Lunsford profiled in Enquirer

Looks like the local media is realizing that Mitch McConnell is vulnerable -- the Enquirer ran this story today:

[Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce] Lunsford is smart; he is rich, able to pour millions of his own money into the race; he comes from a successful background in business; and he understands government from his years in the administration of former Gov. John Y. Brown Jr.

But Lunsford's staunchest backers and contributors say his greatest asset is timing.

...Polling has shown Lunsford within single digits of McConnell, a four-term incumbent with a campaign war chest of about $15 million.

CJ editorializes Mitch McConnell's obstructionism

There's a must-read editorial in today's Courier-Journal. Here's an excerpt:

Over the weekend, the Mitch McConnell-led obstruction of important legislation continued, when his Republican minority blocked consideration of a bill to help low-income families pay their cooling and heating bills.

...Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., a consistent supporter of the program, warns many of his constituents who use home heating oil are now forced to pay more than $4 per gallon. He insists, "New Hampshire's low-income families and seniors need to know Congress is on their side when it comes to helping them with record high heating bills expected this winter." He's right, of course, but the need is national, not regional.

Mr. Bush and his Senate enablers, led by Mitch McConnell, appear to have only one item on their energy agenda: making political points, with a fraudulent claim that the country can drill its way past the problem at the gas pump. It's not true. That kind of deceit may be predictable, but there's no compassion in it.

More obstructionism from Mitch

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

McConnell Chooses Politics Over Bills To Stop Child Predators, Fight Disease
Opposes Package of Non-Controversial, Bi-Partisan Bills, Some of Which He Cosponsored

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against a package of 35 non-controversial bills today, some of which he cosponsored, while instructing Republicans to block all bills in the Senate. The bills McConnell voted against, all but one of which already passed the House by huge bipartisan margins, have all been blocked by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), who has single-handedly obstructed nearly 80 bills – the most of any senator. The bills in today’s package cover a huge range of subjects, from protecting children from sexual predators to improving stroke prevention to expanding access to broadband internet services to helping victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease and paralysis.

“Anyone who thinks it doesn’t matter who represents them in Washington should pay attention to what Mitch McConnell did in the Senate today,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Mitch McConnell chose delivering his party’s marching orders over protecting our children and helping victims of stroke and paralysis. Kentucky deserves better than a politician who plays partisan games with vital legislation.”

Nearly every bill in the package passed a Senate committee by a unanimous voice vote, all have Republican cosponsors, and nearly a third were written by Republican Senators.

Below is a complete list of the bills McConnell opposed today:

HELP Committee bills
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry Act (S. 1382/HR 2295)
Christoper and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act (S. 1183/HR 1727)
Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act (S. 999/HR 477)
Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act (S. 1375)
Vision Care for Kids Act (HR 507/S. 1117)
Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act (S. 1810/HR 3112)

Judiciary Committee bills
Emmitt Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act (S. 535/HR 923)
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act (S. 2304/HR 3992)
Drug Endangered Kids (HR 1199/S. 1210)
Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act (S. 2982/HR 5524)
Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act (HR 4120)
Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography (S. 2869/HR 4136)
PROTECT Our Children Act (HR 3845/S 1738)
Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission (S. 1079/HR 1389)

Foreign Relations Committee bills
Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act (HR 1469/S 991)
Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act (HR 1084/S 613)
OPIC Reauthorization (HR 2798/S 2349)
Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act (S. 2020/HR 2185)
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act (HR 1678/S 840)
Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act (HR 3320)

Homeland Security Government Affairs Committee bills
National Capital Transportation Amendments Act(S. 1446/HR 401)
Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act (HR 390)
Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act (HR 6109/S. 3175)

Commerce Committee bills
Broadband Data Improvement Act (S. 1492/HR 3919)
Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendments (S. 1582/HR 3352)
Ocean Exploration, Mapping & Research (HR 1834/HR 2400/S. 39)
National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act (S 3160/HR 5618)
Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act (S. 950/HR 2342)
Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act (S. 1581/HR 4174)
Training for Realtime Writers Act (S. 675/HR 1687)

Environment and Public Works Committee bills
Captive Primate Safety Act (S. 1498/HR 4933)
The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act (S. 2707/HR 5540)
Beach Protection Act (S 2844/HR 2537)
Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008 (S. 496/HR 799)

Rules bill
Smithsonian greenhouse bill (HR 5492)

Courier-Journal: Mitch is a fraud

Today's Courier-Journal highlights how Mitch McConnell is putting oil profiteers before regular Americans struggling with high gas prices:

What a fraud Mitch McConnell is, when it comes to the ruinous gasoline price hikes that have hit consumers across Kentucky, and America.

Senate Democrats tried to curb the rampant speculation that experts say is part of the reason gas prices are so high. They were blocked by Mr. McConnell and his GOP followers.

...Last week there was a chance to do something about the oil speculators, who have played the situation and made it worse. But Mitch McConnell said no.

McConnell called out over attack ad

Kentucky's leading newspapers point out the dishonesty of McConnell's false and misleading attack ad:

McConnell Votes Against Lower Gas Prices

The DSCC recently issued this press release:

McConnell Votes Against Lower Gas Prices
Opposes legislation to crack down on oil speculation and market manipulation

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against a bill today to lower gas prices by curbing excessive speculation in energy markets. Experts have noted that speculation is driving up the price of a barrel of oil, and a recent House committee report revealed that speculators – institutional investors buying contracts with no intention of taking delivery of oil – now account for 73% of all trading of crude oil contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from 37% in 2000.

“Mitch McConnell had an opportunity to lower the price of gas today, but instead he voted with the speculators who are profiting from Kentuckians’ pain at the pump,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Mitch McConnell’s constituents deserve better than a politician who sides with Wall Street speculators over Kentucky families.”

McConnell voted against legislation to guard against price manipulation just one day after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced its first case against a trading fund in the agency’s probe of crude oil market manipulation. The bill will eliminate so-called “dark markets” to increase transparency and accountability in commodities trading, strengthen the CFTC’s enforcement capacity, and close the “London Loophole” so all U.S.-based trading of American commodities is subject to American regulation.

Speculation is driving rising oil prices past where they should be, even with flat supply and rising demand. Economists and energy experts believe that speculation is helping drive the sudden spike in oil prices, which rose more than 50% between February and June. [Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economy.com, on PBS Online Newshour, 6/6/08; Testimony of Gerry Ramm, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, before Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, 6/3/08; McClatchy, Interview of Michael Greenberger, 6/17/08; Energy Information Administration, 7/23/08]

Even Big Oil thinks their product should be selling for less than half the price. The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell has said that the market fundamentals are the same as when oil sold at $60 per barrel, and an ExxonMobil executive testified in April that the price of oil should be $50 to $55. [Washington Post, 4/11/08; Senate Judiciary Committee, 4/1/08]

Current law leaves oil markets vulnerable to manipulation. The legislation closes loopholes written by Republican lawmakers and the Bush CFTC that allow vast amounts of trading in crude oil futures takes place in the shadows. As Walter Lukken, Acting Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, conceded, crude oil markets are “ripe for those wanting to illegally manipulate the markets.” [CNBC, 06/17/08]

Futures markets have become playgrounds for big investors, rather than vehicles to buy and sell oil. Speculators – institutional investors buying contracts with no intention of taking delivery of oil – now account for 73% of all trading of crude oil contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from 37% in 2000, according to a House committee report. [Wall Street Journal, 1/23/08]

Union backs Groob for state Senate

Great news for the Kathy Groob campaign, courtesy of the Enquirer:

COVINGTON -- State Senate candidate Kathy Groob, a Covington Democrat, has been endorsed by a Covington firefighters union.

The Covington Firefighters Local 38 is backing Groob in her challenge of Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Crescent Springs.

..."Kathy is the clear choice because she understands the needs of firefighters and has a proven commitment to public safety," local president Mike Holtman said in a statement distributed by the Groob campaign. "We know we can count on Kathy to fight for firefighters in Frankfort."

Mitch's Dishonest Ad

You may have seen Mitch McConnell's deceptive new TV campaign ad, in which he tries to smear Democrat Bruce Lunsford. Luckily, Kentucky's newspapers aren't letting Mitch get away with his dishonest attacks. Here's what the Courier-Journal had to say:

Mitch McConnell's first ad in this year's Senate campaign in Kentucky is so silly and pointless that it seems like a spoof from a political satirist.

If only it were. Then maybe there would be hope that the minority leader of the United States Senate was going to talk about real issues, instead of probing the political depths to determine how many voters can be fooled one more time.

The Herald-Leader added:

McConnell has launched an attack ad that suggests ”automatic tax increases“ are to blame for $4 gas. Furthermore, McConnell accuses his opponent, Bruce Lunsford, of being responsible because he was part of the John Y. Brown administration 28 years ago when the legislature approved the gas tax formula.

McConnell's commercial is essentially dishonest.

Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell isn't alone in trying to blame his opponent for high gas prices -- even so-called "straight talker" John McCain is doing it.

McConnell Puts Insurance Companies Ahead Of Seniors

The DSCC recently issued this press release:

McConnell And Bush: Putting Insurance Companies Ahead Of Seniors To The Bitter End
As Senate rebuffs Bush veto, McConnell continues to stand by Medicare cuts

Today, as both the United States House and Senate voted by large bi-partisan margins to override George Bush’s veto of a bill preventing steep cuts to Medicare, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stood by the president and the insurance companies and voted to sustain the veto. The bill Bush vetoed and McConnell voted against will prevent steep cuts in Medicare and will improve mental health access for both veterans and seniors and strengthen Medicare programs for rural seniors. It is paid for by ending costly overpayments to private insurance companies and HMOs participating in Medicare. Without passage of the legislation, millions of seniors would have been unable to easily access care as many doctors were expected to stop seeing Medicare patients.

“If McConnell got his way and Bush’s veto stood, doctors, seniors, troops and their families all would have faced devastating effects,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Luckily other legislators stood up for Kentucky’s seniors and servicemembers today, but it’s a shame their own senator refused to fight on their behalf. Unfortunately for Mitch McConnell, the insurance companies may have filled his campaign coffers with cash, but they won’t be able to fill the voting booths for him this fall.”

On July 1, reimbursement rates to physicians under Medicare and the military health program, TRICARE, were cut by 10.6% under a statutory formula widely regarded as outdated. Congress has passed legislation reversing scheduled cuts each year since 2003. The bill garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in the House, passing 355-59, and passed the Senate last week 69-30. Both chambers of Congress voted to override Bush’s veto today, the House by 383-41 and the Senate by 70-26.

McConnell Voted For The Third Time In As Many Weeks To Put Insurance Companies And HMOs Over Doctors And Seniors. For the third time in two weeks, Sen. McConnell today voted against preventing a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors. The bill is paid for by ending costly overpayments to private insurance companies and HMOs participating in Medicare, while improving both mental health access for veterans and Medicare programs for rural seniors. [Vote 160, 6/26/08; Vote 169, 7/9/08; Vote 177, 7/15/08]

McConnell Voted Against Medicare Funding At Least 16 Times. Since 1995, McConnell has voted to cut or against Medicare funding at least sixteen times. [Vote 173, 5/22/95; Vote 232, 5/25/95; Vote 296, 6/29/95; Vote 499, 10/26/95; Vote 524, 10/27/95; Vote 584, 11/17/95; Vote 159, 6/13/96; Vote 130, 6/25/97; Vote 7, 1/7/03; Vote 21, 1/23/03; Vote 89, 3/25/03; Vote 291, 11/3/05; Vote 303, 11/3/05; Vote 363, 12/21/05; Boston Globe, 12/22/05; Vote 62, 3/16/06; Vote 92, 3/22/07; AP, 3/23/07]

McConnell Has Received $817,757 From the Insurance Industry. Since his first run for Congress, McConnell has received at least $817,757 in campaign contributions from the insurance industry. [Center for Responsive Politics]

American Medical Association Blasted Republicans Who Blocked Bill. “The physicians of America are outraged that a group of Republican senators followed the direction of the Bush Administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America’s seniors, disabled and military families…Thanks to some senators, we stand at the brink of a Medicare meltdown…The Senate must return from their recess and make seniors’ health care their top priority. For doctors, this is not a partisan issue - it's a patient access issue.” [Dr. Nancy Nielsen, President of American Medical Association, 6/27/08]

Without A Fix, 60% Of Doctors Would Stop Seeing New Medicare Patients. A survey shows that 60% of doctors will be forced to restrict the number of new Medicare patients they see if reimbursement rates fall 10.6%, while the nonpartisan expert Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reports that already 30% of Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician have trouble finding one. [AMA, 6/9/08; MedPAC, March 2008]

McConnell Votes Against Seniors To Preserve Overpayments To HMOs. According to the nonpartisan, well-respected Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, private insurance companies in the Medicare Advantage program will be paid 113% of the average per-beneficiary cost – an extra $1,000 per patient – and their beneficiaries are healthier, and so less expensive to cover. [MedPAC, March 2008; MedPAC, June 2007]

McConnell Voted to Jeopardize Access to Doctors for Family Members of Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military health care system, TRICARE, is statutorily linked to Medicare, so cuts in Medicare also impact physicians serving active duty military service members and their families. There are currently 159,979 TRICARE patients in Kentucky. [National Guard Association of the United States, 3/28/08; American Medical Association]

Democrats focus on on oil, energy issues

The Associated Press covered yesterday's Democratic radio address:

Senator Patty Murray says Democrats have a plan to combat record-high gas prices, but Republicans are blocking it.

In the party's weekly radio message, she's calling for responsible oil drilling in the 68 million acres of federal land already under lease. Democrats say the move would nearly double U.S. production.

(You can read the entire address by clicking here.)

Speaking of energy issues, Mitch McConnell has been caught lying about the environmental risks of oil rigs:

...the Washington Post on Monday quoted Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as saying, "I think people are reassured that not a drop of oil was spilled during Katrina or Rita. Those rigs in the Gulf, there was not a single incident of spillage that anyone reported."

...In May 2006, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued a report stating that as a result of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the number of pipelines damaged was 457, and the number of offshore platforms destroyed was 113, with a total of 146 oil spills recorded.

...As a result of both storms, a total volume of 17,652 barrels (or roughly three-quarters of a million gallons) of total petroleum products, of which 13,137 barrels were crude oil and condensate, was spilled from platforms, rigs and pipelines. 4,514 barrels were refined products from platforms and rigs.