Carnahan Comes Out of Hiding - Takes Hits from Left
[ Jay Barnes ]Here at the Missouri Record, we've been a broken record on Robin Carnahan for the past three months. Time and time again we have chastised her campaign for failing to be open with the people of Missouri. And time and time again she has done her best to play hide-and-seek from the Missouri press corps on the key issues in next year's campaign.
Today, we learn that we are not alone. The St. Louis Oracle, a self-described "progessive" (AKA a liberal in search of a new, more popular label), writes today that Ms. Carnahan is in danger of losing her liberal left base because she refuses to just come out and say what everyone already knows: SHE'S A LIBERAL
The Oracle writes:
The nation is currently in the midst of several robust public policy debates concerning President Obama’s proposals, including economic stimulus bills, the “cap and trade” energy act now pending in the Senate, and especially health care reform. Ordinary citizens have taken an extraordinary interest in pending legislation not seen in many years, and that is encouraging. But Robin has not been forthcoming on where she stands. Her indecision even got national attention in September when Politico published a long analysis by respected Springfield television reporter Dave Catanese.
About a month ago, reporters cornered Robin at a photo op for the unveiling of the new Missouri Blue Book and asked her about her views on the House-passed health care bill. She bobbed and weaved like a prizefighter. Jason Rosenbaum posted video of the encounter; you’ve got to see it to believe it! Asked whether she favored the bill, she said she was “excited that we’re having this debate.” (Well, then, take part in it!) All she gave were general platitudes like “the status quo is not good enough,” but that she was “a little concerned on the House side about the affordability of the bill.”
And in a matter of great importance to progressives, a reporter asked Carnahan point-blank whether she supported the Stupak Amendment (prohibiting federal health care dollars from paying for abortions). This should have been a slam-dunk for the supposedly pro-choice Carnahan, but she demurred. “We ought not be making this an abortion debate,” she lamented. “We hope they get that resolved.”
Wow! That’s leadership?
No, that’s a typical old-line politician, trying to be all things to all people....My early inclination was to support Ms. Carnahan’s candidacy. She had won two statewide races with progressive support, and we have assumed she was progressive. Conventional wisdom is that she is smarter than her disappointing brother, Rep. Russ Carnahan, but at least Russ takes stands (even if they’re just whatever the Speaker’s aides tell him to say). Robin’s indecision makes her look even less attuned to issues than Russ!
Kudos to the Oracle for his honesty. Better a candidate who stands for something than one who tries to be everything to everyone. Still, the question remains, when will Robin Carnahan come out with some honest answers to the important questions of the day.
12/4/2009 10:12:31 AM
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