Kudos to Grimes on her victory yesterday, and yes, I and my elderly mother voted for Grimes. And as some might know, I have some issues with Grimes, but I have some issues with most of the Democrats that Kentucky produces, with the exception of my Congressman John Yarmuth. My biggest fear is that Grimes will turn out to be another corporate Democrat who runs a Republican lite campaign. However, the tone of Grimes's victory speech and two specific things she said in it make me wonder if my fears are overblown.
For starters, it was a fiery speech with a forceful tone. Was I surprised because it came from a woman? Nope. I've seen women candidates give the other party hell before. No, I was surprised because I was expecting to hear a lot of that same old BS about finding common ground and reaching across the aisle that one gets from corporate Democrats. I was in NC when Erskine Bowles of Catfood Commission fame ran twice for the U.S. Senate. He used BS as I described, and he handed over two senate seats to Republicans Dole in 2002 and Burr in 2004.
More importantly, I heard two things that if used properly makes me think that Grimes may know how to fight political opponents. First, she explicitly said that McConnell has quadrupled his net worth while in office on the backs of Kentuckians. This is a point that no one has looked at in any detail in Kentucky. It is also a question I have frequently asked. And it also will remind a lot of conservative voters that McConnell has done well for himself the last 30 years, while they have not seen their own incomes go up in the same manner.
Secondly, and I know that it is only a hypothesis on my part, Grimes hit on one of McConnell's greatest failings: defeating Obama in 2012. Grimes promised that unlike McConnell she will succeed in making this McConnell's last term in office. I actually thought that was a brilliant move on her part. Every time McConnell brings up "Obama and Grimes sitting in a tree. K I S S I N G!" Grimes will remind folks that she will finish the job of getting rid of that loser McConnell who did not keep his promise on Obama.
Anyway, I liked her speech. It should prove for some interesting campaigning, if she keeps to some of those themes in her primary victory speech.