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Has the White House written off Robin Carnahan?

March 9, 2010

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will travel to St. Louis in an attempt to resurrect his takeover of our health care system, revive his sagging political fortunes, and fill Claire McCaskill’s campaign war chest.  But several questions linger about Robin Carnahan’s role in the event.

Press reports indicate that the money raised at the Obama fundraisers will benefit Claire McCaskill’s 2012 campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee—but it is unclear if this money will benefit Robin Carnahan.

Has the White House written off the Carnahan campaign or have they found a way to secretly funnel these donations to her?

“Barack Obama should be campaigning his heart out for Robin Carnahan—after all, Carnahan has pledged to rubberstamp his agenda of a government takeover of healthcare, job-killing cap-and-tax, and the failed stimulus bill, and much more.  But maybe Obama sees the writing on the wall and realizes that Carnahan is way too liberal for Missouri,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “It appears that the White House has written off the Carnahan campaign.  We are not aware of another example of the President ignoring a U.S. Senate candidate on the ballot in less than 8 months and instead raising money for someone who is not up for reelection until 2012.”

When Carnahan appeared with Obama in St. Louis in April to celebrate his first 100 days in office, he described her as “somebody I think may turn out to be pretty good in Washington.”  That’s because Carnahan, if elected, would be one of Obama’s staunchest allies in the U.S. Senate.

Already, Carnahan has announced (but refused to explain) her support for much of the national Democrats’ agenda on health care, energy, the ‘stimulus,’ the economy, and terrorist detention.  Missourians know this, and they are overwhelmingly rejecting the Obama-Carnahan agenda.  The latest poll of the U.S. Senate race shows Carnahan down by 7 points with nearly 60 percent of Missourians disapproving of the job President Obama is doing.