McCaskill discusses bipartisanship, Trump, health care during town hall meeting

SIKESTON - Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill admitted some of her colleagues questioned the wisdom of her decision to hold eight town halls meetings this week in Missouri. Many of those meetings, they pointed out, are in areas which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump.

McCaskill told the some 150 people gathered at the auditorium at Three Rivers College - Sikeston, she considered the meetings an honor.

"I really believe that this is part of my job," McCaskill said. "I have learned when I do town halls, what Missourians are thinking, what they are mad about, what they are worried about."

And that is what she heard Wednesday afternoon. Concerns ranged from healthcare and access to the internet in rural communities to jobs and energy. For approximately an hour, McCaskill responded to those questions.

Prior to the meeting, the public had the opportunity to write down a question for McCaskill. In an effort to show that none of the questions were scrutinized in advance, Missouri's senior senator asked for a volunteer, who not only had never voted for her but would probably never vote for her, to pick the questions from the bowl. More than one hand shot up.

With many of her questions, McCaskill emphasized she was a moderate. She said it is tough today to work with the extremes on the left and right to find a middle ground.

The senator also noted how she and Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt work together on issues facing Missouri, including most recently returning the cruise boat the Delta Queen to the Mississippi River. On other issues, she said, she has bills that are bipartisan backed.

Several questions were posed about Noranda and union-related issues. McCaskill admitted she didn't know enough about it but promised she and the staff would get with the individuals to determine if there were ways she could help.

Anna Voelker posed a question noting Trump had won Missouri and McCaskill had voted against his choice for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch. Voelker wanted to know if the Trump voters would hurt McCaskill's chances for re-election.

"Yeah, probably," McCaskill responded, saying it would make her an underdog in the election, a role she was comfortable with.

But, McCaskill continued, she thought those senators who looked down at Trump voters made a huge mistake.

"People who voted for Donald Trump wanted someone to disrupt what was going on. They wanted a disruptor. I get it. If you have been working really hard and the more behind you get and every four years someone runs for president and says I'm going to change things and things never really change, how can you blame someone for voting for a disruptor?" she said.

"I obviously did not support President Trump for office but I think it is my job to listen and learn from people who did."

She went on to say she owed it those people to give her time and her respect. McCaskill said it is the Democratic Party which has fought for the minimum wage and pensions, saying that it hurts that those voters no longer had faith in the Democratic Party.

"But time will tell if President Trump keeps his promises," she added.

As for her Gorsuch vote, she agreed it would have made her re-election chances easier to cast her vote in favor of his nomination. However, she was particularly critical of his ruling in a case involving a trucker, whose truck broke down in sub-freezing temperatures. As the trucker was beginning to suffer the effects of hypothermia, the company told him he could not leave the vehicle. When he went to get help and returned to the truck, he was fired, McCaskill said, and Gorsuch ruled in favor of the company.

"At the confirmation hearing, he was asked what he would have done. Gorsuch said he hadn't thought about it. I don't want a judge that sits on the Supreme Court and never thought about it," she said.

When one question referred to healthcare as a joke, McCaskill agreed there are problems. The senator disagreed that Trump's proposal was the answer.

Trump's proposal, she noted, would provide tax breaks for those earning over $200,000 annually along with medical suppliers. To pay for those tax breaks, she said, benefits would be cut.

"There are a lot of things we can do to improve what we have now and I stand ready, willing and able, like I have for six years," McCaskill said. However, she noted the Republicans still have not found the solution despite having a majority in Congress.

McCaskill called for transparency in healthcare, particularly in pharmaceutical pricing, pointing out healthcare companies charge one rate when it is paid by insurance companies or the federal government but when individuals are paying for the prescriptions, the costs can rise substantially.

The senator said she looks forward working with the Trump administration on its idea for negotiating bulk discounts in pharmaceuticals.

She also wants transparency in political advertising. She urged those attending the town hall, when advertisements run and will not reveal who is backing the ad, whether in favor of her or against her, to ignore them. The backers of the ads, she said, should be willing to say who they are.

Several questions revolved around Trump's recent budget proposal with members of the audience expressing concern about specific programs - including education, library funding, the Delta Regional Authority and health programs. According to McCaskill, many of the president's proposals would benefit urban areas at the detriment of rural communities, which had supported him.

Also she pointed out, budgets are negotiated with many Republicans concerned about the cuts as well as the Democrats. When a member of the audience spoke out that the federal government can't do everything, McCaskill agreed, adding many in her party don't like it when she says that.

Patricia Scott of Poplar Bluff applauded much of what McCaskill had to say Wednesday and said she appreciated McCaskill's moderate stance.

"She is interested in to listening to both sides . I think she can appeal the people in the middle who don't want to be on the extremes," Scott said.

Sikeston's Josh Bill called McCaskill a very skilled politician as the meeting came to an end.

But not in all issues.

"I was very disappointed when Noranda came up. It was very clear she didn't know anything about it - what has happened, what brought them down or the efforts to resurrect it," he said. "But frankly I have been disappointed on that from all our officials in the state - both parties, senators, governors, nobody has said anything while Noranda was going down."