The Hill is a great DC newsmagazine and they've got a good article on Kentucky's own political machine, Mitch McConnell. McConnell got elected back in 1984 with a brilliant commercial against then Democratic senator, Walter "Dee" Huddleston. The commercial was viscious and comical at the same time and it got him in the door. He's been climbing ever since. It looks like he's continuing to climb as well:

Mitch McConnell is waiting patiently in the Senate’s wings, but he will soon be standing in the spotlight — a fact not lost on lawmakers, lobbyists and aides.

As fastidious in appearance and command of legislative details as he is in accumulating political capital, the Kentucky senator has been widely considered the heir to the Republican leader’s post since 2003, when self-term-limited Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) took the helm and McConnell settled into the No. 2 job of whip.

[...]

“There are definitely people out there who have woken up and realized that Mitch McConnell is going to be the next leader of the U.S. Senate,” one member of McConnell’s inner circle said.

[...]

“His good friend, Senator Frist, is the majority leader, and he is doing a great job at it,” McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer said in a statement. “Senator McConnell’s main focus right now is to be the best whip possible to enact our agenda.”

Those who have worked with McConnell describe him as measured, loyal and politically astute. Those traits helped him when Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) was deposed as Republican leader in late 2002 after praising then-Sen. Strom Thurmond’s (R-S.C.) 1948 segregationist presidential campaign. Other Republican senators, including then-Whip Don Nickles (Okla.), publicly jockeyed for position. McConnell’s loyalty to Lott was rewarded when his colleagues promoted him to the whip job after all the dust had settled.

Response

For Democrats thinking that control of Frankfort is only a matter of time, be aware. McConnell is patient, thorough and deadly. He may have left Fletcher to his own devices, but it's not over by a long shot. He's concentrating on taking control of the state House, just like they have control of the senate and while some politicians implode, it's men like McConnell who should scare you. They set quietly in the wings, waiting for the opportunity to run the pride and that lion will be there soon enough.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:50 PM
 
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