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sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 03:37 PM Sep 2014

Mitch McConnell Turns Yellow and Refuses To Debate Alison Lundergan Grimes



McConnell’s biggest issue with the format seemed to be that Grimes was going to be there, and he was going to have to answer questions. Mitch McConnell objected to a live audience being present, and the moderator being allowed to ask questions. Sen. McConnell’s excuses are getting more flimsy with each passing day. There is only one current debate scheduled on October 13.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from McConnell’s behavior is that he is afraid to debate Alison Lundergan Grimes. Mitch McConnell is trying to hide and ride out the storm. His strategy is to win reelection with an onslaught of negative ads against Grimes. McConnell doesn’t believe that voters in all parts of Kentucky deserve to see the candidates live together.

The Grimes campaign had this to say about Yellow Mitch’s duck and run act, “Mitch McConnell had to invent a phantom bus tour to hide from the fact that he has done next to nothing to help create jobs in 30 years, while we’ve lost thousands of good-paying jobs. Rather than accept multiple opportunities for Kentuckians to hear two very different visions for the future, McConnell is strangely comfortable hiding behind the dark money millionaires and billionaires trying to buy his way back to Washington.”

Debates are a key piece of the democratic process. Voters deserve to see their choices debate. Mitch McConnell doesn’t want the Kentucky voters informed. He doesn’t want the voters to compare the two candidates. This behavior is coming from the same candidate who constantly complains that the Koch brothers right to free speech is under attack.

Sen. McConnell is running scared.


http://www.politicususa.com/2014/09/17/mitch-mcconnell-turns-yellow-refuses-debate-alison-lundergan-grimes.html
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Mitch McConnell Turns Yellow and Refuses To Debate Alison Lundergan Grimes (Original Post) sheshe2 Sep 2014 OP
Well I didn't know you meant that literally Kalidurga Sep 2014 #1
Ayup. tanyev Sep 2014 #2
And this... madamesilverspurs Sep 2014 #32
OMG! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #33
The Farmers Bureau had one debate already... kentuck Sep 2014 #3
That picture is awesome! BrotherIvan Sep 2014 #4
Yes indeed! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #7
Big Dawg loves to kick some ass BrotherIvan Sep 2014 #8
LOL! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #9
I would so love Grimes if she ran an add effectively stating that sentiment. FlatStanley Sep 2014 #5
The Kochoptus Strategy: Buybthe media by buying ads by the boatload and con the idiot voters. Fred Sanders Sep 2014 #6
Hey, They're Working Over Time Here In Florida ChiciB1 Sep 2014 #57
Well, if she's not for Mitt rocktivity Sep 2014 #10
How'd ya like his little "Mitch" jacket? ReRe Sep 2014 #37
Is yellow mercuryblues Sep 2014 #11
DEFEAT THE TURTLEMAN! ^.^ (That's all I have to say. EOM) Old Crow Sep 2014 #12
Debates ought to be required in order to run for office n/t albino65 Sep 2014 #13
+1! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #23
Who counts the votes? sulphurdunn Sep 2014 #14
Maybe Mitch isn't as sharp minded as he used to be, thinking up all those pesky answers on the spot. Dont call me Shirley Sep 2014 #15
I think I would be afraid to debate her also. She can probably feel like Thinkingabout Sep 2014 #16
See kentuck's post#3 sheshe2 Sep 2014 #18
I did not get the debate on the link, it went to a post Thinkingabout Sep 2014 #20
Actually, I think that this was what kentuck was referring to... sheshe2 Sep 2014 #22
Thanks, I was concerned I had missed something I was soooo looking forward to hearing. Thinkingabout Sep 2014 #24
First time I heard Grimes speak, joshdawg Sep 2014 #45
You are very welcome, joshdawg.eom sheshe2 Sep 2014 #46
K&R, thanks for posting. red dog 1 Sep 2014 #17
You are welcome! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #25
So Mitch thinks he can just filibuster those debates, too, huh? Major Hogwash Sep 2014 #19
I agree Major! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #21
As the Republican Minority Leader of the Senate, you would think Mitch would want MORE debates. Major Hogwash Sep 2014 #31
He looks especially turtley in that photo. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2014 #26
And now another vacation! oldandhappy Sep 2014 #27
McTurtle is probably thinking Jamaal510 Sep 2014 #28
Great pic of a furious turtle! Oh, wait, it's a furious chicken. merrily Sep 2014 #29
McConnell's got the lead. He's trying to run out the clock. BillZBubb Sep 2014 #30
... napkinz Sep 2014 #34
Actually, it's strategic. Savannahmann Sep 2014 #35
And this coward is minority "leader?" malthaussen Sep 2014 #36
Loosen up and come out of your shell, Mitchie world wide wally Sep 2014 #38
Mitch puts his head up his shell and hides.... Historic NY Sep 2014 #39
Y'all don't know how much I hate this man... ReRe Sep 2014 #40
I'm afraid that is unlikely, at best. Savannahmann Sep 2014 #53
It's a shame that the people in red states... ReRe Sep 2014 #55
I am ashamed that we hail from the same State. William769 Sep 2014 #41
It happens William. sheshe2 Sep 2014 #59
You can try to run away, but you cannot hide! blkmusclmachine Sep 2014 #42
He's already likely to win Dopers_Greed Sep 2014 #43
Agree - why open his mouth packman Sep 2014 #44
Turned? LynneSin Sep 2014 #47
PoliticsUSA titles are easy to spot Capt. Obvious Sep 2014 #48
The Democrats should buy an hour on all of the local TV stations and avebury Sep 2014 #49
Ha! sakabatou Sep 2014 #50
I hope she can use that against that parasite still_one Sep 2014 #51
Pull that damned wall-eyed owl turtle out of his shell. hifiguy Sep 2014 #52
There is no fear...this was the plan all along Scalded Nun Sep 2014 #54
So Sad Hearing That He's Polling Ahead! ChiciB1 Sep 2014 #56
I am waiting for the votes to be counted.... sheshe2 Sep 2014 #58
Hey, Same Thing Here In FL... ChiciB1 Sep 2014 #60
Historically, Democrats in Kentucky are like locusts.... kentuck Sep 2014 #61
Hello! sheshe2 Sep 2014 #62

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
1. Well I didn't know you meant that literally
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 03:45 PM
Sep 2014

He might need a special lamp to clear that up. I dunno if they make em big enough for adults though. Okay health concerns aside. He has a lot to fear. Grimes has no problem with connecting to Kentucky culture. In fact between the two of them she seems to be more Kentucky. Heck, I think if my family was in Kentucky and not Tennesee they would vote for her, they like guns and voting against the 1%, even if they are conservative on many issues.

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
4. That picture is awesome!
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 04:15 PM
Sep 2014


And Alison Lundergan Grimes kicking his ass and wiping the floor with him is just pleasure to watch.

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
8. Big Dawg loves to kick some ass
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 04:34 PM
Sep 2014

Elizabeth Warren loves to kick some ass. And Mitch McConnell as much as anyone needs his turtle ass kicked out of the Senate!

Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)
6. The Kochoptus Strategy: Buybthe media by buying ads by the boatload and con the idiot voters.
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 04:26 PM
Sep 2014

Not such a bad plain in Idiot Country inundated with Fox News and RW hate radio....to tell the truth Grimes needs to show more passion, more positivity, going negative yourself can not compete with an enslaved media and boatloads of can.

Go positive, embrace Obamacare, embrace green energy....unlikely voters are your target.

ChiciB1

(15,435 posts)
57. Hey, They're Working Over Time Here In Florida
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:38 PM
Sep 2014

Despite the fact that Tampa Tribune keeps running negative stories about Scott! Some older ones, but lots of new ones and he's still ahead of Crist!!

Heard something from an older guy on Thom Hartmann Show yesterday. He said "If money is speech, speech is no longer free!" How true!

Thinkingabout

(30,058 posts)
16. I think I would be afraid to debate her also. She can probably feel like
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 05:41 PM
Sep 2014

He just went through the meat grinder. If it should occur it would be one debate I would love to hear. In fact I had looked forward to the debate. If he is so Chicken Little why is he minority whip but then I understand why he control the likes of Ted Cruz.

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
22. Actually, I think that this was what kentuck was referring to...
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 06:04 PM
Sep 2014

not a debate, yet I believe it was one I watched before and she did indeed kick his ass.



Thinkingabout

red dog 1

(27,647 posts)
17. K&R, thanks for posting.
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 05:42 PM
Sep 2014

That photo IS awesome!

I, too, hope Grimes runs ads showing what a coward he is to not have even one more debate with her.

Major Hogwash

(17,656 posts)
19. So Mitch thinks he can just filibuster those debates, too, huh?
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 05:55 PM
Sep 2014

I don't think so!!!

The people want to hear what ol' Mitch has to say.
The people want to hear him stutter while he spews.

The people are the ones that count, not the Turtle Man!!!!!

Mark my words, this flabber-jammin', nevil-schreaming, fraktoching, sonovamitch has to go!!!!!!!

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
21. I agree Major!
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 05:59 PM
Sep 2014

He needs to get his @#$%^*( ass kicked out of the senate! And Alison is the kick ass Woman that may do just that!

She will change the face of Kentucky!

Major Hogwash

(17,656 posts)
31. As the Republican Minority Leader of the Senate, you would think Mitch would want MORE debates.
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 06:37 PM
Sep 2014

You know, to get his message out.
To prove, once and for all, that he and the other Senate Republicans have better plans to improve this country, and to prove that his political stances are better stances to have on those issues, rather than those stances that the Democrats have.

But, knowing full well how many times Mitch has shut down having the Senate debate on solving the problems in this country, or just threatened to shut down having those debates on solving those problems, by filibustering and filibustering, and even more filibustering . . .it really doesn't come as such a surprise that Mitch wouldn't want to talk about his record in the Senate as the minority leader of the GOP party.
Especially for the last 6 years.

Since that is all the Republican Senators have been doing for the last 6 years in the Senate . . . shutting down debates.
For the most part.

But, ducking political debates during election season won't help Mitch get re-elected.
People like to hear both sides on the issues before they choose to vote for their representatives in Congress.
By chickening out, and ducking political debates, all Mitch has done is prove that he isn't worth re-electing because Mitch can't even defend his own political stances in those debates!!

Mitch doesn't even have a backbone to defend himself.

Jamaal510

(10,893 posts)
28. McTurtle is probably thinking
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 06:18 PM
Sep 2014

that he doesn't need to have a debate since he's been leading and since KY is a red state. If he really was confident about his platform and really wanted to debate (instead of hiding in his turtle shell), you best believe that he would've surely found a time that works.

BillZBubb

(10,650 posts)
30. McConnell's got the lead. He's trying to run out the clock.
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 06:21 PM
Sep 2014

Avoiding debates is a practical political move for him. The question is whether the voters of Kentucky are smart enough to realize how much better Grimes would be for their state (and their country) than obstructionist, Koch-man McConnell.

 

Savannahmann

(3,891 posts)
35. Actually, it's strategic.
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 04:49 AM
Sep 2014
RCP has the race going solidly in McConnell's favor. A debate gains McConnell nothing. He can't win anything, but he can lose if something goes terribly wrong. So why risk it?

There are two times when a Politician will willingly debate their opponent. The first is when the race is very close, and they want the Debate to swing the undecided to their side. The second is when they are so far out in front that it can't hurt, so they do it for the press coverage, favorable most probably.

It's a strategic decision, if you're winning by a small margin, leave it alone, don't do anything to jeopardize the lead. These were the same things that Wendy Davis was saying, and my explanation then was the same. The race is the Rethugs to lose, and they're not going to do anything to risk it.

If anything, McConnell's refusal to debate demonstrates that he believes he's already won the election, and judging from the polling, he may not be far from the truth in that assumption.

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
40. Y'all don't know how much I hate this man...
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:06 AM
Sep 2014

... I'm going to break down and make a confession right here in public. I have a special son who graduated from EKU (Eastern Kentucky Univ.) a few yrs ago (located in Richmond, KY) When graduation approached, the Univ did not announce who the speaker was going to be. Very unusual, as they always announced them ahead of time. One time, they had Helen Thomas. Another college in the same county had Desmond TuTu. About a week before the graduation, they finally announced that the speaker was going to be none other than turtle himself, Sen Mitch McConnell. Thank God the graduation was a week away, because I cried for the next 3 days. I could not believe that this jerk was gong to speak at my son's college graduation. One quarter of the class did not attend the graduation in protest. Their chairs were there, but they weren't. (I was SO proud of those protesters!) And Mitch got up there and talked about his wonderful self. I swear to God. Like all those kids looked up to him! SOB. I got up and went roaming around the lobby & looked at trophies when he started in on his bio. Went back in when he was through. How repugnant. I was so disappointed in EKU.

So, you're damn right I'm rooting for Alison Lundergan-Grimes. I hope she comes up with a commercial knocking Mitch for this anti-NLRB bill he's putting forth. (We don't need to worry about it, because PO won't sign it.) She is hitting him with as many ads as he is hitting her with, and everyone in KY knows who she is. We've been voting her into the state gov for some time now. I hope to GOD that Kentuckians come to their senses and finally votes him out this year. Mitch needs a permanent vacation.

 

Savannahmann

(3,891 posts)
53. I'm afraid that is unlikely, at best.
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 02:45 PM
Sep 2014

Polling has it leaning rather strongly in McConnell's direct. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ky/kentucky_senate_mcconnell_vs_grimes-3485.html

It's close enough that a bad debate performance could hurt him, a good one wouldn't help him. So he won't debate. A strategic decision that most politicians make in similar circumstances. As an example, Diane Feinstein refused to debate her Republican Challenger, he trailed by double digits, and the debate could only hurt her, and help him. It's an old tactic, and one that the public seems to support by continuing to re-elect the incumbent in a vast majority of cases.

As I mentioned above, the only time that the candidates want to debate is when the race is too close to call. Otherwise, they stand to win nothing at the Debate, and why take a risk of losing the race in a bad performance?

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
55. It's a shame that the people in red states...
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:31 PM
Sep 2014

... have to go through elections, when the outcomes always seem to be preordained. It never keeps me away from the polls, though. I am a defiant citizen and will go spend my vote every time the polls are open, be it local, state or national elections. And everyone I know does the same. I don't know who all those people are that vote for that smug conceited pompous old man.

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
59. It happens William.
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:59 PM
Sep 2014

I am ashamed that Mitt Romney was elected Governor in Massachusetts. Holy Shite, we are Blue.

We did this! Mass! It was the first U.S. state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts became the sixth jurisdiction in the world (after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec) to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the first U.S. state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[1]


Background[edit]
In 1989, passing legislation first proposed in 1973, Massachusetts prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in credit, public and private employment, union practices, housing, and public accommodation.[2] In the decade that followed, political debate addressed same-sex relationships through two proxy issues: spousal benefits and parenting rights. Boston's City Council debated health insurance for the same-sex partners of city employees in May 1991[3] and Cambridge provided health benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees the following year.[4] In 1992, Governor Bill Weld issued an executive order providing limited benefits for the same-sex partners of approximately 3,000 management-level state employees, covering only leave for family sickness and bereavement, far short of the health benefits LGBT activists were seeking, but probably the first state-level recognition of same-sex relationships.[5] The Roman Catholic bishops of Massachusetts, replying in The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese, said that Weld's "domestic partners" decision harms the common good "by making a special interest group equal to the family" and confuses "civil rights and family benefits". They asked: "Why should special recognition and assistance be given to friends who happen to share the same house?"[6] Legislation to establish domestic partnerships that would carry spousal benefits was introduced annually in the state legislature without success. Its supporters focused on equal benefits and fairness rather than same-sex relationships themselves.[7] In 1998, when the legislature passed a home rule petition allowing Boston to create such a status, Governor Paul Cellucci vetoed it because it applied to different-sex couples, which he thought undermined marriage, while he offered to sign legislation that applied to same-sex couples only. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's attempt to extend health care benefits to city employees' domestic partners by executive order instead.[8] was successfully challenged by the Catholic Action League in court.[9]


The state had no explicit regulations with respect to foster care and parenting by gays and lesbians, either singly or in relationships, until, on May 24, 1985, the state Department of Social Services, with the approval of Governor Michael Dukakis, created a rule that foster children be placed in "traditional family settings".[10] In December 1986, a commission that reviewed the foster care system recommended that sexual orientation could not be used to disqualify foster parents.[11] As Dukakis delayed accepting that recommendations, advocates for gay and lesbian rights threatened protests against his presidential campaign.[12] The ban on gay foster parents was enacted into law in the 1989 budget.[13] After a lawsuit challenging the ban was settled out of court, the Dukakis administration withdrew the policy in April 1990.[14] In the 1990s, court decisions further expanded the parenting rights of gays and lesbians. In September 1993, the state's highest court ruled that state law allowed for second-parent adoption by a parent of the same sex as a biological parent.[15] In July 1999, the same court awarded visitation rights to each of two mothers after their separation.[16]


Same-sex marriage itself was rarely mentioned or addressed directly during these years. The Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights launched a campaign on behalf of marriage rights for same-sex couples in Massachusetts in 1991. Governor Bill Weld said he would be willing to meet with the group and said he was undecided on the question.[17] When asked about "gay marriage" while running to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate in 1994, Mitt Romney said: "it is not appropriate at this time".[18] In December 1996, considering the possibility of Hawaii legalizing same-sex marriage, Weld said that Massachusetts would recognize the validity of same-sex marriages licensed there. He called the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.[19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Massachusetts class="excerpt"]



I still haven't gotten over that one.

Dopers_Greed

(2,640 posts)
43. He's already likely to win
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:37 AM
Sep 2014

And he figures that the debate will hurt him more than help him. So his strategy is pretty obvious. Not saying he isn't a chickenshit hiding in his turtle shell though.

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
44. Agree - why open his mouth
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 12:01 PM
Sep 2014

and confirm to the listener what kind of a piece of crap he is. He'll probably win, but I'm hoping for a miracle.

avebury

(10,946 posts)
49. The Democrats should buy an hour on all of the local TV stations and
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 02:11 PM
Sep 2014

hold a debate with Ms. Grimes and a life size cut out of McConnell. Edit to add - They could also use video clips to show how McConnell would be bad for Kentucky.

They could also considering hiring someone with a chicke costume to show up at his public appearances (remember The West Wing?).

Scalded Nun

(1,231 posts)
54. There is no fear...this was the plan all along
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 03:28 PM
Sep 2014

He knows his base is a mass of ignorant fools. He is a male, white, conservative who will not threaten their poke. That pretty much ticks the boxes of these idiots.

Alison needs Bubba to show up about 3-4 days before the election. He may tip the scales.

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
58. I am waiting for the votes to be counted....
Fri Sep 19, 2014, 11:40 PM
Sep 2014

I am not believing any of the polls. Many are owned and paid for to suppress the vote.

I am not from Kentucky. Yet I stand with them.

ChiciB1

(15,435 posts)
60. Hey, Same Thing Here In FL...
Sat Sep 20, 2014, 12:03 AM
Sep 2014

No Senator running, but a very corrupt Governor Rick Scott! Approval is about 28%, but ahead in the polls. These are Florida polls, not national. Koch Brother money and many other contributors!

kentuck

(110,950 posts)
61. Historically, Democrats in Kentucky are like locusts....
Sat Sep 20, 2014, 12:33 AM
Sep 2014

They are a silent majority that stays underground for about 17 years and then they come out to vote. They are the actual majority in the state but they have to have a reason to vote. With Alison Grimes, they have a reason to vote. She will win the Senate seat in Kentucky and will keep the US Senate in Democratic hands.

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
62. Hello!
Sat Sep 20, 2014, 12:43 AM
Sep 2014

I agree with you kentuck! She is going to win and to hell with those that say it is the turtles lock.

Go Kentucky! Go Kentuck, I have your back,

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