Mitch McConnell has gone full blown chicken. He is so afraid of debating Alison Lundergan Grimes that he is refusing to acknowledge offers to debate the Democrat.
Audio of Grimes on Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR):
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Grimes accepted the invitation to debate McConnell and said, “I look forward to debating Mitch McConnell here and at many, numerous
other locations across Kentucky.”
KSR posted that they had an invitation out to the McConnell campaign, “Our Secretary of State stopped by the Louisville studio to talk to KSR about her upcoming Senate race with Mitch McConnell. We have an invitation out to McConnell to come on the show as well, and if he doesn’t accept, Grimes will win the KSR vote.”
Today, Kentucky Sports Radio said that McConnell had agreed to come on the show then stopped returning their calls and emails, “Don’t tell me you’re going to come, and then not come. Why do people have to lie? … They don’t return my calls and emails.”
This is normal behavior for Sen. McConnell. In June, McConnell refused to respond to a debate invitation from The Beattyville Enterprise, “The Enterprise has twice sent email requests for McConnell to appear in Beattyville for a debate, but no response has yet been received.”
Twelve days ago, Sen. McConnell accepted a debate invitation from The Appalachian News-Express but quickly backed out because he was going to be on a bus tour of Kentucky during ALL of the potential dates.
The evidence is clear. Mitch McConnell is afraid to debate Alison Lundergan Grimes. He has turned down debate invitations from media and organizations across the state of Kentucky. It looks like Kentucky voters will only get one chance to see the two candidates debate. The only debate in the Kentucky Senate race is scheduled for October 13.
McConnell doesn’t want to share the stage with a younger candidate with a vision for the state. The incumbent is trying everything to avoid giving Kentucky voters a real choice. The McConnell strategy is to dodge and avoid while hoping that the carpet bombing of Koch ads will be enough to carry him to victory. Voters deserve a choice. They deserve to see the candidates side by side on the same stage. Mitch McConnell is trying hold off time and progress. Sen. McConnell doesn’t want Kentucky to notice that he has become the opponent of our democratic institutions.
The McConnell campaign thinks that they are outsmarting the voters, but to the people of Kentucky, Mitch McConnell looks like a chicken who is running away from a fight.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
