# McConnell vs. McGrath for Kentucky Senate seat! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 9, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773 "2019-07-09T15:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/41 "2019-07-10T17:43:36Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > But more to the point, Shodan, do you think this entire nit-picking debate means anything to anyone who won’t vote for a nigger? This is a warning for hate speech. I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make by casually using hate speech, but it is not acceptable on any forum on this board. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/42 "2019-07-10T18:09:39Z")
I like the way Nate Silver put it on Twitter. > [@@NateSilver238](#): > > I think McGrath has a shot. > > McConnell has the worst approval ratings in the country. He will probably win on the basis of partisanship, especially with Trump turnout. But it’s not a foregone conclusion and his status as party leader could give him problems that a “generic” Republican might not have. > > It’s gonna be one of those races where the polling could show a close race, but the fundamentals strongly favor McConnell and McConnell probably wins. But if you’re not providing for, say, a 15-20% chance of McGrath winning, your mental and/or statistical model is overconfident. Not impossible, but definitely an uphill climb. I think McConnell has it in him to do something in the coming months to actually alienate some of his voters, and/or some of his own party’s Senators. My bet would be on refusing to censure or to even contemplate impeachment hearings for some truly egregious action on the part of Trump (I mean, even more egregious than we’ve already seen). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/43 "2019-07-10T18:28:46Z")
I think that’s Nate letting his inner pundit out. He’s saying 15-20% minimum with no polling? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/44 "2019-07-10T21:05:23Z")
McConnell could lose if women say he was chasing them at malls when they were 15. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/45 "2019-07-10T21:39:49Z")
The one thing that would keep me awake at night if I were Mitch or any Republican for that matter is the current Obamacare lawsuit, which is gaining traction and could be deemed unconstitutional, null, and void…just in time for the campaign season. Kicking people off of their insurance programs and angering the healthcare lobby - that could be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/46 "2019-07-10T22:08:54Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Mitch McConnell will retire undefeated. He is unbeatable. > [@bobot](#): > > That is probably true, but it’s no reason not to try. > [@epbrown01](#): > > This. I’ll happily keep working to get rid of the SOB, myself. I have a dream of KY catching up with the rest of the world… > [@CarnalK](#): > > “No chance in hell” is probably in the top 3 of reasons not to try something, lol. > > … I like your fightn’ spirit! And salute all of the zero things that never got accomplished with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/47 "2019-07-10T22:22:34Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > This is a warning for hate speech. I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make by casually using hate speech, but it is not acceptable on any forum on this board. > > [/moderating] I accept this warning, but I won’t apologize for using the word. And I certainly didn’t use it casually. I wanted to make a point, and I used the bluntest tool in my vocabulary to make it. This entire sophistry over whether Obama is “African-American” or “African American” is a Republican smear intended to a) challenge Obama’s citizenship, and b) attempt to convince the black community that Obama wasn’t really one of them. [Keyes tried it in 2004](https://books.google.com/books?id=ljI9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113#v=onepage&q&f=false), and ended up [getting 4% of the black vote, compared to Obama’s 96%.](https://www.politico.com/story/2008/11/exit-polls-how-obama-won-015297) Keyes tried to pull it out again when he ran for President in 2008. Keyes’ campaign nevr got off the ground, but Republican dirty tricksters again pulled out the line to try to split the black vote. Now Mitch McConnell decided to pull that same trick. I can guarantee it will be used against Kamala Harris if she starts gaining ground. And just for the record, I don’t think white people (and I am a white person) have any business telling black people who is “African American” and who is “African-American.” At least Alan Keyes had standing to make the charge. The word I chose to use is a vulgar, ugly word. I can’t remember using it in a joke or anything other than quoting someone since I was in about 6th grade. But I used it deliberately. I sincerely hope I never feel the need to use it again on this Board, or in any other context. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/48 "2019-07-10T23:42:17Z")
Whatever, dude. Everyone knew you were a white guy using the word for its splashy effect. No one’s impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/49 "2019-07-11T18:04:03Z")
It looks like Amy McGrath is gonna have a little help in this contest: > [@Forget Trump: Impeach Mitch McConnell](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-trump-impeach-mitch-mcconnell/834833/224): > > “Democrats make McConnell Public Enemy No. 1 in bid to take back Senate” > [https://wapo.st/32haYq5](https://wapo.st/32haYq5) > > > [@](#): > > > > … > > “The majority leader has extraordinary power and is the primary obstacle to getting things done here in the U.S. Senate,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in an interview Tuesday. “He is also the face of acquiescence to Trump and the Republicans’ lack of a spine. The most effective arguments are often about a personality, a personal face and a story, and this story has the great virtue of being true.” > > > > The latest critiques reflect a growing movement within Democratic ranks to make the 2020 election cycle not just a referendum on Trump, but also a purging of McConnell and entrenched Republicans who have given conservatives immense sway over policy and judicial vacancies while enabling Trump’s priorities, from hard-line immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border to sweeping deregulation. > > … > > Yeah, baby! Bring down the puppet master! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/50 "2019-07-12T17:36:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It looks like Amy McGrath is gonna have a little help in this contest: That appears rather badly to conflict with a previous alleged strategy - > [@](#): > > …McGrath said her campaign strategy will be to show Kentuckians that McConnell is a barrier to their ability to “drain the swamp,” a key reason why the red state voted for Trump. > > “Trump promised to bring back jobs,” she said. “He promised to lower drug prices for so many Kentuckians. That’s so important. Who stops him along the way? Mitch McConnell.”… She wants to stop McConnell from blocking Trump, because Trump is popular, and also get rid of Trump, who is popular. I don’t think that will help very much. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/51 "2019-07-12T18:06:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That appears rather badly to conflict with a previous alleged strategy - She wants to stop McConnell from blocking Trump, because Trump is popular, and also get rid of Trump, who is popular. > > I don’t think that will help very much. > > Regards, > Shodan That quote Snowboarder gave isn’t from her campaign, it’s from some other Senator who I don’t believe is even up for reelection next year. It’s rather doubtful that a candidate in Kentucky is going to follow the Connecticut Senator’s playbook. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/52 "2019-07-24T02:16:16Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > I like the way Nate Silver put it on Twitter. > > Not impossible, but definitely an uphill climb. I think McConnell has it in him to do something in the coming months to actually alienate some of his voters, and/or some of his own party’s Senators. My bet would be on refusing to censure or to even contemplate impeachment hearings for some truly egregious action on the part of Trump (I mean, even more egregious than we’ve already seen). The only way to beat McConnell is with someone authentic and the Democrats keep on recruiting fake moderates who everyone knows will vote with the leadership when it really counts. McConnell is a unique beast: a bwahahaha evil politician who brags about it and gets a twinkle in his eye when called on his bullshit. Voters find that more attractive than an “aw shucks” fake moderate who is actually a liberal and won’t be truthful about whether they’ll back Kentucky voters or Chuck Schumer when push comes to shove. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/53 "2019-07-24T02:31:58Z")
I have wandered away to check Sen. Turtle’s polling numbers in Kentucky. As you may now, I lean somewhat left of center, and perhaps am biased in my reading. Maybe these numbers are not as dismal and dark as I see them, due to my skewed observance. Therefore, I invite you to peruse them as well, and show me the error of my observations. I could be wrong, his favorability may be better than painful rectal itch. I wait with bated breath. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/54 "2019-07-24T02:33:41Z")
You could have linked to something, **'luci** ; would have been darn right decent of ya. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/55 "2019-07-24T02:58:58Z")
Did not intend to poison the well by picking out examples, but to encourage a consult with the Googlemonster. Which is what I did, “McConnell polling in Kentucky” I saw what I saw, and reported in the largest context. Joe Bob 'luc says “Check it out!” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/56 "2019-07-24T03:02:49Z")
Pass. If you want to discuss something, give us something to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/57 "2019-07-24T03:28:40Z")
I don’t mind doing the work, and I found that indeed, Mitch McConnell is enjoying Jacque Chirac levels of popularity. But you still have to beat him with something real. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/58 "2019-07-24T15:09:23Z")
News flash, **adaher** : “actually supports the people” is what “liberal” means. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/59 "2019-08-01T17:48:11Z")
[Kentucky Democrats say “Just Say Nyet! to Moscow Mitch”](https://store.kydemocrats.org/defeat-mitch/)! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773/60 "2019-08-02T00:19:36Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And just for the record, I don’t think white people (and I am a white person) have any business… …using the n-word? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcconnell-vs-mcgrath-for-kentucky-senate-seat/836773.md?page=4)