Claire McCaskill Criticizes Senate Dysfunction in Farewell Speech: ‘We Have Too Many Embarrassing Uncles’

As Claire McCaskill (D-MO) delivered her final speech before Congress on Thursday, she expressed pessimism for the Senate’s future as America’s politics become more and more polarized.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was worried about this place. It just doesn’t work as well as well as it used to. The Senate has been so enjoyable for me, but I must admit it puts the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunction.’ Peter Morgan, an author, said no family is complete without an embarrassing uncle. We have too many embarrassing uncles in the United States Senate…The United States Senate is no longer the world’s greatest deliberative body and everybody needs to quit saying it until we recover from this period of polarization and the fear of the political consequences of tough votes.”

McCaskill continued to lament the secretive conduct and partisan politics of Congress, saying it’s not helpful for solving the country’s biggest problems. She eventually used her speech to criticize President Donald Trump, saying he was elected as a result of cynicism for America’s leaders.

“Power has been dangerously centralized in the Senate,” McCaskill warned. “A few people are writing legislation, a few people are making decision. We have to throw off the shackles of careful, open the doors of debate, reclaim the power of members in committees, and most of all, realize that looking the other way and hoping that everything will work out later is a foolish idea.”

Watch above, via C-SPAN 2.

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