Judging by the look on Boehner's face, Benton's not the first guy to want to hold his nose around Stinky Mitch
So, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign manager is caught on tape
saying that he's only working for Mitch to help out Rand Paul in 2016:
I'm sorta holdin' my nose for two years. What we're doing here is going to be a big benefit to Rand in '16.
And when the tape is released, McConnell's campaign manager (whose name is Jesse Benton) puts out a statement saying that
he's outraged a friend had recorded a private conversation: "It's truly sick," Benton said.
It's no surprise that Benton would would want to change the focus of the conversation away from him and to the guy who recorded him—it's pretty much the same thing he said the last time Mitch was caught on tape—but the real question was about how Mitch McConnell would respond now that his campaign manager has been revealed as a guy who secretly thinks Mitch stinks.
And now we know the answer:
McConnell campaign source tells me the senator backs Jesse Benton, told him "Don't let the bastards get you down."
— @daveweigel
I'm sorry, but if your campaign manager is caught on tape saying that you suck, it's not really relevant why he got caught on tape, because no matter how much of a victim he is, no matter how creepy the guy who did the recording may be, the fact remains you shouldn't want a campaign manager who thinks you suck—unless deep down, you know he's right and that he's probably the best you can get.