Obstructionist McCaskill Doubles Down, Dismissing Healthcare Meltdown

JEFFERSON CITY —  This morning during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Senator Claire McCaskill not only continued to defend Obamacare—she also reiterated her flat refusal to work with Senate Republicans to fix it. During the interview, Sam Stein of the Huffington Post pointed out that there has been talk from Senate Republicans about working with the Democrats to put together compromise legislation. Stein then questioned McCaskill on the Democrats’ conscious decision not to participate in those talks. McCaskill’s response? “I’m not sure [compromise] was a viable option.”

This is a disturbingly dismissive response from McCaskill, especially considering this comes on the heels of alarming new reports that another 18,000 Missourians in 25 western counties could be left entirely without coverage when Blue Cross Blue Shield leaves the state next year. In fact, the severity of this issue has even been addressed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who recently invited several Missourians from these ‘bare’ counties to the White House to air their grievances.  This also comes on top of a report from the Department of Health and Human Services that showed premiums in the individual market have risen 145% in Missouri during the last four years. Even in the face of these undeniable and potentially terrifying facts, McCaskill insisted this morning that she doesn’t think the individual market is as bad as people say.

Perhaps Senator McCaskill’s refusal to see a problem explains her refusal to work with Senate Republicans to fix it. But her line-in-the-sand approach is also confusing, given that she and other Senate Democrats have gone to great and very dramatic lengths to voice their frustrations over not being included in the Republican process of replacing Obamacare. If the Democrats weren’t interested in compromising, and if Senator McCaskill doesn’t really think the individual market is that bad, then it seems that including her in the process would have been futile and counterproductive, anyway.

“This is typical Claire—to be completely disconnected from the very real hardships happening here in Missouri,” said Austin Stukins, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “She was the deciding vote that subjected Missourians to the Obamacare nightmare. Now, even as it is going up in flames and threatening the healthcare of thousands of Missourians, her response is to basically ‘let them eat cake.’” Stukins continued. “If she doesn’t think this is bad, then what is?”