Don't Ask McCaskill, Cause She Won't Tell.

            Democrats have a strong voting record in favor of gay marriage. York wrote about the Democrats that have separated themselves from gay rights. A gallup poll found that 65 percent of Democrats support. However, that leaves 34 percent who vote at odds with their party (2012). Claire McCaskill is one of Democrats who is distancing herself from the issue because of the ideologies of those in her state of Missouri. She has not put out a direct statement on her official Senate site. On Votesmart her stance on same-sex marriage remains “unknown”. Pennsylvania's Bob Casey, Florida's Bill Nelson and West Virginia's Joe Manchin are other Senators running for reelection who have generally ignored the topic when asked (York, 2012). They are torn between staying loyal to their party ideologies or their voter demographics.

One of the reasons that McCaskills stance on same-sex marriage was ignored was likely because of her candidate Akin. Many voters assumed that McCaskill and Akin took polarizing positions on most issues. Akin was quoted as saying that, "Anybody who knows something about the history of the human race knows that there is no civilization which has condoned homosexual marriage widely and openly that has long survived" in late August (Signorile, 2012). Akin’s strong position on the matter, painting it out to be the end of civilization, took a lot of pressure off of McCaskill to take a strong stance on either side. Of the news stories I have found about Akin’s comment about same-sex marriage, none of them mention the other candidate’s position on the matter. The stories are too focused on the controversy surrounding Akin. Once again, McCaskill has been able to sit back and allow her candidate to dig himself a hole and leave her as the default winner.  In actuality, both candidates repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

McCaskills separation from same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues was a strategic move. Unlike her opponent, she did not let her emotions get the best of her on the issues. By not speaking out directly she maintained her role as the stable candidate of the two despite her silence on the issue.

Works Cited

Project Vote Smart. (2012). Senator Claire McCaskill’s Political Positions. Vote Smart. Retrieved from http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/2109/claire-mccaskill/#.UKxA245c_dk

York, B. (2012). York: GOP sees opportunity in Dems’ support of gay marriage. The Washington Examiner Online. Retrieved from http://washingtonexaminer.com/york-gop-sees-opportunity-in-dems-support-of-gay-marriage/article/2503550#.UKwy3Y5c_dk

VoteMatch. (2012). Claire McCaskill on SenateMatch. On The Issues. Retrieved from http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Claire_McCaskill_SenateMatch.htm