No shit:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Ever since he said that Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes had "disqualified herself" in the Kentucky Senate race, NBC's Chuck Todd has grappled with the fallout.
After his comments were featured in a campaign ad by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), the "Meet the Press" moderator cringed — even as he stood by his analysis.
The criticism of Todd's observation, which came after Grimes lamely avoided a question about her support for President Obama, has intensified in recent days, particularly after a poll this week showed the Democrat running neck-and-neck with McConnell. - TPM, 10/22/14
Here's what Todd said:
http://mediamatters.org/...
MEDIA MATTERS: What do you say -- what do you think is the standard for saying someone's disqualified? I mean, things like Mitch McConnell doesn't believe in --
TODD: My point is, it's up to a voter.
MEDIA MATTERS: -- global warming or others --
TODD: My point is it's up to the -- the voters make that decision, not me.
MEDIA MATTERS: Right, but you're the one who mentioned it.
TODD: And I understand. Like I said, I was shorthanding it, and I -- what I -- that, to me -- I think a lot of voters are going to say that that was a -- like, this is ridiculous, and now you're just trying to pull the wool over my eyes. This is kind of silly. And to voters, that's a -- there's different -- look, voters disqualify candidates for various reasons. I was -- you can accuse me of being sloppy, of putting the words in my mouth and I should have put the words in the -- in how this will impact, impact voters and impact the race. And, you know, that's where I was sloppy. I don't take back the analysis. I mean, I think it's -- I think that -- you know, I think it was -- I think she had run -- she's been running a poor campaign. I don't understand how she's not made this about Mitch McConnell. Like, I'm still -- for the life of me, I don't get how this is not a referendum on him. Right? And you know, that's -- I mean, you know, that's clearly what the voters wanted to make it. So I -- you know, and, you know, so you critique the campaign, but I think this was a -- you know, it's one of those -- campaigns have moments. - Media Matters For America, 10/21/14
Speaking of ads, I like this new one from Grimes:
http://www.politicususa.com/...
Senator Georgia Powers, a civil rights heroine who in 1967 became the first woman and first person of color elected to the Kentucky State Senate, cut a powerful radio ad for Democratic U.S. Senatorial candidate and Kentucky’s Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Powers said Grimes would continue the fight of the 60s, protecting voting rights and working for the minimum wage, “Mitch McConnell and the Republicans are trying to take away our right to vote… She’ll be a voice for all of us, fighting to raise the minimum wage and protect our voting rights.”
To emphasize her point about the ongoing fight, Powers added, “I was the first African-American and woman elected to the Kentucky Senate; now, Alison could be our first Kentucky woman to serve in the United States Senate.” - Politicus USA, 10/21/14
There's good reason Grimes still has a chance in this race:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
A Western Kentucky University poll released Tuesday is the latest to show Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) remaining competitive with McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader. McConnell leads 45-42, within the poll's margin of error. It's the latest poll to show the race is still tight, despite national Democrats having pulled ads from the state.
The most interesting part of the poll, though, is how very few people are actually voting for Grimes. Rather, 60 percent of Grimes supporters say their vote is more about casting a ballot against McConnell than casting one for Grimes. Just 34 percent of Grimes backers said their vote will be more in support of the Democrat.
Voters for McConnell, meanwhile, are much more likely to say it's about supporting the incumbent (62 percent) than opposing Grimes (33 percent).
The Fix does wonder, though, what these numbers would look like if you substituted Grimes's name for another Democrat, President Obama. A recent CBS News poll showed 56 percent of Republicans nationally say their midterm vote will be a symbolic vote against Obama.
That doesn't mean equally as many McConnell backers would say their vote is more about Obama than McConnell. But given the tenor of the race and the repeated attempts by Republicans to tie Grimes to Obama (along with her all-too-telling refusal to say whether she voted for Obama), it's clear that the president is a major subplot of this race.
There's plenty of dislike to go around, though. McConnell and Grimes are underwater as far as their personal images go. While 44 percent of likely voters have a favorable image of McConnell, 51 percent have an unfavorable one. For Grimes, it's a 38/47 split. - Washington Post, 10/22/14
Bill and Hillary Clinton have been rilling up packed houses of supporters for Grimes and and getting them engaged in this race. Lets help grimes defeat McConnell by donating and getting involved with her campaign:
http://alisonforkentucky.com/