They called her Blonde Ambition…
At the dawn of KC’s Baby Boom political gold rush – back when characters such as Carol Coe, Joe Serviss, Henry Lyons and Steve Glorioso roamed the floors at City Hall – a small town cheerleader, pep club prez and homecoming queen named Claire McCaskill launched a soon-to-be-storied political career, right there in the wilds of Jackson County.
And over the course of more than two decades McCaskill transformed herself from country girl to local household word. She raised a family in the Midtown neighborhood of Coleman Highlands, repped for Brookside in the Missouri legislature in 1982, made a name for herself as Jackson County Prosecutor and famously squeaked past Todd “legitimate rape” Akin for a senate seat in 2012.
During those many years McCaskill relied on a glib personality and hardball, behind-the-scenes political manuevering to dodge any number of bullets that might have decimated the careers of less schmooze-worthy pols.
It didn’t hurt that she had the blessings of the liberal leaning Kansas City Star.
Take the time when her husband of 10 years – a ne’re-do-well named David Exposito got busted in 1994 for smoking pot while accompanying McCaskill on a promotional riverboat cruise to promote legalized gambling.
Naturally prosecutor McCaskill had no idea her hubby was a pot head and the newspaper didn’t press the issue.
She dumped him the following year and 10 years later Exposito was found murdered, a case that has never been solved.
Or how about the time McCaskill got busted for not paying property taxes on her Lake of the Ozarks resort property?
Instead of coming clean with a “my bad,” she explained it away by blaming her younger brother (who’d been crashing there) for not paying the taxes.
Again the Star let it slide.
In 2002 McCaskill put the Cowtown in her rearview mirror to marry a somewhat controversial St. Louis dude and it was off to the races to KC’s in-state rival city St. Louis.
However many tax toe stubbs later – she doesn’t get away with it like she did in KC – McCaskill is poised to run again for the senate in 2018 and later – could it be? _ launch a gubernatorial run against embattled Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.
Which brings us to her appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show Tuesday.
Ostensibly booked to sink her fangs into the Trump administration, the topic of St. Louis Cardinals had been on the table when McCaskill – without the slightest delay or shyness – weighed in with a shot at the Kansas City Royals.
“I was in Kansas City over the weekend,” she began. “And there are people in Kansas City who get legitimately angry with me because I don’t seem to ever mention the Royals.
“So let me just say, I love the Royals except when they’re playing the Cardinals.”
Hold it right there…
“So why did you become a Cardinals fan instead of a Royals fan,” asked host Joe Scarborough. “You’re from Kansas City, right?”
Noop.
“Actually I’m from Rolla, Missouri,” McCaskill answered, before spinning an obscure story about growing up listening to Cards games on the radio with a favorite uncle.
So that’s it?
After decades of cheering on the hometown Royals, through the team’s storied glory years, McCaskill sticks it to them by coming out in favor of KC’s dreaded cross state rival?
“What does that tell you?” quips a local Royals fan and businesswoman. “She’s not dumb – you don’t make that kind of mistake, she doesn’t make mistakes – she said that for a reason.”
One possibility:
That McCaskill wants to make good on her lone political loss via a run for Missouri governor.
“She’s going to make a run for governor and needs the St. Louis Democratic party supporting her. If she’s going to run for governor – and even for the senate again this year – she needs a bank roll, and she’s going to have to get it from St. Louis. That would also insure that they don’t put somebody else up from St. Louis instead of her to run against her. And with all of Greitens difficulties, you know there’s going to be a scramble to run against him in two years. This was not an accident.”
Put another way, don’t look for George Brett and Eric Hosmer standing alongside Blonde Ambition when and if she announces,
She’s always struck me as just another garden-variety career politician, full of partisan puffery and talking points thunk up for her by others, mixed with a heavy dose of double standards and hypocrisy (for those in Webb City: that means mindlessly taking a position based on the letter next to the name, even when it conflicts entirely with a position taken in the recent past). Like so many Missouri career politician asshats of the past (Ashcroft, Bond, the Carnahan clan, the Blunt pack, etc.), she’s a walking billboard that screams, “Term Limits At ALL Levels NOW.” I can occasionally even get a few leftists and right-wingers to agree with that sentiment!
Hear! hear!, Rage. It’s why I’m hesitant to come to the defense of ANY politician. Even though I lean heavily left, I recognize that they are all two sides of the same coin. Sure, there are those “core” issues that separate them (slightly), but the R’s and D’s political strategies are mirror images of each other. Whatever it takes to get elected………again. Period.
100% agree with T.I.R. and Jim. All politicians by and large are disgusting, morally bankrupt, liars. McCaskill is garbage, always has been.
Yes!
would anyone want a drunk and jerk like Brett around any way? Oh I forget El Rushbo, the fat drunk and former pill popper is his buddy….
She’s lucky. Last guy she ran against was an idiot. This one is an evenbigger
one. Even in a red state she’s got a chance to repeat.
What about this greitens guy. Tapes his mistresses hands and hangs her so he
can take her pic.
That’s a better story.
Put your crack investigative reporter wislon on that one. But don’t let him
drive an suv or go by some “trucks with large antennas”!
Missouri is filled with idiots.
Thanks Hearne Christopher Jr., I appreciate your kind words on my work. 🙂
Hey Beast, little late adding a thought here but at least you will see it. Don’t really disagree with anything you said but wanted to offer another thought on the issue of McCaskill playing politics regarding the St. Louis Cardinals. I do believe she was a Cards fan as a young person/child. I was born and grew up in Kansas City, Mo and I grew up a Cards fan. Obviously I’m way before the Royals were born but I can recall trying to get radio coverage at night and listen to the Cards from the mid to late 60’s. Check out the roster of the 67′ team. Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Orlando Cepeda, Tim McCarver, Roger Maris, Steve Carlton. Just sayin’
You know, I too don’t have a hard time believing she was a Cards fan. It just came as surprise after all these years and I’ll bvetcha anything rooting for the Royals in those St. L – KC games.
Ah, but NOW she comes out