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jodymarie aimee

(3,975 posts)
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 07:24 AM Jan 2019

I was wondering HOW McConnell got to be him....what kind of challengers did his magnificent charisma

So, this morning I was wondering HOW McConnell got to be him....what kind of challengers did his magnificent charisma defeat, etc....didn't find much....sorry...

Early Years and Education

Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. was born on February 20, 1942, in Sheffield, Alabama. After contracting polio at age 2, he recovered through his mother's vigorous therapy sessions, even developing into a talented baseball player.

A new job for Addison Sr. brought the family to Louisville, Kentucky, where McConnell became student body president at duPont Manual High School. He held the same role at the University of Louisville, before graduating with honors in 1964 with a B.A. in history, and earning his J.D. in 1967 from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
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Early Political Career

Setting his sights on a career in politics, McConnell interned for Kentucky Congressman Gene Snyder and Senator John Sherman Cooper in the mid-1960s. He served as chief legislative assistant for Senator Marlow Cook after law school, and later became a deputy assistant attorney general to President Gerald Ford.

In 1977, McConnell earned his first elected seat as judge-executive of Kentucky's Jefferson County. A moderate Republican early in his career, he supported collective bargaining rights for public employees and steered federal funds toward the expansion of Jefferson Memorial Forest.

In 1984, McConnell edged out Walter D. Huddleston for a seat in the Senate, making him the only Republican in the country to defeat an incumbent Democratic senator that year, as well as the first of his party to win a statewide race since 1968.
U.S. Senator

During his first term in the Senate, McConnell earned a spot on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and advocated for tax reform. Gaining traction after his reelection in 1990, he became known for his opposition to campaign-finance reform, and successfully spearheaded an effort to block legislation on that front in 1994.

Named chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 1996, McConnell continued to buck the tide at opportune moments. He sued the Federal Election Commission following the passage of the bipartisan McCain-Feingold Act in 2002, and in 2006 he opposed a constitutional amendment to ban the desecration of the American flag.

By then, the junior Kentucky senator had earned renown for his political cunning and ability to forge coalitions. He was voted party whip in 2002, and four years later he took over as Senate minority leader.
Republican Leader

As the Senate's top Republican, McConnell rejected the Democratic push for establishing a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. In late 2008, he threw his support behind the Troubled Asset Relief Program, signed into law by outgoing President George W. Bush.

With the 2008 election of President Barack Obama giving Democrats control of the White House and both branches of Congress, McConnell focused on obstructing the new commander-in-chief whenever possible. Most notably, he opposed the passage of the economic stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the health insurance reform package, the Affordable Care Act (also known as "Obamacare&quot in 2010. Additionally, he has stood against the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, delayed approval of Obama's judicial nominees, and a host of other legislation put forth during the Obama administration. Making his party's strategy explicit in a 2010 interview with the National Journal, he stated: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

While McConnell didn't achieve that goal, he saw gains with the Republican takeover of the House in 2010.

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I was wondering HOW McConnell got to be him....what kind of challengers did his magnificent charisma (Original Post) jodymarie aimee Jan 2019 OP
So 2naSalit Jan 2019 #1
I think the Russian bankers have Mitch by the short hairs (or scales, in Mitch's case). Vinca Jan 2019 #2
Good point. 2naSalit Jan 2019 #3
he had a first wife and 3 daughters jodymarie aimee Jan 2019 #5
Wonder where theyu went, but 2naSalit Jan 2019 #6
so he's a mini Onassis jodymarie aimee Jan 2019 #7
He's married to the daughter of one. 2naSalit Jan 2019 #8
from Wikipedia Maeve Jan 2019 #14
Don't forget his distinguished military service. bluedigger Jan 2019 #4
Here's the beef malaise Jan 2019 #9
thanks Mal jodymarie aimee Jan 2019 #10
Clever? malaise Jan 2019 #11
no, I meant the big story this morning jodymarie aimee Jan 2019 #12
I know but I wish I had been that clever malaise Jan 2019 #13

2naSalit

(93,070 posts)
1. So
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 07:35 AM
Jan 2019

When did he marry Elaine? Her family has the $$ and the shipping outfit... there's something there there. And I suspect that a whole pile of his and his wife's family's financial interests being served by his political position are a lot o what he's covering up. They all have something dirty going on that would ruin them if revealed... and they'll all have to face justice.

Vinca

(51,152 posts)
2. I think the Russian bankers have Mitch by the short hairs (or scales, in Mitch's case).
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 07:39 AM
Jan 2019

There's a reason he's abetting the Trump shutdown when the GOP has been opposed to the wall in years past. Vlad ordered chaos so Trump has provided chaos and Mitch is keeping it going.

2naSalit

(93,070 posts)
3. Good point.
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 07:51 AM
Jan 2019

I think that's the current top of the pile indictment, there's lots of dirt in the shipping industry, like I wonder if anyone is clean in that biz. I expect a lot of head spinning when this all gets rolling.

2naSalit

(93,070 posts)
6. Wonder where theyu went, but
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 08:46 AM
Jan 2019

what matters is this shipping connection, I think that's much bigger than we know. Lots of everything travels on ships, and there's so much involved there.

Maeve

(43,004 posts)
14. from Wikipedia
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 09:13 AM
Jan 2019

McConnell is a Southern Baptist.[246] He was married to his first wife, Sherrill Redmon, from 1968 to 1980, and had three children.[247] Following their divorce, she became a feminist scholar at Smith College and director of the Sophia Smith Collection.[248][249] His second wife, whom he married in 1993, is Elaine Chao, the former Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush.[250] On November 29, 2016, incoming President Donald Trump nominated Chao to serve as the Secretary of Transportation. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 2017, in a 93–6 vote.[250] McConnell himself voted "present" during the confirmation roll call.[251]

malaise

(278,428 posts)
11. Clever?
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 09:03 AM
Jan 2019

That was a mere co-incidence - I associate 'Where's the beef' more with Mondale than with Wendy's . I love to follow the money. You need more details on the money he married.

malaise

(278,428 posts)
13. I know but I wish I had been that clever
Tue Jan 15, 2019, 09:11 AM
Jan 2019

I only made the connection when you wrote clever so I can't claim credit

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