In-depth profile of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in today’s Lexington Herald-Leader, a taste of what we have to look forward to if the GOP retains control of the Senate and if, as expected, McConnell becomes the new majority leader:
In the early 1970s, Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr., a young and intense Republican lawyer, strode into the political science class he taught at the University of Louisville.
He didn’t introduce himself to his students. He went straight to the chalkboard and scribbled.
“I am going to teach you the three things you need to build a political party,” he said, and backed away to reveal the words: “Money, money, money.”
. . .
“He’s completely dogged in his pursuit of money. That’s his great love, above everything else,” said Marshall Whitman, who watched McConnell as an aide to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and as a Christian Coalition lobbyist.
. . .
Some senators shy away from fund-raising duties because of ethical concerns. Top donors tell senators what they want from upcoming votes, and top donors get special treatment, said retired Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo. Their calls to Senate offices are returned first, Simpson said, and their wishes are a priority when action is taken.
“I didn’t enjoy it at all,” Simpson said. “I just felt uncomfortable.”
Yet McConnell never blinks, Simpson said.
“When he asked for money, his eyes would shine like diamonds,” Simpson said. “He obviously loved it.”
Not a flattering profile.
