Over at The Hill Alexander Bolton has an excellent piece about the tough fight Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is facing against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in his bid for reelection.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faces an enormous challenge in the coming months: defining his general election opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, without offending female voters.
The Senate minority leader in Tuesday’s primary is poised to trounce his opponent, businessman Matt Bevin, whose campaign struggled out of the gate. McConnell quickly pounced on Bevin, accusing him of inflating his resume and supporting government bailouts.
But going after Lundergan Grimes, who is unknown to a large chunk of Kentucky voters, won’t be as easy. Early attempts to paint the 35-year-old as not ready for prime time have backfired.
Democrats and women’s groups last year accused the National Republican Senatorial Committee of sexism when a GOP spokesman said that Lundergan Grimes was “incapable of articulating her own thoughts” and called her an “empty dress.”
Another McConnell ally, state Rep. Stan Lee (R), sparked an outcry last month when he called her “fat.”
“We’ve already seen their playbook on her. It’s to make a lot of misogynistic comments about she’s a woman and not all that smart, and she’s an empty dress,” said Justin Barasky, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “There’s really no cohesive message there that’s appealing to voters.”
As noted by a commenter who emailed me a link to the article I posted an excerpt from, the McConnell vs. Grimes battle emphasizes the old vs. the new, man vs woman, experienced politician vs. relative novice, conservative and/or TP vs. liberal, big money vs. little money, and Oligarchy vs. Republic.
And so far she is saying all the right things:
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/21/chauvinist_mcconnell_faces_new_kind_of_democrat_why_grimes_campaign_matters_so_much_for_women/
I hope you’re right, Zach. It might all depend on how well Alison can turn McConnell’s opposition to the ACA and a higher minimum wage against him. She’ll also have to fend off Benghazi hysteria.
“Anyone with a weak stomach and refined sensibilities should stay out of Kentucky for the next six months.”
So says E.J. Dionne in his piece yesterday, “Nuclear Winter in Kentucky politics,” on the epic battle to-come between GOP minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergran Grimes.
http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/column/ej_dionne/e-j-dionne-jr-nuclear-winter-in-kentucky-politics/article_9acadf3a-a5f3-5dcf-959b-52b301ebb570.html
May the best woman win!