It’s certainly not getting any easier for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
The Senate Minority Leader is on defense on multiple fronts as he seeks re-election in 2014: a well-funded primary challenger in Matt Bevin, a well-connected Democratic opponent in Alison Lundergan Grimes, dismal poll numbers, a fractured caucus seeking deals with the White House and a campaign manager who embarassingly admitted he’s holding his nose for a possible presidential run from the state’s junior senator, Rand Paul.
On Friday, a leading tea party-aligned group previously associated with Jim DeMint announced they were planning a “statewide media campaign in Kentucky” to make McConnell “feel the heat” and support a conservative effort to defund Obamacare.
“Mitch McConnell is telling people he opposes Obamacare while he refuses to oppose its funding. We can’t let him have it both ways. If he funds it, he’s for it,” said Matt Hoskins, the executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund, in an email seeking funds for the campaign.
Despite fending off attacks for not going after Obamacare forcefully enough, McConnell echoed party leaders in the House and poured cold water over the tactic earlier this week.
In an interview published Wednesday, McConnell said that a “handful of things” in Obamacare “probably are OK,” which was quickly seized upon by his primary challenger.
“If Senator McConnell is not willing to act to end Obamacare, he needs to get out of the way,” Bevin said in a statement.
