OMG, yes!
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Remember McConnelling? The internet meme borne out of what a wordless video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) awkwardly smiling at the camera and meeting with constituents.
Outsiders speculated that the video was designed to be extra footage, or b-roll, that outside political action groups could use to make TV ads, but now McConnell's opponent is taking advantage of it.
The Democrat running against McConnell, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, wants to make sure your remember it. Her campaign for U.S. Senate has a new video out using the footage from the original McConnelling video but this time text going over some of McConnell's votes over the years appears over the b-roll footage of McConnell.
The goal of the ad is to paint McConnell as a lawmaker who has consistently opposed women's rights over about 30 years. - TPM, 7/30/14
P.S. Grimes has another one of her "Question" themed ads out:
Grimes is keeping her campaign theme consistent:
http://www.kentucky.com/...
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes kicked off a bus tour to this weekend's annual Fancy Farm picnic by opening her Fayette County headquarters with a few hundred cheering supporters.
A day after the Bluegrass Poll showed U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell taking his first lead in a race that remains within the margin of error, Grimes said she was confident that groups such as women, whom the poll shows her hemorrhaging since February, will vote for her in November.
The secretary of state, flanked by Democratic officials and family members in Lexington's Eastland Shopping Center on Winchester Road, rallied the crowd with an extensive critique of McConnell, going so far as to invoke a 2010 remark McConnell made about his efforts to deny President Barack Obama a second term.
"You all know Mitch McConnell said his number one priority was to make sure that our president didn't see another term," Grimes told the crowd. "Well, it is my number one priority to make sure Mitch McConnell doesn't see a sixth term." - Lexington Herald-Leader, 7/29/14
While the latest Bluegrass poll has some mixed results, here's something McConnell should be worried about:
http://www.kentucky.com/...
In a Bluegrass Poll released in February, Grimes was ahead of McConnell 46 percent to 42 percent. In May, pollsters added potential third-party candidates Ed Marksberry and David Patterson, but Grimes maintained a razor-thin lead of 43 percent to 42 percent.
Marksberry recently announced he would not attempt to get on the ballot as an independent, though Patterson continues to try to get on the ballot as a libertarian.
When Patterson was added to the mix in the most recent poll, McConnell maintained a two-point lead over Grimes. In that question, McConnell garnered support from 41 percent of respondents, 39 percent picked Grimes and 7 percent chose Patterson.
Among likely voters, 25 percent said they still might change their minds.
After McConnell jockeyed with Obama for the title of most unpopular politician in the previous two polls, the percentage of registered voters with a favorable view of McConnell has jumped to 36 percent, up from 29 percent in May and 27 percent in February.
Among those with a positive view of McConnell was Brenda Hunley of Edmonton, a poll respondent who agreed to a follow-up interview with the Herald-Leader.
"He's been in (the) Senate for a long time, and I think he would be the majority leader," Hunley said "He would do a lot for Kentucky and has a lot of experience there."
Grimes, who is Kentucky's secretary of state, also is viewed favorably by 36 percent of voters, but the percentage of voters who view McConnell unfavorably — 43 percent — is 10 points higher than Grimes. Nearly a third of registered voters — 31 percent — still have a neutral opinion of Grimes or don't know enough about her to form an opinion, but that's down from 38 percent in May and 47 percent in February.
"I think she's smart, motivated; we just desperately need a change," said poll respondent Kathryn Breeden of Manchester. "He's has been there too long, he's forgotten how to take care of the people who put him there. She's a change Kentucky does really need."
Many Republicans, however, appear to be returning to McConnell's fold after a contentious GOP primary in which he defeated challenger Matt Bevin.
In the February Bluegrass Poll, 73 percent of Republicans said they would vote for McConnell. In May, with Marksberry and Patterson included, that number dropped to 69 percent.
But with the primary behind them, 82 percent of Republicans now support McConnell. For comparison, exit polls in 2010 found that 91 percent of Republicans voted for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.
McConnell also continues to win a significant chunk of Democrats, pulling 20 percent of them in the most recent poll. Only 13 percent of Republicans said they would back Grimes. - Lexington Herald-Leader, 7/28/14
So yeah, this race is far from over and we still have a shot here. Right now the Republicans are trying to make something out of nothing:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes drew attention Tuesday with a remark about Israel's famed air defense system known as the Iron Dome.
Asked about the missile system at a rally in front of her new headquarters in Fayette County, Grimes had this to say, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader:
"Obviously, Israel is one of our strongest allies in the Middle East, and she has the right to defend herself," Grimes said. "But the loss of life, especially the innocent civilians in Gaza, is a tragedy. The Iron Dome has been a big reason why Israel has been able to withstand the terrorists that have tried to tunnel their way in.
"My hope is that a cease-fire can be structured. Ultimately, I think the long-term solution though is not one we can impose. It has to come from within. It's a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine."
The current Kentucky secretary of state delivered an answer largely in line with the Obama administration on the latest conflict in the Middle East; she defended Israel's right to defend itself and mourned the tremendous loss of life in Gaza.
But her description of the Iron Dome system drew criticism from Republicans, including those at the National Republican Senatorial Committee who argued Grimes wasn't ready for prime time.
"Frankly it's embarrassing that a Senate candidate would say this," NRSC press secretary Brook Hougesen said. "Alison Lundergan Grimes is now a year into her candidacy and is still fundamentally unprepared to answer basic questions and has failed to provide any sort of substantive policy plan." - Huffington Post, 7/30/14
Here's the thing:
http://wfpl.org/...
Grimes campaign officials swatted away those criticisms by clarifying the air defense system "allows Israel to focus resources on tunnels," according to a spokeswoman.
"The Iron Dome is an integral part of Israel's defense system which allows them defend themselves against missiles and focus their efforts on eradicating the terrorists who try to tunnel their way in," Grimes told WFPL in a statement Wednesday.
A spokesman from a pro-Israeli group in Louisville said Grimes' comments in the Herald-Leader did speak to overall defense efforts to stop Hamas activity, but he reiterated the Iron Dome does not defend Israel against Hamas’ underground tunnel system.
"The Iron Dome system protects Israel from terrorist activities,” said Matt Goldberg, spokesman for the Jewish Community of Louisville. "It’s a specific kind of terrorist activity. It certainly has no effect on the tunnels. It's meant to shoot down rockets, but still I don’t think there’s anything in particular that's inconsistent with what Ms. Grimes has said."
Congress is debating a $225 million aid package for Israel this week to strengthen its air defense. - WFPL News 89.3 FM, 7/30/14
Yeah, pretty weak attack there. McConnell's kept up the whole "war on coal" message and he has a new way to approach it:
http://www.govexec.com/...
This week's public hearings on the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan have the usual roster of speakers: environmentalists, industry bigwigs, and politicians looking to make stump speeches for or against the rule. But it's likely only one has the résumé of Jimmy Rose: Iraq veteran, coal miner, and third-place finisher on the reality show America's Got Talent.
The Pineville, Ky., native will speak Wednesday at an EPA hearing in Washington as a guest of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell before heading to the Capitol to perform his signature song "Coal Keeps the Lights On." The song carries an obvious—and for the Kentucky senator a politically potent—message. Rose's lyrics invoke red-meat imagery ("tires on the truck and a sundress on my baby girl") to underscore the importance of coal jobs to Appalachia, before admonishing "plumb-down crazy" Washington for anti-coal policies. McConnell has appeared with Rose before and even referenced Rose's song last fall in trying to introduce a bill that would have blocked the EPA rules. - GovExec, 7/30/14
We'll see how that goes. We still have a chance to win this race, we just have to get the base out. Click here to donate and get involved with Grimes' campaign:
http://alisonforkentucky.com/