This piece about how Sen. Claire McCaskill won over Republican John Warner on her proposal to set up a commission to investigate wartime contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan IS WORTH A READ.
From The Star-Telegram:
McCaskill, who defeated an incumbent last November, argued for accountability and asked her colleagues to "overcome the politics of this place for the good of our national security and the strength of our military." But Warner, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, objected to "outsourcing" his panel's oversight responsibility.
By the next day, though, the eight-member bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting -- championed by McCaskill and fellow freshman Jim Webb, D-Va. -- was being approved without opposition. Warner formally endorsed the proposal, an amendment to the defense appropriations bill.
But the real key to this compromise might have been the seating chart. Committee Chairman
Joseph Lieberman had shaken up the seating plan so that members would start sitting Democrat-Republican-Democrat-Republican at hearings.
As a result, McCaskill wound up next to Warner. And not long after, the Senate approved the contracting commission. (It still needs House approval.)
"Is it because I sat next to John Warner in that committee? Maybe," McCaskill mused.
"He was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. It's that trust thing."
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