Mitch McConnell: Godfather of Green?

Tip of the Hat to Bluegrass Roots for this one. It seems Sen. Mitch "Obstructionist-in-Chief" McConnell(R-KY), otherwise known as the shame of the Kentucky Commonwealth, has released a new reelection campaign commercial claiming to be a major environmentalist, the "Godfather of Green." Uh-huh. And Tom Delay is a champion of ethics reform, Ron Paul is a big government socialist, and Dennis Kucinich is a warmonger. Umm, Mitch? How shall I put this, Bubba? Have you been sampling Kentucky's biggest extra-legal export crop??? Or do you think Kentucky voters have? (Okay, some probably have.) Mitch, Mitch, Mitch. Look, there's spin--and then there's LYING, and then there's just pure bulls**t!

The DSCC outlines the truth about "Green McConnell":

McConnell is Right: He is the Godfather of Green
McConnell Earns Name for Taking Oil Company Cash and Giving them Big Tax Breaks

Mitch McConnell, who earned a grade of 0% from the League of Conservation Voters for his record of voting against the environment in the last four years, launched a new television ad today touting himself as the “Godfather of Green.” McConnell’s ad is the latest in series that has cost the Kentucky Republican $700,000 since November as he tries to shore up sagging poll numbers and counter a series of missteps that have earned him widespread negative press coverage at home.

“We’ve finally found something we can agree with Mitch McConnell on,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “He is the Godfather of Green when it comes to taking campaign cash from big oil companies and then voting to give them big tax breaks. Mitch McConnell has one of the worst environmental records in Congress, and even his own hometown paper has slammed him for obstructing legislation to support clean energy and make the oil companies pay their fair share. It’s no wonder that McConnell has been forced to run hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads to boost his sagging poll numbers ten months before Election Day.”

• The Oil & Gas industry has contributed $540,911 to Mitch McConnell over his career. [Center for Responsive Politics, 12/22/07]
• McConnell Helped Protect $5 Billion Big Oil Tax Windfall. Tax loopholes that saved the oil industry $5 billion were removed from the original Senate version of the GOP tax reconciliation bill in February 2006, but after heavy lobbying by the industry, Congressional negotiators reinserted them into the final bill. The $5 billion tax break for big-oil could have been used instead to partially offset the increase in middle class taxes. Mitch McConnell voted for the final tax bill with the big-oil tax breaks. [Republican Policy Committee, 2/7/06; Washington Post, 4/26/06; Joint Tax Committee, 5/9/06; Vote 118, 5/11/06]
• Editorial: McConnell Brought GOP Senate and Bush White House Together On Behalf of Oil Companies. “In an oily speech on the floor after passage of a weakened energy bill, Kentucky's Mitch McConnell described what happened this way: ‘We recognized here in the Senate that the House bill couldn't pass the Senate and wouldn't be signed into law. So we fixed it. And now it will.’ He unctuously thanked colleagues for their hard work. He slathered on the praise, claiming, ‘I'm extremely pleased that we're about to show the American people we still have it in us to come together as a body and achieve consensus on an issue that affects all of us.’ Actually it's the Republican Senate he controls and the White House he cultivates that came together -- on behalf of the oil industry and the utility interests, by blocking the restoration of $13 billion in taxes on fabulous petroleum profits and shielding the power companies from a requirement to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable resources. …But the real winners were the lobbyists for big Republican campaign givers, who succeeded in blocking the restoration of billions in taxes on the big oil companies, which are squeezing American consumers for more than $100 billion per year in profits, thanks to huge price hikes at the pump. Had that tax provision survived, the proceeds would have financed clean energy development. Also falling before the pressure of lobbyists was a requirement that utilities produce 15 percent of their electricity by wind, solar and other renewable means by 2020. This was a huge victory for the operators of dirty coal-fired plants in the Midwest and South. This is what Mitch McConnell and George W. Bush did for Big Energy, and did to the rest of us. As long as Sen. McConnell can block action on future-friendly legislation by denying the Democrats 60-vote margins, this obstructionism will continue. …Sen. McConnell and President Bush are yesterday's heroes, not tomorrow's champions.” [Courier Journal, Editorial, 12/21/07]

Fellow Kentuckians! If, like me, you'd rather have a senator who is environmentally green than one who is "green" with oil money, then it is time to Ditch Mitch!

And, even though it now appears Kentucky Democrats will have a Senate primary race this year, I remain persuaded that the best way to Ditch Mitch is to contribute to, volunteer for, support and vote for Andrew Horne for U.S. Senate! Horne is the candidate who can defeat McConnell and give us a Kentucky senator with integrity again.