McConnell promising pain

A great editorial from the Herald-Leader:

Couple (Mitch) McConnell's statements to the Koch gathering with what he said in a recent Politico interview, what he says on the stump and his record, and voters can conclude:

• If re-elected, McConnell will support policies that do nothing to curb income inequality and that would, in fact, increase it, thereby stifling economic growth and jobs creation.
• McConnell also supports policies that would re-create the circumstances that led to the economic crash of 2008, from which many Americans are still trying to dig out.

The Republican leader assured the Kochs and their friends that he would use budget riders to stymie protections for consumers and the economy enacted to avoid a repeat of the financial meltdown. And he expressed contempt for policies that would help the middle class regain its economic footing, such as a minimum-wage increase, extended unemployment benefits and relief from student-loan debt.

Voters and the Bluegrass Poll

From today's Courier-Journal:

The idea of increasing the minimum wage continues to appeal to Kentucky voters, according the latest Bluegrass Poll, with a majority of people in support of raising it from the current $7.25 to $10.10 per hour.

...(Mitch) McConnell, who represents a state where some 391,000 workers earn less than $10.10 an hour, promised a group of wealthy, politically active conservatives in June that he would obstruct any effort in Congress to raise the minimum wage — among other things, according to a leaked recording of the California meeting.

His opponent, Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, lambasted him for the comments and promised to work toward increasing the minimum wage if she succeeds in her bid to deny Mr. McConnell a sixth consecutive term in the U.S. Senate.

Mitch McConnell's real priorities

MoveOn takes on Mitch McConnell in their latest ad. Check it out:

Not in the room with Sen. McConnell

A great editorial from today's Courier-Journal:

Well, there he goes again. More words and more headlines after a recording of Mr. McConnell was leaked this week.

If the senator's voice is muffled and faint, the message is not: It's vintage Mitch McConnell. It reflects his actions and his votes of the past several years. And it promises more of the same if he's re-elected by the people of Kentucky and returned to Washington for a sixth term.

Only the senator wasn't speaking to the people of Kentucky in the recording when he promised not even to allow debate on increasing the minimum wage, of extending unemployment, of refinancing student loan debt.

'Jumping the shark' with divisive tactics

A great editorial in today's Herald-Leader:

Sen. Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign jumped the shark Monday when it put out on Twitter a graphic with these words: "There's one reason there's a depression in Eastern Kentucky, Barack Obama."

Anyone who knows anything about Kentucky, no matter their politics, will find this statement insulting to the intelligence.

Eastern Kentucky's poverty predates the current president by a long, long time. Remember all those news stories earlier this year about the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson launching the War on Poverty in Martin County?

For Mitch McConnell, it's all about him

An excellent editorial from the Courier-Journal about last weekend's speeches at Fancy Farm:

Mr. McConnell, 72, leader of the Republicans who hold a minority in the Senate, listed as his top priority... himself.

"There's only one way to begin to go in a different direction," he thundered in the closing line to a speech that lasted under six minutes. "That's to change the Senate and make me the leader of the new majority and take America in a different direction."

While identifying his personal advancement to Senate majority leader as an overriding goal, Mr. McConnell gave scant attention to the more than 4 million Kentuckians he represents in Washington. He acknowledged only vaguely the unenviable plight of some people in his impoverished state with dismal rankings in so many areas including education, death and disease.

Mitch gets fact-checked

The folks at FactCheck.org call out Mitch McConnell for his lies:

Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell misquoted EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy when he claimed in a floor speech that she conceded the administration’s new climate change plan is “a war on coal.” McCarthy said nothing of the kind. She said the EPA is “fighting against pollution and fighting for public health.”

McConnell Stands With Special Interests & Against Kentucky College Students

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

On Student Loans, “Guardian Of Gridlock” Mitch McConnell Stands With Special Interests & Against Kentucky College Students
Nation’s Least Popular Senator Continues As Face Of Washington’s Partisan Political Obstruction

Today the self proclaimed “Guardian of Gridlock” Mitch McConnell continued to support Washington dysfunction, voting against helping Kentucky college graduates with the crushing weight of student loan debt, reminding Kentuckians yet again that he sides with Washington special interests and against Kentucky’s college students and middle class families.

McConnell’s vote against making college more affordable for working families by closing tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires and using the savings to allow anyone with pre-existing student loans to refinance their loans at lower rates hurts his state. In Kentucky alone, 359,000 borrowers could benefit from refinancing their student loans at a lower rates.

Mitch McConnell has a long record of siding with special interests ahead of Kentucky. McConnell has voted again and again against a plan to keep student loan interest rates from doubling in order to protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionares, called extending low interest student loans a “phony... manufactured” issue, and cast the deciding vote on a budget with the largest student loan cuts in history.

“Mitch McConnell is the self-proclaimed guardian of gridlock and we saw exactly why today. His insistence on leading Washington’s partisan political obstruction comes with a high price tag for Kentucky college students and families who are struggling to pay off student loan debt,” said Justin Barasky, a spokesman at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Instead of fighting to make college more affordable, Mitch McConnell voted to allow millionaires and billionaires to enjoy their tax breaks. Kentucky students and families deserve leaders who will fight for them in Washington, not reckless partisans like Mitch McConnell who value gridlock and obstruction over what’s best for his state.”

BACKGROUND:

IN 2009, McCONNELL SUPPORTED ENDING FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS, SAYING THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD “GET OUT OF THE STUDENT LOAN BUSINESS”

McConnell Said Government “Needed To Get Out Of The Student Loan Business.” In July 2009, Sen. McConnell said: “Well, in the meantime, we need to, you know, get out of the car business, get out of the banking business, get out of the insurance business, get out of the student loan business, and don't get in nationalizing health care.” [Fox News On the Record, 7/8/09]

IN 2012, McCONNELL BLOCKED, AND THEN VOTED AGAINST LEGISLATION TO PREVENT STUDENT LOAN RATES FROM DOUBLING

McConnell Voted To Allow Student Loan Rates To Double. In May 2012, McConnell voted against a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Reid, D-Nev., motion to proceed to the bill that would extend, for one year, a 3.4 interest rate on certain federally-backed student loans. It would be offset by eliminating a tax preference for S corporations, which are companies that pass their income, losses, deductions and credits through to shareholders for federal tax purposes. The motion was rejected by a vote of 52-45. [Vote 89, 5/8/12; New York Times, 5/8/12]

• New York Times Headline: “Republicans In Senate Block Bill On Student Loan Rates.” “Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked consideration of a Democratic bill to prevent the doubling of some student loan interest rates, leaving the legislation in limbo less than two months before rates on subsidized federal loans are set to shoot upward.” [New York Times, 5/8/12]
• May 2012: McConnell Called Extending Low Student Loan Rates “Phony” And “Manufactured.” In May 2012, the Associated Press reported that “Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill Tuesday to preserve low interest rates for millions of college students' loans... The 52-45 vote to begin debating the legislation fell eight votes short of the 60 needed to proceed and stalled work... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said the battle is a phony one manufactured by Democrats to woo votes from students. Both parties say they want to extend low interest rates. ‘The Senate has ceased to be a place where problems are resolved. It's become instead a place where Democrats produce campaign material,’ McConnell said.” [Associated Press, 5/8/12]

Again, McConnell Voted To Allow Student Loan Rates To Double. In May 2012, McConnell voted against passage of the bill that would extend, for one year, a 3.4 percent interest rate on certain federally subsidized, undergraduate student loans. It would be offset by eliminating a tax preference for S corporations, which are companies that pass their income, losses, deductions and credits through to shareholders for federal tax purposes. The measure was rejected by a vote of 51-43 (D 49-1; R 0-42; I 2-0). [Vote 113, 5/24/12]

IN JULY 2013, McCONNELL TWICE BLOCKED LEGISLATION TO EXTEND LOW INTEREST RATES ON STUDENT LOANS

McConnell Voted Against Extending 3.4 Percent Student Loan Interest Rate For One Year. In July 2013, McConnell voted against a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Reid, D-Nev., motion to proceed to the bill that would extend a 3.4 percent fixed interest rate on federal subsidized undergraduate student loans for one year. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the measure “is the only plan on the table that will not cost students extra - at least, until the year is up and Congress returns to debating what to do with interest rates.” [Vote 171, 7/10/13; Christian Science Monitor, 7/10/13]

McConnell Voted Against Ending Filibuster On Plan To Extend Student Loan Interest Rates For Two Years And Keep Them From Doubling By Closing Tax Loopholes Including Those For Oil Companies. In June 2013, McConnell voted against a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Reid, D-Nev., motion to proceed to a bill that would extend the 3.4 percent fixed interest rate on federal subsidized undergraduate student loans for two years. The cost of the extension would be offset by reducing certain tax exemptions on retirement and corporate accounts, and applying an excise tax to oil from tar sands. [Vote 143, 6/6/13]

• USA Today Headline: “Senate Defeats Bills To Keep Student Loan Rates Low.” [USA Today, 6/6/13]

McCONNELL VOTED FOR FY 2006 BUDGET BILL THAT INCLUDED THE LARGEST STUDENT LOAN CUTS IN HISTORY...

McConnell Cast Deciding Vote for Final 2006 Budget Reconciliation With Largest Student Loan Cuts in History. McConnell voted for the final version of the 2006 budget reconciliation bill, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote. The package cut $12.7 million from college loans, the largest cuts to the student loan program in its history. [Vote 363, 12/21/05; AP, 12/19/05; Washington Post, 12/19/05]

...ADDING AN ESTIMATED $8 BILLION IN COST TO STUDENT BORROWERS

Cuts Agreed To By McConnell Would Add $8 Billion In Cost To Student Borrowers And Their Families. In January 2006, the Charleston Gazette reported that a budget reconciliation bill supported by McConnell would “add $8 billion in cost to student borrowers and their families.” [Editorial, Charleston Gazette, 1/16/06]

Rand Paul gets fact-checked

The Washington Post's Fact Checker gives Rand Paul Four Pinocchios:

Paul’s comments are noteworthy because he asserted that the White House “couldn’t find a plane” for Special Operations forces. “Instead of calling to get a plane or to try to make arrangements to get a plane, they’re on the phone trying to create spin to say that, ‘You know what? This is about a video, which never had anything to do with this attack,’” he said.

Really?

...There are certainly a number of outstanding questions about the Benghazi incident, but it’s important to get the facts straight when asking such questions. Paul asserted that a plane could not be found for Special Operations forces in Tripoli, but that’s clearly incorrect. Moreover, it’s a bit ridiculous to assume that such a level of detail would be left to White House staff, or even the president, rather than the commanders on the ground.

Kentucky's newspapers take on Mitch's doublespeak

Some great editorials in today's papers. First up, the Courier-Journal:

“If Obamacare is repealed, Kentucky should decide for itself whether to keep kynect or set up a different marketplace,” a (McConnell) campaign spokeswoman recently told Talking Points Memo.

But kynect is Obamacare. Kynect is in fact a shining success story throughout the country among states that that have elected to set up the online health exchanges where people may shop for affordable health coverage under the 2010 law.

...Reporters sought clarification from Mr. McConnell, 72, who is seeking a sixth U.S. Senate term, asking him at a news conference last week whether Kentucky’s health exchange should be dismantled — which of course would happen if he succeeds in his root and branch attack on the Obamacare train wreck.

“I think that’s unconnected to my comments about the overall question,” he said.

And from the Herald-Leader:

Nothing could be more connected — or should be more important to Kentucky's senior senator — than the fates of the more than 400,000 Kentuckians who are getting health insurance, many for the first time, and the federal Affordable Care Act, which is making that possible.

...We asked the McConnell campaign for a clarification and were sent the usual talking points and a statement saying, "If Obamacare is repealed, Kentucky should decide for itself whether to keep Kynect or set up a different marketplace," a suggestion that is unconnected to reality.

Kentuckians are waiting to learn if their five-term senator understands — or cares — how much is at stake.

Rand Paul: Pants-on-Fire

Rand Paul gets fact-checked:

Paul said that "for every Kentuckian that has enrolled in Obamacare, 40 have been dropped from their coverage." That’s not mathematically possible. If you take the narrowest definition of "sign-ups," there would have to be 3.3 million cancellations in the state for Paul’s statement to be accurate -- and there aren’t even that many Kentuckians with private insurance plans that could theoretically be canceled. In fact, it’s reasonable to argue that more people in Kentucky have coverage through Obamacare than have been canceled. Paul’s statement is so wildly off that we rate it Pants on Fire.

McConnell health claim debunked

From today's Courier-Journal:

Kentucky's senior Sen. Mitch McConnell has won a coveted "Four Pinocchios" from The Washington Post for a statement in a recent opinion piece in this newspaper blasting the Affordable Care Act.

That means he was really, really wrong, sort of like the "Pants on Fire" designation Politifact reserves for whoppers.

McConnell’s stale, inflated claim about health-plan cancellations

The Washington Post's Fact Checker gives Mitch McConnell "Four Pinocchios":

Unlike some Republican lawmakers, McConnell was not claiming that there has been a reduction in the number of insured or that 216,000 remained uninsured. In that respect, his comment was carefully crafted. But McConnell’s claim that 280,000 Kentuckians have received cancellation notices does not hold up to scrutiny.

Although 280,000 was a broad estimate released by the state in November, Kentucky officials reduced the figure by 40 percent just a month later — and yet McConnell is still citing outdated numbers. Moreover, because termination notices are sent on a rolling basis, it’s likely that far few notices have even been sent.

Finally, even if 280,000 was correct and even if all notices had been sent, it’s still the wrong number to use when referring to individual health plans purchased on the exchange, as 280,000 is the sum of individual and small-group plans.

McConnell fundraiser: Wives have 'obligation' to sleep with husbands

From The Hill:

A conservative talk-radio host who has argued wives “ought to consent to at least some form of sexual relations as much as possible,” regardless of their “mood,” will co-host a Wednesday fundraiser for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Dennis Prager, a prominent conservative author and talk-radio host, is slated to host a luncheon fundraiser for McConnell on Wednesday in California, along with talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt, Salem Communications CEO Edward Astinger and California insurance executive John Nelson.

...Writing on TownHall.com in December of 2008, Prager compares a man’s obligation to go to work, regardless of his “mood,” to a woman’s obligation to have sex with her husband.

McConnell meets the press

A great editorial in today's Courier-Journal:

Staff for Mr. McConnell — who is seeking a sixth U.S. Senate term — had a Louisville Metro Police officer bar a reporter with LEO Weekly, an alternative magazine in Louisville, from a campaign press conference Monday.

When Joe Sonka, LEO news editor, attempted to enter the room at Louisville's Hilton Garden Inn with other reporters gathered for a news conference, an LMPD officer blocked his access, according to Courier-Journal political writer Joseph Gerth.

No one with the campaign offered any plausible answers why.

Kentucky Republican assault on education standards

A couple of great editorials from Kentucky newspapers. First up, the Courier-Journal with "A backward bill":

Senate Bill 224, filed March 6 — the last day to file new Senate bills — is aimed squarely at the state’s Core Academic Standards, based on the national Common Core standards, as well as the new Next Generation Science Standards.

The standards have drawn widespread support from professional educators and scientists including Lee Todd, the well-respected former president of the University of Kentucky who has told legislators they have no time to waste in upgrading public education to get more students ready for college and careers.

...Sponsors of SB 224 — Republican senators John Schickel, Katie Stine, Paul Hornback and Damon Thayer — would block (the Next Generation Science Standards) as well as abolish the Common Core standards.

And from the Herald-Leader, "Abandoning new standards would hurt Ky. schools":

The Republican lawmakers who are trying to force Kentucky's public schools to abandon the Common Core Standards could use a refresher course in recent history.

...Two of the Republicans who are trying to torpedo the standards in this session — Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine, R-Southgate, and Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown — were sponsors of the 2009 bill that paved the way for Kentucky to become the first to adopt the Common Core.

...Once (President Obama) was for the standards, some Republicans just reflexively turned against them.

Thayer making GOP look bad

Today's Herald-Leader takes on Damon Thayer:

Kentucky is one of very few states where felons who have served their time are not automatically restored as eligible voters but must petition the governor to regain the franchise. The version (of the voting rights bill) that cleared the House with overwhelming bipartisan support would have automatically made eligible voters of 180,000 Kentuckians.

By the time Thayer got through working it over, what emerged from the Senate would permanently disenfranchise more than half of those 180,000 Kentuckians, according to an analysis by the League of Women Voters.

...Meanwhile, Thayer also is blocking House Bill 5, requiring most state and local government agencies to notify citizens of any electronic breaches of personal information within 35 days.

Thayer's wrecking ball takes out bill

From today's Courier-Journal:

At issue [is] House Bill 70, a measure long sought by Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, a Lexington Democrat, to automatically restore voting rights to most felons who have served their sentences. It excludes those convicted of intentional murder or serious sex crimes.

...HB 70, which would bring Kentucky in line with most other states, would have to be approved by voters as a constitutional amendment.

But Sen. Damon Thayer, of Georgetown, the majority floor leader for Senate Republicans, eviscerated what represents a decade of work by Mr. Crenshaw, replacing it with a version that would set Kentucky back even farther when it comes to restoring voting rights of ex-offenders.

Concealed guns v. dating violence?

Today's Courier-Journal calls out NKY's own Joe Fischer for sabotaging a bill which would protect people from dating violence:

The House dating violence measure, House Bill 8, has the support of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Tilley, a Hopkinsville Democrat, and has been voted out by his committee. But it has been sabotaged by Rep. Joe Fischer, a Republican from Fort Thomas who has filed two amendments to it aimed at radically restricting abortion.

This likely will kill the bill, which Rep. Fischer well knows, having engaged in similar guerrilla tactics in past years in a failed effort to advance his abortion bills.

But, like some of his Senate colleagues, Mr. Fischer doesn’t seem too concerned about lives of people threatened by dating violence.

Who needs oversight?

An editorial in today's Courier-Journal:

On a near party-line vote, the (state Senate) members passed Senate Bill 58, which would ask voters to get rid of the office charged with balancing the books, writing checks and providing independent oversight of state finances, The Courier-Journal’s Sebastian Kitchen reported Wednesday.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican from Taylor Mill, explained glibly that the treasurer’s duties could be shifted to the Finance and Administration Cabinet. Not so fast, even if that’s possible.

The elected state treasurer is independent and more equipped to provide the oversight state government demonstrates it needs on a regular basis. The finance secretary, appointed by the governor, is less so. Plus, as Kentucky Treasurer Todd Hollenbach, a Democrat, pointed out, his office generates millions more through its unclaimed property efforts than the state spends for the office’s $3.1 million budget.

McConnell's fuming over fish a little off the hook

A good editorial in today's Herald-Leader:

Seriously, can't Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rail against what he calls "the radical environmentalists in the Obama administration" without insulting everyone's intelligence?

..."The absurdity of the Obama administration's posture on this issue is manifest,'' huffed McConnell. "First, the administration is protecting a fish from water. Let me repeat that: the radical environmentalists in the Obama administration don't want this fish to be exposed to too much water. What's next? Protecting birds from too much sky?"

Surely, McConnell understands that different fish require different sorts of habitats — just as birds cannot survive on sky alone.

Agitprop comes to Senate race

From today's Courier-Journal:

Election Day is still nine months away. But already Kentucky’s senior Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Louisville Republican, has taken political bombast to new extremes with his astonishingly false claim that an opponent likened him to a Nazi.

And that’s an impressive accomplishment for the five-term politician known for his mastery of agitprop, political propaganda designed to agitate.

...never underestimate Mr. McConnell’s grasp of propaganda, true or false, or his understanding of its power.