Offering asides, recommended links, blogworthy quotations, and more, In Brief is the Northwest Progressive Institute's microblog of world, national, and local politics.
Nervous Republicans see Trump sinking, and taking McConnell’s Senate majority with him
“The election is still six months away, but a rash of ominous new polls and the president’s erratic briefings have the Republicans worried about a Democratic takeover,” The New York Times reports.
Amy McGrath’s campaign has unveiled a new ad excoriating Mitch McConnell. The synopsis: “A group of coal miners with black lung disease rode ten hours to Washington to see Mitch McConnell — he only gave them one minute of his time.”
Defeat Mitch. Defend Democracy. That’s Amy McGrath’s mission in 2020. She used to fly fighter jets for the U.S. Marines; now, she’s running against top Republican Mitch McConnell for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky.
Here’s an updated summary of where we stand in U.S. Senate races:
Republican pickups
Democratic holds
Republican holds
Mitch McConnell’s sick new low: New mailers expose his suppression tactics
Luke Brinker reports that McConnell’s campaign is sending mail pieces to Kentucky voters (presumably, Democratic voters) that they could be voting based on “fraudulent information”.
Mr. McConnell, in turn, never accepted a similar invitation dating back to early September to appear before the C-J editorial board, thus shielding himself from scrutiny as well as any potential for attack ads based on his responses. Kentuckians should take measure of that: Thirty years in the Senate, and no comment.
— The Louisville Courier-Journal, taking a position in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race: We urge voters to choose the future and elect Alison Lundergan Grimes..
McConnell has sabotaged jobs and transportation bills, even as Kentucky’s unemployment exceeds the nation’s and an Interstate 75 bridge crumbles over the Ohio River. He blocked tax credits for companies that move jobs back to this country while preserving breaks for those that move jobs overseas. He opposed extending unemployment benefits, while bemoaning the “jobless” recovery. He brags about resolving crises that he helped create.The Senate may never recover from the bitter paralysis McConnell has inflicted through record filibusters that allow his minority to rule by obstruction.
— The Lexington Herald-Leader: Kentuckians should do themselves — and the country — a favor by electing Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.
By not standing firmly for their own policies, Democrats send a message to voters that the unending Republican criticism of the president is legitimate. There is much that is going right in this country, and there is still time for Democrats to say so.
— The New York Times, suggesting in a strongly-worded editorial that Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kay Hagan, and other Democratic candidates stop trying to avoid being associated with President Barack Obama and Obama’s accomplishments.
Elizabeth Warren’s rally with Alison Grimes is a huge smash
Daily Kos’ David Nir recaps Alison Lundergan Grimes’ hugely successful event with Senator Elizabeth Warren in Kentucky, which drew an overflow crowd. Grimes is challenging Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican. Warren had previously promised to travel to the Bluegrass State to campaign for Grimes, after McConnell and his caucus filibustered Warren’s bill to reform student loan debt.
You know what in a sane environment people do when they have problems? They fix the problems. In the end, that’s really what Alison’s saying: ‘Send me to Washington, I’ll do something that makes sense, and I’ll fix it.’ The other choice is to just pout — and make as many problems as you can, stop anything good from happening — and if you can’t stop it, at least bad-mouth it.
— Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning for Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky on Tuesday. Grimes is challenging entrenched incumbent Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Do-Nothing Senate Republican Caucus.
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