The Political Bridge

A Must Watch Video: Congressman John Yarmuth(D-KY) Takes on Senator McConnell Concerning Health Care Reform

Senator McConnell is Trying to Kill Three Birds with One New York City Fundraiser

Senator McConnell should accomplish three things vis-a-vis the New York fundraiser cited below. He shows support for two moderate Republicans in key primaries.  He also gives Cathy Bailey(R-KY) a clear negative message about running for U.S. Senate.  I doubt that Ms. Bailey, a former U.S. Ambassador and Republican National Committeewoman, would run for Senate without Mr. McConnell's blessing.

From the Washington Post, November 17, 2009

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is making his candidate preferences known in two Republican primaries -- hosting a fundraiser in New York City on Dec. 7 to benefit former New Hampshire attorney general Kelly Ayotte and Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who is being challenged by Rand Paul, the son of Texas Rep. RonAyotte will face at least two candidates in the GOP primary -- businessmen Ovide Lamontagne and Bill Binnie.

Republican Senate Candidate Rand Paul Met with Senator Mitch McConnell

From the BluegrassBulletin.com

Rand Paul met with Mitch McConnell around 5:30 this evening(November 12^th) at the airport in Louisville. The meeting is significant in large part because McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky has been close with the candidacy of Trey Grayson, Kentucky's current Secretary of State and Paul's main primary opponent.   The press reports which followed portrayed Grayson as the choice of party insiders

Republican Primary for U.S. is Heating Up: Trey Grayson Questions Rand Paul's Loyalty to Kentucky Voters

From the Courier-Journal

In an interview with WHAS-TV earlier this week, …Rand Paul declined to say if he would support McConnell for another term as Senate GOP leader if he is challenged by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina

“I like both of them…(Rand Paul said in the interview), but I think obviously Kentucky having a leader is good for Kentucky. “

 In a statement Wednesday, Grayson said Paul's remarks are a sign that he is more beholden to his “Libertarian donor base” than to his constituents in Kentucky...

What Obama praises McConnell decries: climate change legislation unveiled in the Senate, reports The Courier-Journal Political Blog

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., proposed a climate bill today that aims at reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

President Barack Obama offered encouraging words, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not.

“I applaud Chairmen Kerry and Boxer for their leadership on comprehensive energy reform,” Obama said in a statement. “With the draft legislation they are announcing today, we are one step closer to putting America in control of our energy future and making America more energy independent. My Administration is deeply committed to passing a bill that creates new American jobs and the clean energy incentives that foster innovation. I commend Senators Boxer and Kerry for their work and look forward to signing comprehensive energy legislation that addresses this urgent challenge.”

McConnell also issued a statement, referring to the legislation as a tax bill. Read McConnell's remarks at:

The Courier-Journal

McConnell, Lugar discuss engagement with Myanmar, reports The Courier-Journal Political Blog

A Senate subcommittee today is holding a hearing on American policy toward Myanmar, also known as Burma, whose repressive military junta has suppressed opposition, jailed its leaders and created a major refugee problem in southeast Asia.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week singled a shift in policy by the Obama administration, saying the United States would try to engage in a diplomatic dialogue with the regime. In the meantime, longtime sanctions against Myanmar would continue, she said.

Talks between U.S. and Burmese officials are scheduled in New York next week.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been one of the most vocal congressional critics of Burma’s rulers and has authored annual legislation continuing sanctions against the junta. Yesterday, McConnell released a statement on the Obama administration’s efforts to engage Burma.

"Early in the Obama administration I encouraged Secretary of State Clinton to make Burma a priority, review our policies toward and relations with Burma, and to see how the U.S. could better achieve its objectives toward the regime,” McConnell said. “Having reached the end of that review Secretary Clinton has decided to engage the regime in Burma in pursuit of the fundamental goal of a unified, peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma that respects the human rights of its citizens.”

Read more: The Courier-Journal

McConnell calls for Iranian sanctions, reports Jim Carroll at Courier-Journal Politics In Kentucky Blog

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has released a statement calling for sanctions on Iran following the disclosure earlier today that the Iranians have been operating a secret nuclear facility.

Here is McConnell's statement:

“The disclosure of the covert Iranian enrichment facility at Qom makes clear that the international community and the United States Senate should, at a minimum, enact the strictest sanctions on the importation of refined petroleum products by Iran. The Iranian regime must allow inspectors to examine the covert facility, answer all questions of the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning its weapons program and freeze any further enrichment activity. They’ve relied on denial and deception for years while advancing their nuclear program.  But the time for determined action has come and I hope the administration will make clear to the Iranians and our European allies that a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iranian leaders is unacceptable to the United States.”  

Read The Courier-Journal

Senator Mitch McConnell's Take on the Appointment of Senator Paul Kirk(D-MA)

L.A. Times; September, 26, 2009

"What the . . . totally Democratic-controlled Massachusetts state government should have done is just be honest about it," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "They should have written a law this way: If there's a Republican governor, there's no appointment. And if there's a Democratic governor, there is an appointment."

McConnell, GOP threaten to block nominees over Humana ‘gag order’, reports The Courier-Journal

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Senate Republicans threatened Thursday to block nominees to a federal agency unless it withdraws its order to Humana and other insurance companies to refrain from communicating with customers over health care reform.

McConnell, R-Ky., repeatedly has called the directive a “gag order” that violates the companies’ free-speech rights.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, McConnell and others in the Senate GOP leadership accused the administration of trying “to shut down communication between private companies and America’s seniors on an issue that has a direct impact on their health care.”

Read more: The Courier-Journal 

Governor Steve Beshear urges Senators McConnell and Bunning to back extension of unemployment benefits; Governor urges Kentuckians to contact their Senators to support legislation

FRANKFORT, Ky. – As the Commonwealth faces an 11.1 percent unemployment rate, Gov. Steve Beshear today sent a letter to Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning urging them to back a proposal designed to provide a temporary extension of certain unemployment benefits.

House Resolution (H.R.) 3548, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, will provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to Kentucky’s unemployed workers who qualify. This comes just as jobless rates have again climbed in each of the state’s 120 counties compared to last year.

In little more than a year’s time, nearly 123,000 Kentuckians have claimed emergency unemployment compensation after their regular benefit allowances expired. During this prolonged economic downturn, between 800 and 1,200 Kentuckians each week are now exhausting the emergency unemployment benefits provided by Congress. Additionally, more than 10,000 have been forced to rely further on the extended benefits provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Earlier this month, the governor asked Kentucky’s Congressional delegation to support H.R. 3404, a measure that would provide a yearlong extension of unemployment benefits. That proposal is still waiting for consideration.

“While I hold out hope that this longer extension may someday become a reality and provide a much-needed boost to Kentucky’s unemployed,” Gov. Beshear wrote, “your support of H.R. 3548 will certainly go a long way toward helping those Kentuckians who need it most.”

To contact your Senators in support of H.R. 3548, go online to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

--Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office