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Edging closer to his lifelong dream of leading a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell has been largely quiet about what specific agenda his potential new majority would pursue. "This is not the time to lay out an agenda," McConnell told reporters Friday after an event in Lexington. "But I will say this: Divided government in the past has been pretty effective." "It's never a good idea to tell the other side what the first play is going to be, but I think it's safe to say we'll have a very different direction for the country," McConnell...

If you don't know what the Dodd-Frank Act is, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told an audience last weekend, "it's Obamacare for banks." Ryan, outgoing chairman of the House Budget Committee, was echoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who's been using that expression since at least April (and he used it again Wednesday night). Expect to hear the expression more, particularly once a new, probably-Republican-led Senate takes over on Capitol Hill in January. Dodd-Frank, a set of financial regulations passed in the wake of the financial crisis, has been cited by financial reporters, liberal publications, and (most importantly) Republican senators...

Tuesday on MSNBC's "Hardball," host Chris Matthews compared Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Saddam Hussein by saying, "remember the picture of Saddam Hussein patting that kid's head," after running the Republican minority leaders latest ad in his reelection bid against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Fall is in the air. The leaves are changing colors, football season is in full swing and people in battleground states are being inundated by candidates and commercials. In Washington, the GOP is already breaking out the champagne. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is already measuring the drapes in the majority leader’s office. The anticipation is that the Republican Party will sweep the midterm elections. The common wisdom is that the GOP will gain seats in the House of Representatives and more importantly take control of the Senate. But not so fast. Right now there are 45 Republicans in the...

As we reported here on NewsBusters, during a recent Morning Joe appearance Chuck Todd twice said that Dem candidate for senator from Kentucky Alison Lundergan Grimes "disqualified herself" for refusing to say whether she voted for Barack Obama for president. On Chris Hayes' MSNBC show tonight, Todd said he was "sick to his stomach" when he saw that his comment had been used in an ad for Mitch McConnell. But interestingly, instead of blaming the McConnell campaign, Todd tagged Grimes, saying she had "invited this on herself" by her refusal to answer the simple question. View the video here.

Did Chuck Todd just do it again? His comment a couple of weeks ago that Dem Alison Lundergan Grimes "disqualified herself" for refusing to say whether she voted for Barack Obama was quickly made into an ad by the McConnell campaign. On today's Morning Joe, Todd made a highly quotable claim about another race. Todd described the campaign for a congressional seat in a district located in Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn as "a fight between mob families." That sent Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough scrambling to disassociate themselves from the Meet the Press moderator. And at the end...

The Chatter: McConnell loans himself $1.8M, Grimes doubles down on false claim in ad and 'Pennsyltucky' woman Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is combating a new wave of Democratic spending in his race against Alison Lundergan Grimes by loaning his campaign $1.8 million, Politico reported Friday. The Washington, D.C., outlet reported that McConnell’s personal contribution tops investments by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Senate Majority PAC totaling $1.5 million less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election. A campaign official told Politico McConnell’s loan reinforces the Senate Republican leader’s view that the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s resources...

Today the national pro-life political action committee the Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund announced its endorsement of Mitch McConnell for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. “The contrast between Mitch McConnell and Alison Grimes on life couldn’t be more stark,” said SBA List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Alison Grimes is so extreme on abortion that she even supports painful late-term abortions after five months – more than halfway of pregnancy. It’s no wonder Alison Grimes has been endorsed by extreme abortion groups who only back candidates who support abortion on-demand, for any reason, paid for by the taxpayer.” mitchmconnell“Leader McConnell...

The Kentucky Republican Party is offering volunteers all-expenses-paid trips to join Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign bus tour and "contribute to an enthusiastic atmosphere" at his events. In an email sent earlier this month and obtained by The Hill, Taylor Bumgardner, a Kentucky Republican Party regional political director, offers volunteers the opportunity to join McConnell on his tour, which launched Monday. Meals, lodging and transportation are included in the trip. "Senator McConnell is seeking volunteers to join him on a 3-day campaign bus tour around the state on October 20-22 to show our support for Kentucky coal. You would join...

Less than a week after his wife rallied thousands of Democrats in Louisville, former President Bill Clinton will campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in western Kentucky. Clinton is scheduled to appear at get-out-the-vote events in Owensboro and Paducah Tuesday, Grimes’ campaign announced Friday. The Associated Press first reported Clinton’s stops next week. “The Clintons’ commitment to Alison’s candidacy is a testament to what a strong, independent leader she will be in the U.S. Senate,” Grimes campaign manager Jonathan Hurst said in a statement. “Kentucky is Clinton country, and we are honored to have both Hillary and...

The campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes is reaching out to different demographics, including the urban areas of the state with a radio ad claiming McConnell is not only implementing policies hurtful to the communities but also trying to take away their right to vote. Politico was first to report on the ad, which they say is running in Louisville and likely other areas of the state. In the ad, which can be heard below, a man tells listeners that Grimes is a “champion” for civil rights while also bashing McConnell for many things Grimes has hit...

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Kentucky voters say they have already made up their minds how they are going to vote, and McConnell leads 55% to 45% among these voters. Among the 24% who still could change their minds, the candidates are tied at 41% apiece, with 17% opting for a third-party candidate or undecided. Among the 84% of Kentucky voters who say they will definitely vote in this contest, McConnell leads 53% to 44%. Grimes has the support of 73% of Kentucky Democrats and 16% of the state’s Republicans. McConnell earns 83% backing from his fellow Republicans and 24% of...

Half of all the Democratic women in the U.S. Senate are featured in a new video voicing their support for Kentucky Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes. The video, released Thursday after first being shown at Grimes’ event with Hillary Clinton Wednesday evening, shows six women in the U.S. Senate saying “Shatter the glass. Break the ceiling. It’s time for Alison!” Of the twelve women in the Senate Democratic caucus, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are shown...

A new ad by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) features NBC "Meet The Press" host Chuck Todd saying Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes "disqualified herself" by refusing to say in a recent interview if she voted for President Barack Obama. The stumble last week led to pushback for Grimes, who is polling neck and neck with the Senate Republican leader. The McConnell campaign said on Monday that the ad, called "Disqualified," will air on TV statewide. It can be watched below.

Senate Democrats announced Tuesday they won’t spend any more money on television in Kentucky, throwing in the towel on their fight to oust Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. Most polls have shown the race slipping away from nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) for weeks in a contest long considered a top pickup opportunity for Democrats. But with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) decision, the party is shifting almost solely to defense in hopes of protecting its fragile six-seat majority.

The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org is demanding that Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes take down an ad that uses the term “illegal aliens.” “This latest TV ad from Alison Lundergan Grimes is deeply upsetting. Grimes seems to be forgetting that we are a nation of immigrants that has continually strived to honor all the hard-working people who aspire to the American Dream,” Ilya Sheyman, MoveOn.org’s executive director, said in a statement. “It’s deeply troubling that Grimes would stoop this low in order to try to defeat [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell, and she needs to take this offensive...

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has gone dark in Kentucky, where the party is targeting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. After a significant investment in support of Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the DSCC had not reserved time for the final three weeks of the race and, as of today, is no longer on the air. “The DSCC has now spent more than 2 million in Kentucky and continues to make targeted investments in the ground game while monitoring the race for future investments, but is currently not on the air in the state,” a DSCC official told...

Mary Katharine already covered the first part of this exchange and noted the second, but it’s worth revisiting for Mitch McConnell’s brief rebuttal. The Republican incumbent scoffs at Alison Grimes’ invocation of a sacred right to avoid answering an obvious question, and demonstrates it by announcing he “proudly” voted against Barack Obama in the last two presidential elections: Mitch McConnell Proudly Voted For Mitt Romney There’s also no sacred right to not announce how we vote. I voted for Mitt Romney, proudly. I voted for John McCain. And by the way, 116 out of 120 Kentucky counties agreed with my...

Hours after an interview with The Courier-Journal’s editorial board, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes was blasted by pundits for failing to answer questions about her previous support of Democratic President Barack Obama. With three weeks until Election Day, national pundits are casting Grimes’ non-answers as an unforced fumble that could change the election narrative in the final hours. NBC News’ political director Chuck Todd told a panel on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Grimes “disqualified herself” with the “ridiculous” answer. The Washington Post called the 40 seconds of dodging the question “painful,” adding “there was no reason to do...

More than two months after her husband campaigned with U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in eastern Kentucky, Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear in Louisville for the Democratic hopeful. Grimes’ campaign announced Friday that Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. Senator from New York who is mulling a presidential bid in 2016, will headline an event at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville 7 p.m. Wednesday. The event is open to the public with free tickets available at Democratic headquarters throughout the state. “Alison is honored to have Hillary Rodham Clinton on the campaign trail with...