McCaskill Says She's Told WH She's Not Interested in SCOTUS

Senator Claire McCaskill virtually took herself out of the running for a longshot Supreme Court nomination Tuesday by saying she's not interested in the gig.

"I'm not interested. I really like to stir trouble . . . I don't think I'm the right personality for the United States Supreme Court," McCaskill said in a satellite interview Tuesday.

*WATCH FULL CLIP ABOVE*

ADDS: "I've certainly let the White House know that that's not a job I'm interested in."

Last week, CNN reported that Obama was seriously considering her for the Court. A former Bush aide said McCaskill would be a good fit for the job.

McCaskill Tapped to Help Obama on SCOTUS Pick

Sen. Claire McCaskill is one of three Senate Democrats who have been tapped by President Obama to help advise him on his pick for the U.S Supreme Court.

Roll Call reports that the president has asked McCaskill and Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer to help him vet and gauge Senate support for prospective nominees.

Supreme Court Justice David Souter has announced he's retiring at the end of the term, and the president said he'd like a new justice in place by the fall.

From Roll Call: "Obama has used McCaskill, in particular, as a window into how his pick might be viewed by Democratic centrists and female Senators, one Democratic aide said. Another Senate Democratic aide said Obama will likely count on McCaskill, Schumer and Durbin to act as the chief defenders of his nominee when the candidate comes under attack."

Neither Schumer nor McCaskill would answer questions related to the Supreme Court nomination on Tuesday.

McCaskill: Obama's SCOTUS Nominee Won't Be Controversial

Sen. Claire McCaskill tells Slate she doesn't think President Obama's Supreme Court pick will be an ideologue.

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"I know that judicial nominees can be controversial, but let me tell you why I don't think that this one will become controversial," she said Tuesday. "This president is not interested in appointing an ideologue. This is a pragmatic president who understands the role of a Supreme Court justice, and I'm confident his nominee will not be someone who lends themselves to this kind of a really high-pitched battle."

Asked if the White House has inquired about McCaskill's interest in a Supreme Court appointment, communications director Adrianne Marsh said they have not.

"Furthermore, she wouldn't be interested anyway because she's happy representing the great state of Missouri in the U.S. Senate," Marsh said.

Fmr. Bush Speechwriter Picks Claire for Supreme Court

A former White House speechwriter for President H.W. Bush says Sen. Claire McCaskill is her favorite pick to become the next Supreme Court Justice.

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In a blog for U.S. News & World Report, Mary Kate Cary says her vote goes to McCaskill because of her work experience "both as a waitress and a prosecutor, her life as a single mom, and her family responsibilities taking care of both young children and an aging parent."

Cary narrowed her choices to "three liberal women with law degrees," but lauded McCaskill with this description:

"And my personal favorite, Claire McCaskill: University of Missouri Law graduate, 55, single mom for seven years, then remarried and now has a blended family of nine kids. Put herself through law school as a waitress; according to her official bio, she worked in a fabric store as a teenager in order to sew her own clothes. Later, she ran the state's largest prosecutor's office (in Kansas City) and began its first domestic violence unit. Elected as a state legislator and Missouri State Auditor, now serving as senator from Missouri. Returns to St. Louis every weekend, where her 79-year-old mother, Betty Anne, lives with the family."

MEANWHILE . . . THE GOP CONTINUES TO BELIEVE MCCASKILL HAS A BERMUDA-BASED TAX SHELTER:

"Once again, Senator McCaskill is dodging questions, avoiding responsibility, and clouding the issue of her family’s Bermuda-based tax shelter. Despite previously claiming that she and her husband ‘share everything,’ McCaskill is now distancing herself from the business," said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.

The GOP is pouncing on this explanation given by McCaskill's spokesperson yesterday: "Like Warren Buffet, Claire's husband has an investment in a reinsurance company in a foreign country that has never been a tax benefit to him nor will there ever be a tax benefit for this investment."

But in March, The Notebook asked McCaskill specifically about the tax shelter charge. She said Rural Reinsurance Company International has "absolutely nothing to do with a tax shelter."

*WATCH THAT VIDEO HERE*

A Money Game Changer?

The Missouri Supreme Court reinstated campaign contribution limits on Thursday. The court unanimously overturned a lower court judge who threw out a fund-raising ban for elected officials during legislative sessions. The judge had kept intact the overall repeal of Missouri's individual contribution limits.

The ruling comes just days after the 2nd quarter fundraising period reports, which indicated historic fundraising efforts by the state's two top candidates for Governor.

The Supreme Court says the legislative history of the bill indicates lawmakers wouldn’t have repealed contribution limits without a donation blackout period.

Read the Supreme Court's complete decision.