Joe Sonka August 20th, 2008

(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)

Ryan Alessi has a wrap up of the debate today between Mitch McConnell and Bruce Lunsford, and it sounds like Bruce got in some zingers and called Mitch a failure, while Mitch did nothing but brag about what a Washington insider he is.

As Matt Gunterman has repeatedly pointed out, this kind of strategy from McConnell is political suicide. With the country pissed at Washington, D.C. right now, all this does is (1) show how entrenched McConnell is in Washington (which fits with Lunsford’s “24 years is enough” theme), and (2) shows how despite his power, he doesn’t get results for Kentuckians, just his big money donors. All of those millions of $ worth of ads he aired the past 10 months bragging about what he accomplished bumped his approvals up absolutely zilch.

Keep it up Mitch. Please.

Here’s the juicy stuff:

Lunsford, in fact, used his closing remarks during a two-hour forum at the Kentucky Farm Bureau to talk directly to McConnell rather than the audience. He leveled his strongest criticism of McConnell to date.

“The last 24 years, you’ve had an opportunity to do some great things for this state and this country. And in my opinion, you’ve failed,” Lunsford said. “I think you have worked with a president for the last eight years closer than anyone. I think he’s failed. In my judgment he’s the worst president in my lifetime.”

************

Lunsford used his childhood experience working on his father’s tobacco farm to try to connect with the audience. At one point he mentioned how, when he was in high school, he kept a tobacco spear and a knife in the trunk of his car.

“I always got the feeling with Sen. McConnell’s background that he had a briefcase in the back of his car,” Lunsford said

Kudos to whoever came up with that line, btw…

PS- I’m shocked that Kentucky Farm Bureau even let Mitch into the building today…

• Mitch McConnell
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