The GOP super-PAC Crossroads GPS is up with another big ad buy against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), slamming her for voting for President Obama's healthcare law.
McCaskill is in a tough position — she closely tied herself to President Obama during the 2008 election, and while a new poll shows Obama tied with Mitt Romney in Missouri, few expect him to win there.
The more voters group the two together, the harder it will be for her to get the few points' separation she'll need to win reelection if Obama loses the state.
Crossroads is spending a half-million dollars on the ad, which slams McCaskill for voting with Obama "90 percent of the time." It's the latest in their air war against McCaskill, their top target so far this election.
"'ObamaCare'? More like 'Obama-Claire.' Because Sen. Claire McCaskill has voted with President Obama more than 90 percent of the time, including ObamaCare, cutting half a trillion [dollars] in Medicare spending, cuts that could slash benefits for some Medicare enrollees, and a board of unelected bureaucrats with the power to restrict seniors' access to medical care," the ad's narrator says. "Obama-Claire brought us ObamaCare, and that's bad medicine for Medicare."
McCaskill's campaign pointed out that she had one of the most conservative records of any Democrat in the Senate based on nonpartisan rankings, and accused the group, which doesn't disclose its donors, of being a front group for the insurance industry.
"The insurance companies are buying these anonymous smear ads and lying about Claire because they know the only thing she's ever voted to cut is their profits," said McCaskill campaign spokesman Erik Dorey. "They are lying about Claire's record and they're lying that she voted to cut Medicare because she has always put Missouri's middle class families ahead of the insurance companies' bottom lines."
Crossroads has been McCaskill's main antagonist, as the three Republicans running against her have focused mostly on their August primary. McCaskill has been tied with all three in recent surveys and is polling under 50 percent, a dangerous spot for an incumbent in any race.
This post was updated at 11:15 a.m.
