Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell
United States Senator from Kentucky
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1985 Serving with Jim Bunning
Preceded by	Walter Huddleston
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2009)
22nd United States Senate Minority Leader
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Harry Reid
28th United States Senate Majority Whip
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Harry Reid
Succeeded by	Richard Durbin
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Elaine Chao
Profession	Lawyer

Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. (born February 20, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky. He was chosen by his Republican colleagues as the Minority Leader in November 2006, making him the top-ranking Republican in the 110th Congress, which convened in January 2007.

Early life and education

Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama to Julia Shockley and Addison Mitchell McConnell and raised in south Louisville, Kentucky, he attended duPont Manual High School and in 1964 graduated with honors from the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences, where he was student body president and member of Phi Kappa Tau. He graduated in 1967 from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association. McConnell served briefly in the United States Army Reserve during the Vietnam War-era but was discharged for unknown reasons.

The exact circumstances surrounding the discharge remain unknown because McConnell has always refused to discuss them; however, in August 1967, a letter was sent to the commanding general at Fort Knox (where McConnell was in boot camp) by former Senator John Sherman Cooper, for whom McConnell had previously worked as an intern. The letter stated that O'Connell was "anxious to clear post in order to enroll NYU. Please advise when final action can be expected." However, no record exists of McConnell ever enrolling - or even applying for admission - into New York University.

McConnell is a member of the Baptist Church. He married Elaine Chao, the current Secretary of Labor, in 1993, and has three grown daughters from his first marriage. McConnell's first wife worked as a librarian for a small college in the Northeast.

In 1992, McConnell teamed with the University of Louisville to create the McConnell Center.

Career prior to the Senate

In March 1967, during his final semester of law school, McConnell gained experience on Capitol Hill as an intern under Senator John Sherman Cooper, later as an assistant to Senator Marlow Cook, and was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald R. Ford. From 1978 until his election to the Senate, he was the Jefferson County Judge/Executive, the top political office in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville.

U.S. Senate

Initial election and subsequent re-elections

In 1984, McConnell ran against two-term Democratic Senator Dee Huddleston and won by a razor-thin margin — less than half a percentage point. The race wasn't decided until the last returns came in, and it appeared that McConnell won only because of Ronald Reagan's gigantic landslide in that year's presidential election (Reagan won Kentucky by 21 percentage points). Part of McConnell's success came from a series of television campaign spots called "Where's Dee", which featured a group of bloodhounds trying to find Huddleston, implying that Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate was less than stellar. His campaign bumper stickers and television ads asked voters to "Switch to Mitch". Despite the wide perception that 1984 was a disaster for Democrats, McConnell was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democratic senator that year.

In 1990, McConnell faced a tough reelection contest against former Louisville mayor Harvey I. Sloane, winning by only 4.5 points. He had a slightly easier time in 1996, even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the state. In 1996, Democrat Steve Beshear was unable to get McConnell to debate him. Bumper stickers were produced that read, "Ditch Mitch." McConnell's television ads warned voters to not "Get Besheared" and included images of sheep being sheared. In 2002, he was reelected with the largest majority by a Republican candidate in Kentucky history.

Republican leadership

McConnell was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. In both, Republicans maintained control of the Senate. McConnell was first elected as Majority Whip in the 108th Congress, and unanimously re-elected by Republicans in the Senate on November 17, 2004. Sen. Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, did not seek re-election in the 2006 elections. After Republicans lost control of the Senate in November 2006, they elected McConnell to replace Frist as Republican Leader.

Committees

McConnell currently serves as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. He is ranking member of the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and Related Programs, a key foreign policy perch, which he has used to continue support for the Bush administration's foreign policies. He is also a senior member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Rules and Administration Committees.

Political actions and positions

McConnell is a staunch conservative and a master of procedure, but no piece of landmark legislation bears his name. He is widely considered a "kingmaker" in Kentucky Republican politics.

Although he is an ardent conservative, he has distanced himself from the vast majority in his party by opposing the Flag Desecration Amendment, calling it a free speech issue. In keeping with his support of free speech, McConnell has expressed strong opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, which he believes would adversely affect talk radio in the United States.

Perhaps the only issue on which McConnell has a national profile is campaign finance reform, where he's known for having fought it at every turn. He spearheaded the movement against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (commonly known as the "McCain-Feingold bill"), calling it "neither fair, nor balanced, nor constitutional." His opposition to the bill culminated in the 2003 Supreme Court case McConnell v. Federal Election Commission.

McConnell remains one of the strongest supporters of the American invasion of Iraq, which he considers a central part of the "War on Terrorism". He holds the view that the violence in Iraq is perpetrated primarily by al-Qaeda and other international jihadists, who would otherwise be engaged in terrorist actions within the United States. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on January 10, 2007 (after President Bush's announcement of an escalation in troop levels in Iraq), McConnell claimed that the war in Iraq was a "success" because it had prevented terrorist attacks in the U.S. since the September 11, 2001 attacks. He warned that if the United States withdrew from Iraq, "the terrorists would come after us where we live."

In 1996, Senator McConnell demanded that President Clinton allow White House aides to testify under oath. On April 1, 2007, Chris Wallace claimed that McConnell's stance on Karl Rove and Harriet Miers testifying under oath in relation to the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy was contradictory. Wallace asked, "In 1996, you were saying those White House aides should testify in open hearing. These were White House aides of Bill Clinton, in open hearing under oath. Why shouldn't the same rules apply for the Bush White House and people like Karl Rove?" McConnell replied, "And what I’m telling you is the president's going to make that decision."

Fundraising, contributors and influence

In October 2006, the Lexington Herald Leader published a series of articles based on a six-month examination of McConnell's fundraising. The paper reported that McConnell had raised nearly $220 million during his Senate career. Most of the money went to the campaigns of his GOP colleagues; in return, the paper said, those colleagues "have rewarded him with power." "He's completely dogged in his pursuit of money. That's his great love, above everything else," said Marshall Wittmann, a former aide to Senator John McCain and a Christian Coalition lobbyist in Washington.

The paper found a significant correlation between McConnell's actions and his donors' agendas. He supported government action to help cigarette makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders, coal mine owners, and others who gave large amounts of money. McConnell has responded that he never allows money to influence him.

War in Iraq

Sen. McConnell has been an advocate of the War in Iraq and an ardent supporter of President George W. Bush and his policies. However, after his party lost control of Congress in the 2006 election, McConnell started to change his mind.

Regarding the failure of the Iraqi government to make reforms, McConnell said the following on Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: "The Iraqi government is a huge disappointment. Republicans overwhelmingly feel disappointed about the Iraqi government. I read just this week that a significant number of the Iraqi parliament want to vote to ask us to leave. I want to assure you, Wolf, if they vote to ask us to leave, we'll be glad to comply with their request."

On the June 17, 2007 edition of CBS News' Face the Nation, McConnell said: "Most members of my conference in the Senate believe [that September will be] the critical point to evaluate where we are ... I think everybody anticipates that there's going to be a new strategy in the fall. I find growing support in the Senate among Republicans, and for that matter, some Democrats as well, for the recommendations of the [Baker-Hamilton] Iraq Study Group"

On July 9, 2007, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky at Fort Campbell speaking to a contingent of troops about to ship out for a 15-month deployment to Iraq, McConnell said: "The majority of the public has decided the Iraq effort is not worth it," he said. "That puts a lot of pressure on Congress to act because public opinion in a democracy is not irrelevant."

Re-election 2008

Main article: Kentucky United States Senate election, 2008

McConnell has announced he will seek re-election in 2008. He may face a Republican challenge in his re-election bid. Allies of Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher are backing a campaign to draft Larry Forgy, a former candidate for the state Supreme Court who lost a primary for governor in 1991 and lost a close race for governor in 1995. On May 24, 2007, Fletcher won the Republican nomination for a second term as governor. Fletcher lost his bid for a second term on November 6, 2007.

As of October 2007, 45% approve of McConnell and 43% disapprove. As of July 2007, McConnell's campaign had raised $6 million for the election.

References

Governor Ernie Fletcher lost his second term bid to Democratic canidate Steve Behear on November 6th 2007.

External links

• United States Senator Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate site
• Mitch McConnell For U.S. Senate, Campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• New York Times — Mitch McConnell News collected news and commentary
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mitch McConnell profile
• "The McConnell Machine", Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader six-month investigation into finances of Sen. Mitch McConnell

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