Well it's official:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has never formally retreated from Obamacare repeal, but he has taken some puzzling positions, like opening the door for Kentucky keeping its new Obamacare exchange even if the law were undone.
And now in a newly published interview, he seems to acknowledge that the state's expansion of Medicaid under the law is also likely here to stay.
The New York Times recently profiled McConnell, who is facing a tough Democratic challenge from Alison Lundergan Grimes. Reporter Jonathan Martin offered some outtakes from that piece Wednesday, which included McConnell's comments on Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear decision to expand Medicaid. - TPM, 9/3/14
Here's the part of the New York Times interview regarding Medicaid Expansion:
http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/...
It is not exactly a mutual nonaggression pact, but neither McConnell nor Grimes has an interest in focusing on the Affordable Care Act. Grimes has been nudged by some Kentucky Democrats to embrace a law that has nearly halved the state’s uninsured population, but she has so far resisted out of fear of giving McConnell any opportunity to link her to an issue so identified with Obama, who is quite unpopular in the state. McConnell criticizes Grimes for supporting the health law, but he and his allies have been more focused on linking her to what they see as the more culturally resonant issue of coal.
Even if no one is trumpeting its success on the campaign trail, Obamacare has been successful in Kentucky. This is especially true in the impoverished eastern part of the state, where McConnell hopes to cut into Grimes’s margins or even win some traditionally Democratic counties. Most of those now insured under the law in this region (and in much of the state) are receiving coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, which Gov. Steven L. Beshear, unlike most Southern governors, accepted.
McConnell criticized Beshear for accepting the Medicaid expansion, calling it “a mistake,” and said he wanted to repeal the entire law “root and branch.” But when I pressed him about the politics of taking away Medicaid from those individuals that now have it, he suggested that was unlikely – even while still faulting Beshear for the decision. “I don’t know that it will be taken away from them,” McConnell said of the expanded Medicaid coverage. Speaking about Beshear and Kentucky’s state government, he added: “They’ve made the decision to expand it, they’re gonna have to pay for it.” - New York Times, 9/3/14
Seems to me like McConnell keeps on spilling beans, like this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Introduced by the general counsel of Koch Industries, McConnell begins by paying tribute to his patrons, thanking the Koch brothers personally “for the important work you’re doing. I don’t know where we’d be without you . . . rallying, uh, to the cause.”
So what is the cause? Putting Americans to work? Rebuilding the middle class? Unleashing free market answers to catastrophic climate change?
No, McConnell can’t seem to get himself to address a positive agenda. He envisions only more obstruction. If he is majority leader, he promises, “we’re not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals. That’s all we do in the Senate is vote on things like raising the minimum wage . . . extending unemployment . . . the student loan package the other day, that’s just going to make things worse.”
With Republican majorities, McConnell tells the fat cats, “We own the budget. So what does that mean? That means that we can pass the spending bill. And . . . we will be pushing back against this bureaucracy by doing what’s called placing riders in the bill. No money can be spent to do this or do that”
So what parts of government would McConnell starve of funds? Although many Republicans are campaigning as faux populists against crony capitalism, McConnell doesn’t suggest that he’ll cut subsidies to Big Oil or the lard-filled budgets of the Pentagon. No, McConnell pledges to his millionaire funders “We’re going to go after them on health care, on financial services, on the Environmental Protection Agency, across the board [inaudible].” - Washington Post, 9/3/14
But there is one thing he doesn't want to talk about:
http://www.kentucky.com/...
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined Tuesday to discuss the resignation of his former campaign manager, Jesse Benton, who quit last week as questions swirled about his role in a federal bribery case in Iowa.
McConnell and his camp had reportedly avoided questions about the issue over the weekend, but McConnell stopped to talk with reporters Tuesday afternoon after a speech to the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.
He responded to several questions, criticizing President Barack Obama and pushing for Republican control of the Senate, which would probably put McConnell in charge. However, he did not respond directly when asked what Benton had told him about the federal bribery case in Iowa and whether he was confident Benton had done nothing wrong.
"Yeah, we're moving on. We've got 60-some odd days left in the campaign. We're talking about the future and not the past," McConnell said.
Asked whether there had been concern that having Benton stay on would cause a problem for the campaign, McConnell made clear he had nothing more to say about the issue.
"I think everything relating to that issue has already been discussed. It was all out there several days ago," McConnell said. "We're moving on." When it was mentioned that the public hadn't heard directly from McConnell about Benton, McConnell said, firmly, "You're hearing from me now.
"I think it is time to move on and deal with the issues that are before us for the next six weeks." - Lexington Herald-Leader, 9/2/14
Of course we'll need to see how this plays out:
http://www.usnews.com/...
McConnell’s Democratic opponent Alison Lundergan Grimes’s campaign has been quick to seize on the news, however, using it as an opportunity to paint McConnell as a dishonest and shady politician.
“Senator McConnell owes the people of Kentucky a full account of what he knew and when he knew it,” Grimes campaign spokeswoman Charly Norton said in a statement to reporters. The Grimes campaign also released an ad Monday hitting McConnell on the news and tying him to the bribery scandal.
Whether the scandal has staying power in the tight election still remains to be seen. A Bluegrass Poll conducted for the Courier-Journal before Benton resigned was released over the weekend and found McConnell gaining steam. According to the poll, McConnell leads Grimes by four points. Political experts on the ground note that an indictment could change the landscape of the race, but without Benton charged of any wrongdoing, it is difficult to see how the Grimes campaign gets much traction with the news.
“It’s too early to tell if this has legs,” Rick Robinson, a veteran Republican strategist says. “Whether this sticks is going to depend on whether Grimes can come up with an interesting way to cut through the clutter.”
If Benton is accused of a crime, however, experts say McConnell’s campaign will have more questions to answer.
“If Benton gets indicted, I think this can become a very big deal. If he doesn’t, I think that it goes away very quickly,” says Kentucky Democratic strategist Danny Briscoe. - U.S. News, 9/2/14
Grimes isn't just focusing on Benton, she's hitting McConnell on his connections to the Koch Brothers:
Last week, Mitch McConnell was caught on a secret tape promising to stand with the billionaire Koch brothers and their Wall Street friends instead of hardworking Kentucky families.
When he made that promise behind closed doors, Mitch McConnell turned his back on the people of the Commonwealth.
Enough is enough.
Sign our petition to tell Mitch McConnell: we need a Senator who stands with hardworking families, not the Koch brothers and Wall Street billionaires.
http://action.alisonforkentucky.com/...
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Mitch has shown where his true loyalties lie. He already sold out Kentucky families in favor of special interests when he voted against raising the minimum wage, refused to help students with their debt, and abandoned campaign finance reform.
It looks like the only family Mitch stands with is the Koch family – and we can’t afford six more years of it.
After Mitch’s 30 years of failed leadership, hardworking families in the Commonwealth need a voice and a vote in Washington.
That voice is Alison's.
Add your name if you agree: Kentucky deserves a Senator who puts the people of Kentucky before the billionaires and special interests.
http://action.alisonforkentucky.com/...
Thanks for everything you do,
Elizabeth Cantrell
Political Director
Click here to add your name:
http://action.alisonforkentucky.com/...
And click here to donate and get involved with Grimes' campaign:
http://alisonforkentucky.com/