested in his office for taking nude photos of a woman, not his wife, and threatening her with blackmail if she talked about it.

This filthy bastard is still the sitting governor of Missouri of course and his f**king party blamed the GOP governors perversion on George Soros!!!!

So I think you will be waiting one hell of a long time until someone more liberal than Claire McCaskill gets elected in republican nirvana Missouri!

She pisses me off to at times but it's a miracle that we have any kind of democratic Senator from this blood red state, believe me!

[tazkcmo]

62. Yes, I live there.

It's not blood red (Cities are reliably Dem while rural is reliably GOPee) and if it were I would still hate McCaskill.

[workinclasszero]

67. KC (only to the city limits) St Louis (city limits) Columbia, possibly Springfield, not sure

Those are the only democratic areas in Missouri as far as I know.

The whole entire rest of the state is as damned republican Trump country as you can get.

If you think you can get a dem to the left of McCaskill elected in this state, good luck.

I expect she will lose to a hardcore republican next time she is up for reelection TBH.

[tazkcmo]

69. OK

And I STILL despise McCaskill.

[workinclasszero]

70. Trouble is the choice is between her and a Trump republican, not a more liberal democrat in Missouri

Senators run statewide, there's the rub.

[tazkcmo]

73. And I still hate McCaskill. n/t

[stlsaxman]

63. agreed. Too bad she can't be primaried. her corporate funding is too strong.

the only way to beat her big $$$ donors is that she lose to Hawley. IF this "Blue Tsunami" i hear is coming is big enough that we can take it... I'm willing to go through 4 years of Hell to replace Blunt with a corporate-free candidate.

[tazkcmo]

64. Yep

Priorities and all, right? Sigh. We'll just have to wait.

[Afromania]

57. The proper response is fuck them and the trump they rode in on.

Instead of pissing on Hillary who isn't running anymore. Maybe they need to take some lessons in not kicking, and voting, against anybody that doesn't think, talk, walk, and speak just like them. Don't talk bad about these people, but do they give a single damn about labeling everybody else whatever the hell they want to?

You know, I'm tired of hearing these arguments to protect the feelings of trump voters. Every argument for their protection are made for, and reserved, for those exclusively not under the constant cloud of fucking vindictive retribution their vote for trump clearly indicates their belief in. While they may be "backing away" from trump they have still not apologized for the awfulness of the man they voted for and how he shits all over minorities. and everybody else for that matter, when given the chance.

The only reason they aren't in lock step with his ass right now is because they are getting screwed right along with the rest of us. Maybe if they weren't so willing to doubledown on the awfulness they'd vote something other than R, or simply stand down so that things could get fixed.

[loyalsister]

68. I agree as well

My dad is a veteran who voted for Trump. Claire has been front and center in working for policies to help veterans. I'm glad she would rather be helpful rather than critical as he sits on his death bed.
Many Democrats in MO have friends and family who were identified as deplorable. It would not be surprising if some were to turn on her. McCaskill risks alienating more than Trump voters if she embraces Hillary's comments, and she doesn't have to be cozy and cater to those voters to avoid being derisive and mean.
Out of 7 statewide offices, we have TWO Democrats. She's got a huge challenge and could easily lose in Nov. She is correct to prioritize the well-being of MO citizens over loyalty to HRC.

[Meowmee]

74. Disagree

Time to tell and keep on telling the truth, someone has to, and we have few people doing that.

[LisaM]

79. Why don't they stick up for Hillary once in a while? I'm tired of this.

I'm tired of people hanging her out to dry. She's served the party well for decades and raised a boatload of money for people (and I'm assuming that includes McCaskill) and it's always, "Hillary should say this" and "Hillary shouldn't say that". I'm fed up with it. And it's not just to do with voters in one district, either. They didn't stand up for Hillary during the Benghazi BS. They didn't stand up for her over the emails and the DNC crap. They don't go around pointing out that she got millions for votes than Trump, and that there's good cause to believe there was election interference in key states. It's always, always against her.

I wish they'd just appreciate and stand behind her for once. Look at the gun control marches Do you hear anyone pointing out, quite reasonably, that Hillary made a pointed speech against the NRA in 2015 in Broward County? Do they point out to the marchers, well, you had your anti-gun candidate in Florida and you turned her down?

I think we'd get a lot further stepping up and saying, she was our candidate, she speaks the truth, and we're proud of her instead of cowering in front of the bullies who don't appreciate Hillary's blunt talk.

[Scoopster]

81. And I agree with supporting one of McCaskill's primary challengers. n/t

[stonecutter357]

82. if you vote for a racist you are a racist ....

[Orsino]

84. Sure, a little.

I've winced at a few of what struck me as gaffes by Clinton. They seemed like small things, and inarguably true, but "deplorables," for instance, became a Trumper rallying cry.

If you want to be overly frank, try not to give them the easy sound bite. Clinton has mostly be careful, even to a fault, so I won't chide her too hard for what may only be small missteps.

[Blue_Tires]

86. Are we really going back to that "Don't call racists racist" bullshit??

[JustAnotherGen]

89. I disagree with McCaskill

I don't think HRC could campaign for her, come to an event.

But where she could energize the people (I'm in NJ in a district that went for Clinton - but also sent Lance back to the House) - this works.

Can Tom Malinowski former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the Obama Admin use Clinton to GOTV?

You betcha.

Claire McCaskill just needs to NOT have Clinton at her campaign events. It's that simple.

HRC can be leveraged in soon to be FORMERLY RED Districts this November.

We need this - we need this vicious red meat.