Ditch Mitch KY

What happened Thursday night in Iowa has Mitch McConnell (R) knees quaking

Matt Gunterman January 4th, 2008

Lots happened in Iowa Thursday night, but what trends in particular spell trouble for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R)?

Well, first, the anti-establishment/change theme was strong on both sides of the political divide. Fundamentalist Christians turned out in droves to thumb their collective nose at the political preferences of GOP establishment figures like McConnell — who has himself talked a good talk on social conservatism over the years, but has never walked the walk in his personal and family life or in his corporation-centered political philosophy and record. Fundamentalists are endorsing the candidacy of Mike Huckabee (R), and the GOP establishment’s sorry treatment of Huckabee is only going to embitter the man and his movement. It looks like after his primary fight the Fundies will be mad as hell and won’t be in a mood to take it any more.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) did you hear the people of Iowa last night? A candidate like Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D) fits the bill of exactly what Americans are searching for in an opponent that can take out McConnell in 2008.

And, as we’ve said here many times in the past, you can see how disastrously McConnell’s reelection themes are going to play in the political environment in 2008. McConnell is constantly reminding Kentucky voters that he is the center of the Washington political establishment. With the economy heading into the Second George W. Bush Recession at this very moment, Kentuckians are going to be mad as hell themselves by November. McConnell is simply adding fuel to the fire as to why Kentuckians should despise the man and his machine and methods.

And, let’s be honest, Mitch McConnell’s GOP machine has empowered Fundies in Kentucky to an extreme. If the Fundies turn on the GOP nationally — by staying home in 2008 to punish the party leadership or supporting a third party candidate for President — then McConnell stands to lose a lot of support in his own race. These Kentucky Fundies are also at the core of Ernie Fletcher’s base; Fletcher was one of them in a way that McConnell never even pretended to be. Everyone knows that McConnell — in the most forgiving interpretation — is an amoral human being. So, the Fundies in Kentucky will have reasons in both the state and national contexts to turn on McConnell.

McConnell created has created a Fundamentalist monster for himself in Kentucky, and that monster is going to be giving him nightmares all throughout 2008.