Hawley, McCaskill diverge on Supreme Court matters

The dividing line between Missouri’s two major U.S. Senate candidates was on clear display during a Sept. 14 forum in St. Louis, and the line grew starker throughout the following week as discussion of sexual-assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh picked up steam.

At the forum, Sen. Claire McCaskill cast herself as a moderate Democrat who works well with Republicans, while Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, her Republican challenger, continually reminded the audience that he’s “not just another Washington liberal.” At the forum, sponsored by the Missouri Press Association, McCaskill said she was still reviewing documents about the nominee and that she would make a decision soon.

Wednesday evening, McCaskill’s office released a statement saying that she would vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The allegations against Kavanaugh are troubling, and should be investigated, the former prosecutor said. However, she added, the deciding factor is Kavanaugh’s positions on the issue of dark money in politics.

“He has revealed his bias against limits on campaign donations which places him completely out of the mainstream of this nation,” McCaskill said in a statement. “He wrote, ‘And I have heard very few people say that limits on contributions to candidates are unconstitutional although I for one tend to think those limits have some constitutional problems.’”

McCaskill also said Kavanaugh would support allowing no restrictions on ”issue ads” from anonymous donors and foreign governments that are designed to influence U.S. elections.

Hawley’s response to McCaskill’s announcement was nearly verbatim to his position stated at the press association forum.

“She has sided with Chuck Schumer every single time — for liberals and against Missouri. Senator McCaskill has forgotten where she’s from and become just another Washington liberal,” Hawley said in a statement.

Hawley and McCaskill met in a candidates’ forum sponsored by the association at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet in Maryland Heights, the first time the rivals have met in a formal public setting. Although four candidates for the seat were present, much of the attention focused on Hawley and McCaskill. They were joined by Jo Crain of the Green Party, and Craig O’Dear, an independent candidate and attorney. Libertarian candidate Japheth Campbell did not participate.

“Our founding fathers didn’t even like corporations, but yet an activist Supreme Court has elevated corporations to the point that they can control our elections with a tsunami of dark money to the point that it’s taking away the ability of individuals to make a clean and clear decision in political campaigns,” McCaskill said.

Hawley said Kavanaugh had his full support.

“In my experience there are only two kinds of judges: Those who believe in the Constitution the way the people wrote it and those who want to impose their own values from the bench,” Hawley said. “Brett Kavanaugh is the kind of judge that this state voted to put on the bench when we voted for Donald Trump by 20 points in 2016.”

Missouri’s Republican senator, Roy Blunt, had previously spoken favorably of Kavanaugh, but told the Kansas City Star on Sept. 17 that the accusations should be fully investigated before a vote is held. Christine Blasey Ford, a California psychologist and professor, alleges that Kavanaugh attempted to sexually assault her at a party when they were high school students. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, details of which emerged after the Sept. 14 forum.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday. It remained unclear at press time whether the hearing would take place or if Ford would testify.

Missouri’s Senate campaign is one of the most closely watched in the country, and the future of the judiciary has become a focal point for attention. McCaskill is one of a handful of Democrats seeking re-election in states that voted decisively for President Donald Trump in 2016.

When asked at the forum about the role of the Supreme Court and its power in the future, McCaskill said that she would support returning to a 60-vote threshold for confirmation of nominees, rather than the 51 votes required today.

“We need to get back to 60 so that a Supreme Court justice has to get a bipartisan vote in order to go on the Supreme Court,” McCaskill said. “That’s how you keep the Supreme Court from being overly partisan.”

McCaskill said she voted for 94 percent of President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees and two-thirds of Trump’s nominees.

Hawley criticized McCaskill for voting in favor of all of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees while voting against Trump’s first nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch.

“I am concerned that judges too often impose their own values from the bench,” Hawley said. “I’ve noticed this, that every time a judge imposes his or her own values from the bench, it’s almost always the liberal left-wing Hollywood media values that get imposed. It’s not actually our heartland values.”