Looks like the public pissing contest between Senator Rand Paul and Senator Mitch McConnell is on again, which is no surprise to anyone in Kentucky. This time the weapon of choice for Paul is the threat of Democratic Governor Andy Beshear beating McConnell in a hypothetical election match up in 2026.
Rand Paul thinks Gov. Andy Beshear could win Mitch McConnell's Senate seat
Paul decided to muse on this issue on Fox’s Leni Riefenstahl’s (Laura Ingraham) show:
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he believes Gov. Andy Beshear could win Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's seat if the election took place tomorrow, claiming the long-serving senator has lost touch with conservatives in his home state.
During a FOX News interview with Laura Ingraham Wednesday, Paul said McConnell is going against the wishes of Kentucky Republicans by providing funds to aid Ukraine as part of a bipartisan border and foreign aid package that had been making its way through the U.S. Senate.
"He's been out of touch with Kentucky Republicans, conservative Republicans advocating for all this money to go to Ukraine," Paul said. "... He is working with [President Joe Biden] and [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] to funnel your money to Ukraine, but he's not working with conservatives."
Yes, you read that correctly. McConnell’s cardinal sin is trying to support Ukraine in it’s fight against Russia. Paul has been a useful idiot for Putin since at least 2018, when he carried a letter to Putin from then President Trump. Paul has also accepted Putin’s arguments that Russia didn’t really invade Ukraine because it was once a part of Russia.
Now, a nasty POS like McConnell would normally slime an opponent like Paul with allegations and innuendo to the media. His normal MO is to imply his political enemies are extremist or corrupt. But I don’t think McConnell will be able to hit Paul as a traitor to the fight for democracy against fascism because of Moscow Mitch’s link to Putin and Russian money.
But the REAL reason Paul is promoting Beshear to take on McConnell isn’t about his stance on funding for Ukraine. Nope. I’ve watched these two battering one another over who will control the state of Kentucky. McConnell runs the Republican Party in Kentucky, and its the GOP that controls virtually all positions in the state government.
However, Paul thinks he should be running the show here, and Paul has made no secret of that since he got into office in 2011. This is all about ego and power. Paul knows he is far more popular with the rednecks in Kentucky than is McConnell. The rednecks and racists vote for McConnell because he defines his Democratic opponents as demonic Democrats out to destroy Kentuckians way of life, so McConnell is the lesser of two evils.
Meanwhile, Paul got into power because he was a direct rebuke to that uppity black guy in the White House back in 2010. Paul has embraced all the blatant ignorance and stupidity of first the Tea Party and now Trumpism. Therefore, Paul is more a Tribune of the Plebs in KY. McConnell is seen as more of a Patrician, and we all know how popular the establishment is with GOP voters.
Anyway, it’s another sign that McConnell’s enemies in the GOP are getting antsy. But it will do Paul no good to throw up Beshear as a McConnell slayer. Beshear has made it know that he is not interested in running for Congress. If Beshear is thinking of live after the governorship, he has let it be known that he is interested in maybe running for president in 2028.
McConnell is more likely to face political death during a Republican primary though. There are plenty of ambitious Republicans in Kentucky, and McConnell will be 84 in 2026. Despite his ability to raise mountains of cash and buy political backing, McConnell’s grip on power is starting to shake. If the Democrats hold the Senate this year and Biden is reelected, you can bet your bottom dollar there will be repurcussions for McConnell.
But for now, we get to watch Paul being a big dick to McConnell.