LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell stood stiffly behind the hotel ballroom podium Friday night as he tried to fire up a few hundred Republican activists. He has never needed them more.
This year, as McConnell faces one of the toughest Senate elections, he is staring at polls that show his approval rating in his home state is even worse than that of President Obama, who is deeply disliked by many here.
Even in his hometown among party faithful at Friday night’s county Republican reception, McConnell received second billing. Senator Rand Paul, elected in 2010 in a wave of Tea Party movement fervor, was the night’s host, keynote speaker, and most-applauded politician. McConnell was relegated to “special guest” status.
Related: CPAC Picks Paul Again
The sight of this old-guard Southern standard-bearer having to scramble has made his battle for survival the most watched election in the country in a year in which the US Senate could be hanging in the balance.
McConnell’s job as the most powerful Republican in the Senate has made him a top target of both Democrats and archconservatives from around the country, with both portraying him as a symbol of all that is wrong with Washington. Democrats blame him for gridlock and dysfunction, while conservatives in the Tea Party movement say he is not pure enough, a dreaded compromiser.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are pouring in from around the country to support his Democratic opponent, whose campaign is hosting former president Bill Clinton in Kentucky on Tuesday. Funds are also flowing to a primary challenger from the right.
McConnell’s reelection is rated a tossup, but he is still considered by many as a favorite, not least because he has survived scares before.
Rigged voting machines helps.
**************
It is a bitter turn for McConnell, who helped galvanize his party’s base by vowing at the beginning of Obama’s administration to make him a one-term president, then committed to a strategy of obstruction.
But the intransigence may have backfired, at least for McConnell. Yes, Obama has suffered greatly. But the poison atmosphere in Washington has tarnished both men’s standing. Just 32 percent of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell’s job performance, according to a recent Louisville Courier-Journal poll.
“He’s been the personification of the ‘Party of No,’ ” said David Grider, a 50-year-old district chairman of the state Republican Party who said he has known and supported McConnell since he was 15. “That’s his job. You can’t have a good P.R. campaign, having to stand up to the president all the time.”
But not standing up to the president also carries a high cost. McConnell endured a fresh set of attacks from conservative groups after he cast a key procedural vote this month to let Obama raise the nation’s borrowing limit.
See: Behead Boehner
Mitch is next in line.
McConnell’s Tea Party movement-backed opponent, Matt Bevin, sounded off on Twitter — blasting out a mock check from McConnell to Obama for “as much as you want (it’s not my money).”
McConnell and other Republican leaders wanted to avoid the distraction of another fiscal standoff that badly damaged his party and instead focus on Obama’s health care law.
You mean his legacy?
Despite polls that show him nearly even with Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, many political observers say that McConnell, above all else, is a keen tactician, a survivor who understands politics in Kentucky just as well as he does politics in Washington. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, defeating a Democratic incumbent by less than 1 percent with a famous ad that showed bloodhounds unable to locate his opponent. Two of his four challengers since then have come within 6 percentage points of beating him.
Should McConnell win election once again, good things could be in store for him. If Republicans capture the six additional seats the party needs to win control of the Senate, it would make McConnell, 72, majority leader, his lifelong quest.
“I’ve been — shall I say — the defensive coordinator in the Senate for seven years,” McConnell said during Friday’s speech. “You can score on defense, but it’s a lot harder to score on defense than it is on offense.”
Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, which rates congressional races across the country, puts the odds of a Republican takeover of the Senate at 40 percent. Those odds could improve if the party’s top candidates survive their primaries. Most competitive races are in conservative states where Democrats are in danger of losing power — including North Carolina, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
McConnell’s race in Kentucky and another in Georgia are the two contests where Democrats have their best opportunities to gain seats.
A recent drive across the snow-covered farmland in the north of Kentucky confirmed attitudes expressed in polls. People from all points of the political spectrum said they were disillusioned with politicians from both parties and dispirited by the economy.
They finally found me.
Eugene Stepp, a Republican from Independence, Ky., would seem like a McConnell supporter. The 55-year-old truck driver rolled his eyes at the mere mention of Obama, blaming the president for his reduced earnings. Yet he is not pleased with McConnell either, furious that the minority leader ended the government shutdown in October with a deal that boosted spending to nearly $3 billion on a dam project that helped his home state.
“I just thought it was wrong because the government started back up and he was the only one who got any money out of the deal,” Stepp said.
Not the only one.
McConnell has long campaigned as a politician who could bring home the pork to a state badly in need. He released an ad last month highlighting his role in creating a cancer-screening program in Western Kentucky for workers at a nuclear power plant. It echoed ads he has run in past campaigns.
At the same time, McConnell has tried to co-opt the Tea Party movement, hiring a top Rand Paul adviser to manage his campaign.
Related: Mitch McConnell is a Misogynist
Now you know who the mole was in the Ron Paul campaign.
Though McConnell backed Paul’s opponent during the 2010 GOP primary, the two have since formed an uneasy alliance. Paul provided a crucial, early endorsement of McConnell in this race.
“He’s hanging on to Rand Paul for dear life to get him through this,” said Bernie Kunkel, a 60-year-old conservative activist who left his job as Paul’s regional field representative to work for Bevin’s campaign.
But even as McConnell has tried to tame the Tea Party movement, he and his allies have also played hardball. The National Republican Senatorial Committee led an effort among establishment Republican groups to blackball a conservative advertising firm that had produced ads attacking McConnell, a signal to conservatives around the country that there would be consequences this year to bucking the party.
In a church sanctuary just across the Ohio River in Cincinnati recently, with temperatures outside in the single digits, Bevin — McConnell’s primary challenger — was recruiting volunteers at a Tea Party movement meeting to help his long-shot bid to win the Republican nomination. The speakers ahead of him talked about the “march toward tyranny” and accused McConnell of voting “for all the socialist bailouts.”
Bevin is a 47-year-old businessman in a gray checked suit who looks more like a corporate executive than an insurgent.
I didn't know he was laying roadside bombs to kill U.S. troops. Such telling terminology.
Though he will not call himself a Tea Party movement member, he promised limited constitutional government and pledged to join Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, two favorites of the Tea Party movement, in remaking the Republican Party with people “who will fight, who will truly be willing to get their teeth kicked in.”
He said McConnell and other mainstream Republicans have been bought off by the establishment.
“You go there that long, you lose your way,” Bevin said. “We are on the cusp of losing our grip on this republic.”
Few political observers believe Bevin, who has $500,000 in available cash and is badly behind in the polls, can win the nomination. But the barrage of attacks against McConnell, from Bevin and his national allies, could erode McConnell’s support in a general election race against Grimes.
Related: Democratic Iced Tea
They are not backing Bevin?
“Even his own party is dissatisfied with the 28 years of failed leadership,” Grimes said, adding that McConnell is “about the special interests and insiders in Washington.”
McConnell is on a feverish fund-raising pace in what many analysts predict will be the year’s most expensive congressional election. He has raised about $20 million this cycle and had $10.9 million in cash at the end of December. That is triple the amount that Democrat Grimes had. She has raised a total of about $4.6 million and had $3.3 million in cash.
Grimes is a 35-year-old secretary of state from a well-known political family. This week, former president Clinton, a close family friend, plans to appear with her at a Louisville hotel, a signal both of his friendship and of the Democrats’ keen desire to oust McConnell.
Polls show the two candidates nearly even. But Grimes is an unseasoned candidate and seems well aware of McConnell’s three closing arguments: Obama, Obama, and Obama.
In interviews, she takes pains to distance herself from the president, not even answering whether she would vote for him again if given the chance.
But she cozies up to Bill Clinton?
“Last time I checked, “ she said, “this election is about the United States Senate and who will represent the people of Kentucky.”
--more--"
"Clinton urges Democrats to defend health care act
That just sunk one of your candidates.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For Democrats anxious about preserving their Senate majority in a difficult midterm election year, Bill Clinton on Tuesday suggested a path forward: Defend the health care law, recommit to a populist theme of rising wages and economic growth, and go after the super PACs flooding the airwaves with negative ads.
I'm sick of the campaign script and $hit-fooley, sorry.
The former president made his first campaign stop of 2014 here in Kentucky to boost the candidacy of Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Clinton protege and family friend who is running to try to unseat Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
President Obama and his signature health care law are deeply unpopular in Kentucky. But Clinton strongly defended the law, acknowledging it was complicated but arguing that it has given more people in Kentucky access to affordable health care and brought down their costs.
Except it has not!
He also repeatedly praised Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, a Democrat and leading proponent of the law, and laid blame on McConnell and other Republicans for creating what Clinton called ‘‘constant conflict.’’
Then they are acting like the AmeriKan government, aren't they?
‘‘You know what in a sane environment people do when they have problems?’’ Clinton said. ‘‘They fix the problems. In the end, that’s really what Alison’s saying: ‘Send me to Washington, I’ll do something that makes sense, and I’ll fix it.’ The other choice is to just pout . . . and make as many problems as you can, stop anything good from happening — and if you can’t stop it, at least bad-mouth it.’’
But Grimes never mentioned the health care law in her nearly 30-minute speech, nor did she reference Obama. Instead, she spoke nostalgically about the Clinton presidency, summing up those eight years as ‘‘goodbye, recession; hello, prosperity.’’
We don't need a return to one.
--more--"
Also see: Top Ky. Democrats divided over same-sex marriage
"McConnell sees no hope for House GOP tax plan; Remarks come as overhaul is due for release" by Stephen Ohlemacher | Associated Press, February 26, 2014
WASHINGTON — House Republicans haven’t even officially unveiled their massive plan to overhaul the tax code and the top Republican in the Senate is already pronouncing it dead.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, said Tuesday that he sees no hope for enacting tax overhaul legislation this year. He blamed Democrats for trying to use the issue to raise revenue by $1 trillion. McConnell said the object of overhauling the tax code should be making the nation more competitive, not raising more money for the government.
Related: What to Expect for the 2014 Elections
More bull$hit.
McConnell’s remarks came a day before the Republican chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, was to unveil a massive tax plan three years in the making.
Camp’s plan would cut income tax rates but impose a new surtax on some high-income families, said a GOP aide who wasn’t authorized to discuss the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity. The top income tax rate for most families would be lowered from 39.6 percent to 25 percent. However, the plan would impose a 10 percent surtax on some earned income above about $450,000.
Wow, that is ONE HELL of a CUT!
The new surtax would not apply to capital gains or dividends, sparing many of the super rich who make the bulk of their money from investments.
And where the bulk of wealth concentration is going!
The plan had little chance of becoming law this year even before McConnell’s remarks. But it could become a political document for House Republicans to show what they stand for, and for Democrats to attack, as the midterm elections approach in November....
I'm SO TIRED of IMAGERY and ILLUSION!
It is an important political point for Republicans that the plan is not seen as a giveaway to the rich.
Even though it is.
The surtax would partially offset the rate cut.
Meaning they are getting a cut!
But the plan would have to raise other taxes on the rich to avoid shifting more of the burden to middle- and low-income families.
These guys serve nothing but money!
The issue of whether to increase overall tax revenue is a major sticking point among Republicans and Democrats. Most Republicans in Congress adamantly oppose anything that looks like a tax increase, while Democratic leaders insist that any attempt to overhaul the tax code must raise additional revenue.
If it doesn't look like it but is one on you, all the better!
President Obama and Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, have said they want to target tax breaks enjoyed by some corporations and the wealthy.
They had their chance and all we got was crappy Obummercare.
Obama has said he supports corporate tax reform, but he has shown little interest in overhauling the tax code for individuals....
A$$HOLE!
Camp spent much of last summer touring the country, holding campaign-style events with Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana, to drum up support for tax reform. Camp recently lost his Senate partner when Baucus was confirmed as ambassador to China.
But they still talk.
Corporate America has been a big backer of tax reform, arguing that the 35 percent tax rate on most corporate income is the highest in the industrialized world. However, few corporations pay the top rate because the tax code is filled with tax breaks that many businesses are gearing up to defend.
--more--"
And the unveiling is buried in a brief?
"Key lawmaker envisions simplified US tax code
WASHINGTON — Big banks would face a new tax on lending. Taxes that are paid to state and local governments would no longer be deductible.
The earned income credit for low-wage workers would be converted to a more limited deduction on payroll taxes.
While the WEALTHY get a REDUCTION!
Representative Dave Camp, the Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, unveiled a proposal Wednesday for a sweeping overhaul of the 70,000-page federal tax code that would collapse seven personal income tax brackets to two and lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent.
But the seeds of the plan’s destruction might be found in the fine print.
When asked about the proposal’s details Wednesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner replied, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.”
What a jerk!
Faced with that cool reaction from the highest echelons of his party’s leadership, Camp pleaded: “I don’t think we can afford to wait. We have an obligation to debate the big issues of the day.”
Submerged under the president anyway:
Obama hopes Congress will fund $300b for roads, rails" February 27, 2014
ST. PAUL — President Obama said Wednesday he will ask Congress for $300 billion to update aging roads and railways, contending the taxpayer investment is a worthy one that will pay dividends by attracting businesses and helping put people to work....
The campaign season comes and all of a sudden he's found the neglected trail of infrastructure.
Funding for surface transportation programs expires later this year, and the White House says 700,000 jobs could be at risk unless Congress renews them.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned Wednesday of a ‘‘transportation cliff’’ coming in August or September when the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal highway and transit projects, is forecast to go broke.
Oh, no, another cliff.
The trust fund will need an influx of $100 billion over the next six years to maintain transportation spending levels. But Obama and Congress have been unwilling to raise federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes that have been the main source of federal transportation funding for decades.
AAA, the car association, criticized Washington’s refusal to increase fuel taxes to pay for projects.
In the budget he sends Congress next week, Obama will propose that half of the $302 billion he is seeking come from an overhaul of the corporate tax system.
See: Obama's Crappy Budget
It's a political wish list.
On Wednesday, Representative Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan and chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, announced a corporate tax overhaul plan that would dedicate $126.5 billion in revenue to the Highway Trust Fund over the next eight years.
The primary sources of revenue for the fund are the federal 18.4 cent-per-gallon gasoline and 24.4 cent-per-gallon diesel taxes, which have not increased in 20 years.
Implying they are due for an increase.
While highway construction costs have risen over the decades, revenue going into the fund has declined. Among the reasons are that vehicles are getting more miles per gallon and people are driving less.
I thought those were good things.
And now we are going to have to pay more for doing the what we were told?
--more--"
And the unveiling is buried in a brief?
"Key lawmaker envisions simplified US tax code
WASHINGTON — Big banks would face a new tax on lending. Taxes that are paid to state and local governments would no longer be deductible.
The earned income credit for low-wage workers would be converted to a more limited deduction on payroll taxes.
While the WEALTHY get a REDUCTION!
Representative Dave Camp, the Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, unveiled a proposal Wednesday for a sweeping overhaul of the 70,000-page federal tax code that would collapse seven personal income tax brackets to two and lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent.
But the seeds of the plan’s destruction might be found in the fine print.
When asked about the proposal’s details Wednesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner replied, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.”
What a jerk!
Faced with that cool reaction from the highest echelons of his party’s leadership, Camp pleaded: “I don’t think we can afford to wait. We have an obligation to debate the big issues of the day.”
Submerged under the president anyway:
Obama hopes Congress will fund $300b for roads, rails" February 27, 2014
ST. PAUL — President Obama said Wednesday he will ask Congress for $300 billion to update aging roads and railways, contending the taxpayer investment is a worthy one that will pay dividends by attracting businesses and helping put people to work....
The campaign season comes and all of a sudden he's found the neglected trail of infrastructure.
Funding for surface transportation programs expires later this year, and the White House says 700,000 jobs could be at risk unless Congress renews them.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned Wednesday of a ‘‘transportation cliff’’ coming in August or September when the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal highway and transit projects, is forecast to go broke.
Oh, no, another cliff.
The trust fund will need an influx of $100 billion over the next six years to maintain transportation spending levels. But Obama and Congress have been unwilling to raise federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes that have been the main source of federal transportation funding for decades.
AAA, the car association, criticized Washington’s refusal to increase fuel taxes to pay for projects.
In the budget he sends Congress next week, Obama will propose that half of the $302 billion he is seeking come from an overhaul of the corporate tax system.
See: Obama's Crappy Budget
It's a political wish list.
On Wednesday, Representative Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan and chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, announced a corporate tax overhaul plan that would dedicate $126.5 billion in revenue to the Highway Trust Fund over the next eight years.
The primary sources of revenue for the fund are the federal 18.4 cent-per-gallon gasoline and 24.4 cent-per-gallon diesel taxes, which have not increased in 20 years.
Implying they are due for an increase.
While highway construction costs have risen over the decades, revenue going into the fund has declined. Among the reasons are that vehicles are getting more miles per gallon and people are driving less.
I thought those were good things.
And now we are going to have to pay more for doing the what we were told?
--more--"
