Discussion: Grimes Ad: McConnell Should Be 'Fired' For Skipping Committee Meetings

TPM Article Topics
1

Discussion for article #227286

2

That’s dumb. He’s the Minority Leader. He’s got leadership stuff to do. Reid and Pelosi don’t spend much time at committee meetings, either.

1 Like
3

Go get em ALG!!!

7 Likes
4

Two points here: Maybe, but 7%? That’s not nearly enough to even keep a handle on what’s happening in those meetings. If he can’t attend, he is allowed to give up the spot to someone who can.

Also, this is just another situation where he’s clearly doing absolutely nothing.

6 Likes
5

Lundergan Grimes is smart to spotlight McConnell’s lack of interest in his job.

Any Senator—especially one in a leadership position—who attends only 7% of his committee meetings is a prime target for this kind of ridicule.

7 Likes
6

Nice ad. Not a homerun, but a nice ad.

I love what she is doing. Mitch is anything but beloved in Kentucky. Mitch’s pitch has been he might not be loved, but he is an effective senator. Focusing on his job performance really hits at a big reason people would vote for Mitch.

6 Likes
7

Um…does the combination of “profound lack of knowledge” and “get her dad to pay for her campaign bus” within the same response sound a lot like ‘mansplaining’ to anyone else?

7 Likes
8

McConnell did take time to attend the Committee meeting to speak out against the Florida Turtle Tunnel

6 Likes
9

He has staff to sit in on those meetings and tell him what happened. And, hell, it’s not like any Republican has anything constructive to add to the legislative process in the Senate or like his vote in committee matters.

I hate this kind of attack, because it sets a candidate up the same attack six years later if she wins and discovers that she can’t attend every committee meeting either.

On the other hand, given that McConnell unseated Dee Huddleston by attacking him for missing votes and committee meetings with a once legendary, and devastatingly funny, ad showing an actor who resembled Huddleston from a distance running from bloodhounds ala “Cool Hand Luke” or any number of other prison break movies, there’s some instantish karma justice here.

4 Likes
10

Ooooh. Thirteen-feet long! We’ll go bankrupt protecting endangered species with such extravagance!

11

Great piece of history, Steve. I didn’t know that but am not surprised.

Aside from hoisted-on-his-own-petard thing, he walked into this attack by boasting that he serves Kentucky by serving on those committees. Can’t have it both ways. His own words give the attack credibility.

6 Likes
12

I’m not sure where she’s going with this. This is not the response I expected after McConnell linked her to Obama. If he continues that and she does not respond appropriately, she looses.

Maybe the next ad will address thst, but to me, this ad isn’t very strong

13

The irony is that this precisely the same attack McConnell used against Dee Huddleston to win his first trip to Washington. It may be dumb but it worked for McConnell. Nobody apparently paid attention to Huddleston’s nuanced response in deciding who to vote for, the same response you are offering McConnell

3 Likes
14

Yes, but staff can’t make any actual decisions. It does seem pretty karmic. It’s one thing to only make 75% or maybe 50%, but 7%? He’s getting a HUGE paycheck for doing absolutely nothing. It’s insane.

2 Likes
15

Serious question - Why would McConnell (or any other Republican for that matter) ever need to attend any committee meeting when they have already decided to vote NO! for everything?

3 Likes
16

“appointed the conferees who negotiated the farm bill” it was much easier for the lobbyists for the Corporate Farms to negotiate on their own behalf rather than act as a go between.

2 Likes
17

I guess that Kentucky is the wrong state for saying that you’re glad he only attended 7% of meetings because think of how much worse things would be if he had the energy to do more.

18

I would have to see how they calculated this, but if it is 7% of his assigned committees, have at him. Especially any that he touts as part of his work for KY. However, I think he and Reid are ex-officio members of all committees, so if you use that as a base measure, that skews things too much to be fair criticism.

19

Doesn’t take leadership to do nothing…

1 Like
20

McConnell …yes I did miss all those meeting but I had a very good reason my shell got stuck and I couldn’t stick my head out

1 Like