CNN reported this morning that at a closed-door meeting, Clinton supporter Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), went after Vice President Joe Biden. The Missouri Senator openly threatened the Veep, according to those in the room:
Late last month at a Democratic lunch, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri privately noted that Biden-the-candidate will be treated far differently than Biden-the-lame-duck-vice-president, according to two attendees who asked not be named because such meetings are supposed to be off the record. His long record will come into focus, she said, including his questioning of Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.
McCaskill then said she never said any of that, but basically doubled down on those exact talking points when asked:
“There’s a difference between potentially being a candidate — and being a candidate,” McCaskill said Tuesday. “And once you step onto the playing field, then everybody who runs is criticized, and everybody is looking for a way to win. It’s just different when you’re in the battle and when you are thinking about being in the battle.”
How do you know this is a concerted effort by Team Clinton? McCaskill’s threats perfectly parrot recent Clinton campaign rhetoric. New York Magazine reported yesterday that Clinton’s campaign and super PAC are beginning to pitch oppo stories on Biden:
According to a Clinton campaign source, a team of opposition researchers working on behalf of Clinton is currently digging through Biden’s long record in office to develop attack lines in case the vice-president runs. The research effort started about a month ago and is being conducted by operatives at Correct the Record, the pro-Hillary superpac founded by David Brock, which is coordinating with the Clinton campaign. According to the source, the research has turned up material on Biden’s ties to Wall Street; his reluctance to support the raid that killed Osma bin Laden; and his role in the Anita Hill saga as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
They left the most ominous threat to an anonymous quote:
“Even implicitly [Biden’s] argument would be ‘I have integrity and you don’t,’” a Clinton ally said. “If that’s the message, this could be messier than Obama-Clinton ’08. At least Obama had the Iraq War vote and could make a case about generational change. This guy” — Biden — “is older than she is and just as conventional.”