McConnell's Louisville Stable Trots Out Another Potential Entry For US Senate

EDITORIAL:

Mitch McConnell has always cozied up to the wealthy.  In the beginning when he was a young upstart in a red BMW It was his way of gaining entry to the inner circles of their lavish lifestyles. Later those relationships became his way of gathering up vast sums of money with which to wage political warfare.

McConnell has been given credit over the years for being a political genius when it comes to advancing other candidates.  However, the passage of time may now allow us a better perspective from which to discover the possible reasons for this appearance of success.

Cathy Bailey has announced that she may enter the race for United States Senate even if it means running against Jim Bunning who she readily acknowledges in an interview with the Lexington Herald Leader has "always voted on the right side, as far as I'm concerned."

Bailey is one of McConnell's wealthy friends.  He supported her for a seat on the Republican National Committee, has tapped her fund raising skills to help various candidates and then assisted her in getting an Ambassadorship from President Bush.

Bailey is a fine woman with a good head on her shoulders, but her entry into the race comes with a timing that exposes more about McConnell than about her.

Kentuckians will recall that McConnell helped pump money into the first race of then Congressman Ernie Fletcher.  McConnell advanced Hunter Bates, his former campaign staffer, to become Fletcher's running mate. Bates withdrew after litigation challenged his residency.

Bates has a great future in politics himself but with a young family will likely continue with his lucrative lobbying work for several more years before considering public service. McConnell had advanced Hunter to run for Congress for the seat Geoff Davis lost to Ken Lucas the first time around claiming that Davis couldn't win. [timing of this corrected by comment, thank you]

After time McConnell's attempted meddling with the Governor's office caused McConnell to bristle up when his advice was no longer accepted as marching orders.  To show his muscle, McConnell abandoned Fletcher in his hour of need.  Then, when re-election time came, McConnell was considered to be the force behind Trey Grayson announcing at Fancy Farm that HE was considering a run for governor.

Grayson considered the run on the chance Fletcher might drop out.  He later thought better of his announcement and did not run against Fletcher in the primary.

So Anne Northup, one of McConnell's wealthy Louisville friends was sent out to do the primary battle.  There was no chance Anne was going to win the nomination, and her entry into the race was clearly designed to keep McConnell's record of predicting results intact.  McConnell had spread the word that Fletcher "couldn't win" and he wasn't about to be proven wrong.  Northup was a tool used by McConnell to diminish Fletcher's money and stature so McConnell could say "see I told you so."

Politics, McConnell style, can be brutal but the timing of Bailey's announcement and the words she used carry a lesson from history.  Grayson has announced that he has formed an exploratory committee, but with Bunning's blessing.  He has also done the very honorable thing of stating categorically that he will not run against Jim Bunning.

Bunning knows Grayson and has publicly said that he trusts his word on that.  Bunning then pointed out the manipulations behind the scenes being worked by McConnell and suggested that McConnell's form of leadership just isn't working any more.

The very next set of headlines is that one of McConnell's loyal wealthy Louisvillians will run even if it means running against Bunning.

History is set to repeat itself and McConnell doesn't seem to care that it might mean doing damage to a strong conservative republican or losing the seat to a democrat.

As Anne Northup traveled around the state trying to convince republicans that running against Ernie Fletcher was a good thing, despite one audience after another refusing to even applaud for her when introduced, she would often say that our party would benefit from a conversation about our future.  Hauntingly similar words were spoken by Cathy Bailey in her interview when she said "I think the Republican Party is strong enough to undergo a conversation about which person is best to represent us on the ballot in 2010".

History gives us a perspective on this news.  It's not about a conversation, it's not about Jim Bunning's record since he has "always voted on the right side".  Cathy Bailey's announcement is all about Mitch in a tizzy trying to find a way to eventually be able to say, "See, I told you he couldn't win."

It's a shame, but it is often the pathetic, paranoid and insecure little kids who turn out to be the biggest bullies.

McConnell might have enjoyed the reputation of being the emperor of Kentucky Republican Politics, for many years but time has a way of revealing things loyal subjects are slow to accept.  Perhaps The Emperor Has No Clothes.

Comments

[sue]

OUT WITH MCCONNEL! I'm tired of this self serving bootlicker. I well remember his foot stomping hissy fit just before signing PORKULus 2009!

[Blondie]

GREAT Commentary with spot on analysis!