Last night, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) voted against cloture on the FY09 omnibus spending bill, which funds the operations of the federal government. On Twitter, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked her why she switched her position, after signaling support of the bill on Sunday. McCaskill replied with a string of tweets defending her vote by pointing to “Runaway govt spending”:
GStephanopoulos @clairecmc Hey Senator, George here. On This Week, you signaled support for omnibus (great to have you btw) What changed? about 2 hours ago from web
clairecmc George S.:Ultimately just couldn’t do it. Not just earmrks tho, also increase in spendng(8%too much)& failure to reconcile $ with stimuls about 2 hours ago from web
clairecmc Technicaly cloture vote wasnt final vote,but in practice it was.Everyne knew last night it was final vote & had gone home befor voice vote about 2 hours ago from web
clairecmc Stimulative spending by govt in a recession:yes. Runaway govt spending on govt programs in a recession:no. about 1 hour ago from web about 2 hours ago from web
clairecmc Spending on roads,bridgs,smart grid,green technology etc& tax cuts for middle class=stimulative Just growng existng govt progrms,not so much about 1 hour ago from web
When Stephanopoulos asked her about the bill Sunday, McCaskill only cited earmarks as a concern over the bill. Speaking this morning, President Obama said that “99 percent” of the omnibus bill “addresses the immediate concerns of the American people by making needed investments in line with our urgent national priorities.”
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