As a supporter of abortion rights, McCaskill fits into her party's mainstream on the biggest of all lightning rods for cultural conservatives.She responds by mostly not talking about it, and is attempting to define her values more broadly.
At Emily's List, an abortion-rights group that is supporting McCaskill, the candidate's silence is viewed not as a retreat but as shrewd politics. Chris Esposito, an Emily's List political operative who helped Rep. Dennis Moore get elected eight years ago in a GOP-leaning House district in Kansas, said McCaskill should talk about the issues that Missouri voters say they care about -- such as health coverage and national security.
The point, he said, is winning. "It's not exclusive to wedge issues," Esposito said. "It's fundamental to every campaign."
Murray's description of Emily's List is a little incomplete: it's an abortion-rights PAC that supports only pro-choice female Democrats. Unlike "objective" reporters, Emily's List is very frank about its ideological stance vowing to "take back our country from the radical right wing by electing pro-choice Democratic women." Murray also fails to find it fascinating that McCaskill calls herself a Catholic. How will she poll among Catholics with the forces of NARAL and Emily's List on her team?
