The Missouri Republican Party today launched a new web video contrasting ‘Chameleon Claire’ McCaskill’s rhetoric in Missouri and her Washington record of support for Barack Obama’s war on energy.

* FLIP: Earlier this year, Claire McCaskill claimed in Missouri that “We’ve got to make sure that whatever policies we have, are not going to make energy too expensive for people.”  McCaskill has also claimed that she has been “very clear that [she] would never vote for cap-and-trade.”

* FLOP: McCaskill told the St Joseph News-Press that she is “supportive of a cap-and-trade,” she voted for cap-and-trade and later bragged that the Senate nearly passed it, she voted twice to allow the EPA to implement a backdoor cap-and-trade scheme, and she voted to allow the EPA’s job-destroying Cross-State Air Pollution Rule to go into effect.

The video highlights McCaskill’s record in Washington and the consequences to Missourians of her liberal votes.

“Chameleon Claire McCaskill must be held accountable for her job-destroying rubberstamp support for Barack Obama’s agenda,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “McCaskill will say or do anything in an attempt to fool Missourians into forgetting that she supports cap-and-trade and wants to turn our nation’s energy policies over to the EPA.  The truth is: Claire McCaskill and Barack Obama simply cannot be trusted.”

This is the third in a series of web videos comparing McCaskill’s walk with her talk—the first, related to her flip-flop on the government’s ability to create jobs is available here, and the second, exploring her flip-flop on earmarks, is available here.

The Missouri Republican Party today launched a new web video comparing ‘Chameleon Claire’ McCaskill’s rhetoric with her liberal Washington record. The video highlights Chameleon Claire’s dramatic flip-flop on earmarks:

* FLIP: McCaskill, who says she wants to “end earmarking,” admitted in 2007 that if she voted for bills stuffed with earmarks, she is “part of the problem” (St. Joseph News-Press, December 28, 2007).

* FLOP: McCaskill co-authored the stimulus bill that she later admitted included earmarks; she has voted for bills packed with thousands of earmarks costing billions of dollars; and worst of all, she has repeatedly opposed efforts to remove egregious earmarks from bills (multiple sources available upon request).

The video highlights 4 of the more than 4,000 earmarks McCaskill has supported: $295,470 for the International Peace Garden in North Dakota, $200,000 for tattoo removal in California, $1.8 million for manure management research in Iowa, and $3.5 million for a birthday celebration for St Augustine, Florida.  In each of these cases, McCaskill voted against amendments that would have eliminated these earmarks.

“Chameleon Claire McCaskill has a nasty habit of saying one thing and doing another,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Chameleon Claire McCaskill has spent a lot of time complaining about earmarks—but the truth is, McCaskill has voted for thousands of earmarks costing taxpayers billions of dollars.  Even worse, she has voted against efforts to remove earmarks from certain bills.  As McCaskill herself admitted, this makes her ‘part of the problem.’”

This is the second in a series of web videos comparing McCaskill’s walk with her talk.  On issue after issue—from government job creation to cap-and-trade to debt ceiling to illegal immigration to the 2^nd amendment and more—McCaskill’s walk has not matched her talk.

McCaskill in her own words: “I’m part of the problem.”

 Chameleon Claire McCaskill has struck again—this time, desperately trying to hide her long Washington record of supporting earmarks.

Today, Claire McCaskill announced new legislation to ban earmarks—but her public position is yet another example of McCaskill’s walk not matching her talk.  Despite McCaskill’s anti-earmark rhetoric, she has voted for thousands of earmarks totaling billions of dollars, which she once admitted makes her “part of the problem.”

Throughout her career in Washington, McCaskill has voted for a significant number of spending bills that were filled with earmarks.  This includes a spending bill that included more than 800 earmarks totaling $2.5 billion; a spending bill that included more than 1,000 earmarks totaling $562 million; an spending bill that included 296 earmarks totaling $221 million; and a spending bill that included more than 300 earmarks totaling $246 million.

In addition, McCaskill co-authored and vocally-supported the stimulus bill, which she admitted was packed with earmarks.  According to CNN, March 5, 2009:  And in a prime-time address before a joint session of Congress, Obama last week praised the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law, telling the nation, “I’m proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.” But some in the audience found that hard to swallow. “There was just a roar of laughter — because there were earmarks,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.

 In McCaskill’s own words, McCaskill’s support for these earmarks makes her “part of the problem.”  According to a December 28, 2007 article in the St. Joseph News-Press about an omnibus appropriation bill packed with more than 9,000 earmarks, McCaskill stated “If I go along with it, then I’m part of the problem.”

“After voting for thousands of earmarks that cost taxpayers billions of dollars, Claire McCaskill now claims she wants to ban them.  Her hypocrisy proves once again that Missourians simply cannot trust Chameleon Claire,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.

Chameleon Claire’s earmarking hypocrisy is just the latest in a long line of flip-flops meant to disguise her real Washington record from Missouri voters.  On issue after issue—from government spending/job creation to cap-and-trade to the debt ceiling to immigration and many more—McCaskill has said one thing and done another.