Ok, so I know we're all bummed out about Ashley Judd not running for U.S. Senate against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY). I'm sure McConnell's happy about that but maybe he shouldn't be too happy about it:
http://www.latimes.com/...
McConnell is in the kind of political pickle that his Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, found himself in back in 2010. The Nevada senator lucked out by having a crazy-talking tea party goofball as his opponent and he eked out a victory. Judd would have been a more credible foe, but the McConnell team, backed by mountains of PAC money, could have made the election all about her, and thereby deflected the attention from him.
Judd was an unknown commodity as a candidate. Being a celebrity won her immediate attention when it was learned she was contemplating a run, but she lacks the star power of outspoken Hollywood liberals like George Clooney or Alec Baldwin. In her latest movie, “Olympus Has Fallen,” she plays the first lady but gets bumped off in the opening minutes -- definitely not an A-lister’s fate.
What her celebrity life offered to Republicans was a golden hoard of raw material for attack ads. The nearly nude photos probably would not have done Judd much harm (nearly nude photos of McConnell, on the other hand, would send voters careening for the exits), but her anguished memoir and bleeding-heart rhetoric offered rich material. Many voters would be appalled by the reason she refused to have children with her hunky, Scottish, race car driving, soon-to-be-ex-husband. - Los Angeles Times, 3/29/13
As much as I liked the idea of Judd running for Senate, I didn't think it was wise to put all our hope into beating McConnell on her. She is a very intelligent woman who i think could beat Senator Rand Paul (R. KY) in 2016 but she needs to move back to Kentucky really early and avoid the same Bob Kerrey (D. NE) scenario. Plus she's a movie star with a thriving career so I can understand why she wouldn't want to give that up. But Congressman John Yarmuth (D. KY-3) makes a valid point:
http://www.courier-journal.com/...
Yarmuth, who was Judd’s biggest advocate, said of Judd, “It was a tough decision for her, but I think she helped establish the narrative that McConnell is vulnerable.” - 3/29/13
But don't let Judd discourage you from thinking we can't beat McConnell. Democrats are already pouring in money on a March madness themed radio ad buy to continue tarnishing McConnell's image:
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is opening its first statewide advertisement today against McConnell, ABC News has learned, by airing a radio spot that sounds like a play-by-play announcer calling a big game.
“It’s tournament time and Sen. McConnell’s playing for the Washington special interests – against Kentucky,” the ad says, with an announcer’s voice speaking over the crowd. “Kentucky is trying to move up, trying to provide assistance for workers who lost their jobs and they’re blocked by McConnell, who scored big for himself for nearly 30 years.”
There may be more realistic opportunities for Democrats to pick up seats next year. But there are fewer targets bigger than McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, as he seeks re-election to a sixth term.
“Kentuckians know that Mitch McConnell is playing for ‘Team Washington’ and not for Kentucky,” said Guy Cecil, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Committee.
The Democratic campaign will be running as the spirit of basketball is in the air, with McConnell’s beloved Louisville Cardinals the top seed in the tournament. Democrats are trying to send a signal that McConnell will not have a free ride to re-election, but Republicans dismiss the suggestion that their Senate leader is in serious peril. - ABC News, 3/28/13
Here's the ad the DSCC will be running in Kentucky:
It's a simple ad that's humorous but honest and hopefully effective:
http://www3.atr.rollcall.com/...
The basketball themed, 60-second radio spot marks the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s first campaign advertisement of the 2014 cycle. A DSCC aide declined to go into detail about the exact size of the buy but said it cost “five figures or more.”
Democrats face an uphill battle in the Bluegrass State, which has consistently voted for Republicans for federal office in recent cycles. What’s more, McConnell — and his $7.4 million campaign war chest — is known for his brutal campaigns. Despite this, the Kentucky race remains one of Democrats’ best opportunities to pick up a seat in 2014. - Roll Call, 3/29/13
Democrats know McConnell's history of using humorous ads to take out his opponents. Just look at his ads he used in his 1984 election where he unseated incumbent Senator Walter Dee Huddleston (D. KY):
Plus look at the ad McConnell's team put up to attack Judd and other Kentucky Democrats:
You have to give McConnell's team this, they're good at running funny attack ads so hopefully the DSCC's ad will be effective. It's also encouraging that they are dead serious about getting rid of McConnell, all they need is a top notch candidate. Plus Democrats may have an ideal candidate in Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergran Grimes (D. KY):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
In the absence of Judd, the most likely Democratic candidate is newly minted Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. No lesser eminence in Democratic politics than former president Bill Clinton has urged Grimes to make the race, according to reporting from Politico’s Manu Raju.
While Grimes is something of a known commodity in the Bluegrass State — she is the daughter of former Democratic state party chairman Jerry Lundergan — she is nowhere close to being as well defined as Judd. In theory, her relative anonymity would work in Democrats’ favor, short-circuiting — or at least complicating — McConnell’s attempts to make the contest about his opponent rather than himself.
Before Democrats congratulate themselves too much, it’s important to remember three things: (1) Grimes isn’t in the race yet, (2) Kentucky is a conservative state, especially in the second midterm election of Barack Obama’s presidency, and (3) as mentioned above, McConnell is a lethal weapon when it comes to winning races — and he started 2013 with more than $7 million in his campaign bank account. (That’s actually four things, but whatever.) - Washington Post, 3/28/13
Former Congressman Ben Chandler (D. KY-6) and State Auditor Adam Edelen (D) have also been mentioned as candidates but they haven't really shown any interest in the race. Until we find our ideal candidate, it's important that Democrats keep reminding Kentucky voters how awful McConnell has been for them, especially since he has a secret plan to repeal Obamacare:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/...
Sitting at his desk a stone’s throw from the Senate chamber, McConnell turned to the aide and, with characteristic directness, said: “This decision is too cute. But I think we got something with this tax issue.”
He was referring to the court’s ruling that the heart of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the so-called individual mandate that requires everyone in the country to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, was a tax. And while McConnell thought calling the mandate a tax was “a rather creative way” to uphold the law, it also opened a new front in his battle to repeal it.
McConnell, a master of byzantine Senate procedure, immediately realized that, as a tax, the individual mandate would be subject to the budget reconciliation process, which exempted it from the filibuster. In other words, McConnell had just struck upon how to repeal Obamacare with a simple majority vote.
The Kentucky Republican called a handful of top aides into his office and told them, “Figure out how to repeal this through reconciliation. I want to do this.” McConnell ordered a repeal plan ready in the event the GOP took back control of the Senate in November — ironic considering Democrats used the same process more than two years earlier in a successful, last-shot effort to muscle the reforms into law. - National Journal, 3/27/13
Yeah, good luck with that. Meanwhile, Kentucky Tea Party Republicans, Senator Rand Paul (R. KY) and Congressman Thomas Bassie (R. KY-4) are trying to get the Tea Party base behind McConnell instead of potential wealthy Louisville businessman, Matt Bevin (R):
http://www.wfpl.org/...
And in an interview with WFPL, he says Tea Party activists in Kentucky who want to continue to have an impact on national politics should reconsider their opposition to McConnell.
"My advice to people who are frustrated with Washington is that there’s probably a better way to spend your time, effort, money, blood, sweat and tears than trying to have Senator McConnell unelected. I think there are a lot better chances and better use of your time in terms of changing Washington, D.C.," he says.
Louisville businessman Matthew Bevin has been a rumored primary challenger to McConnell in recent weeks. He is reportedly courting Tea Party groups, and is meeting with activists in Lexington sometime next week.
Massie says he is supporting McConnell for re-election and isn't interested in meeting with Bevin at this point, adding no credible candidate has emerged to take on Kentucky’s senior senator. - WFPL 89.3, 3/22/13
http://elections.firedoglake.com/...
It is shaping up to be a very good day for Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Ashley Judd decided not to run and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has endorsed his re-election effort. From the Daily Caller:
The Daily Caller has learned that Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is endorsing Sen. Mitch McConnell for re-election in 2014, ending speculation that Paul would back a tea party challenge to the Senate minority leader.
“Rand Paul has endorsed McConnell,” Jesse Benton, McConnell’s 2014 campaign manager, told The Daily Caller.
While not entire surprising that a junior senator would endorse their senior senator, it is an interesting development. McConnell was basically the driving force behind trying to keep Paul out of the Senate back in 2010. Instead of trying to get payback, Paul has decided the better move is to play nice. - Firedoglake, 3/28/13
We'll see if Paul and Massie are successful in changing Kentucky Tea Party voters minds. I'm doubtful.