FRANKFORT —
FRANKFORT – Some paid it little attention, but Mitch McConnell’s hiring of Ron and Rand Paul operative Jesse Benton to run his 2014 re-election campaign is significant.
Benton directed Rand Paul’s successful 2010 general election Senate race – he advised Paul’s primary campaign as well – and worked on Ron Paul’s presidential runs. Choosing Benton a full two years in advance of McConnell’s next campaign tells us several things.
Trey Grayson is now the head of the Institute of Politics at Harvard, but in 2010 he was McConnell’s hand-picked Senate candidate. Grayson said this week McConnell is firing an early shot across the bow of anyone thinking of challenging him in 2010, especially anyone from the right or the tea party.
McConnell already has $6 million in the bank for the race (last time he spent more than $20 million to defeat Bruce Lunsford). Putting Benton to work so early shows McConnell takes seriously the possibility of a challenge in 2014. It also shows his polling indicates the tea party is strong in Kentucky and is a force with which to be reckoned.
Phil Moffett, the tea party candidate who nearly upset David Williams in the 2011 Republican gubernatorial primary and who is managing Thomas Massie’s 4th District congressional campaign, said three separate polls in this year’s 4th District primary indicated 58 or 59 percent of the district’s Republicans self-identify as tea party Republicans.
“That taught me a lesson, and I assume McConnell’s people are polling and see the same kind of thing,” Moffett told me last month.
It is a lesson McConnell learned without the benefit of polling. In 2010 McConnell genuinely believed a Rand Paul win in the Republican primary guaranteed a Republican loss in the fall. That is the reason McConnell publicly endorsed Grayson. It wasn’t personal loyalty or philosophical allegiance. McConnell was as stunned as anyone by the Rand Paul phenomenon. It didn’t take him long to respond and adjust.
Beginning with an awkward “unity rally” he orchestrated the week after the primary vote, McConnell cozied up to Paul, offered his campaign (which included Benton) valuable advice in the general election and actively campaigned for Paul. Slowly but methodically, McConnell earned the trust of Paul and his staff.
When Paul got to the Senate and behaved as if he could single-handedly solve the country’s fiscal woes, if only the Democratic leadership would allow votes on his bills and amendments, McConnell – the Minority Leader – gave Paul room to operate. Any advice he offered his younger colleague was in private. In public, he didn’t try to restrain Paul. He also watched amazed as Paul became a darling of the national media – a “rock star” is how one McConnell operative puts it.
Paul and his camp responded. Their alliance seems real. It may be politically expedient for both, and it is, but their personal relationship appears genuine at the same time. Paul routinely praises McConnell as the man leading the charge to repeal “Obamacare,” the number one priority on the tea party wish list. McConnell calls Paul a national leader.
As Moffett observed at the time he pointed out the wisdom of McConnell’s responding to tea party sentiment, the alliance benefits Paul, too.
“You can’t win an election with just tea party and Ron Paul voters on a national basis,” Moffett said. “You’ve got to generate broader support, a broadened appeal.” And it’s clear Paul has national ambitions.
McConnell once famously said: “You have to be elected before you can be a statesman.” So while some are surprised by Benton’s hiring, they shouldn’t be.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/
cnhifrankfort.
Viewpoints
Related Photos
-
Ronnie Ellis
McConnell making preparations for re-election
- Viewpoints
-
-
Graduation Day
It is that time of year again.
Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the graduation ceremonies of a liberal arts college. Later, many in the audience told me they expected a very political speech. Some of them were relieved; others were disappointed. I don't do politics at graduation.
Graduation is about life.
My high school graduation was OK. I gave a speech. My family was there, intact, probably as happy as they ever were (But did I know?). We went out for Chinese food afterward. -
Coal problem worth tackling in Washington and Frankfort
Despite hysterical cries from radical environmentalists, neither Sen. Rand Paul’s Defense of Environment and Property Act nor Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Coal Jobs Protection Act would allow activities that bring harm to Kentucky’s wildlife or waterways for the sake of propping up the coal industry.
-
Peter Perlman — Life lessons from a lawyer’s lawyer
One of the great moments of my life was sitting next to legendary Louisville attorney Frank Haddad at a luncheon when he learned he had received the first Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Lawyer award from the Kentucky Academy of Trial Lawyers.
As they started his bio, the surprised Frank started crying like a baby. A sudden heart attack took him less than a year later. Winning the Perlman award was the crowning achievement of his career. -
Credit score insanity
Frequently, people stop me and ask me personal finance questions.
The most common is how to improve their credit history score.
If you need to improve your credit score, it means you have lousy credit. Before fixing the score, people need to ask how their credit got so bad to begin with. -
‘Tells’ about who will blow their money
Kentucky Derby week is one where gambling takes a forefront in my life. Along with the non-stop activities in my home state, I am speaking at a dinner for the Society of Settlement Professionals in Las Vegas and a film crew from Italy is flying in from Rome to interview me for a documentary about lottery winners.
-
Viewpoints change when critics gain power
Scandals like those roiling Washington often look more or less nefarious as time and facts unfold. After all, what at first looked like a third-rate burglary turned into Watergate.
I doubt the scandals around Benghazi, the IRS and subpoenas of Associated Press phone records reach Watergate status — but we must await more information and time to know. -
Trouble’s last ride
When announcing my retirement, I made reference to letting “Trouble” having one last ride.
-
Going from school to work requires preparation, faith
(Editor’s Note: After graduating from EKU on Saturday, Seth Littrell came to work Monday at the Richmond Register as a reporter/photographer.)
This past Saturday weekend I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with my bachelor’s in journalism.
It was the single goal I had been working toward for the past four years, and as I walked across that stage I realized I was the first person in my family to do so. -
Report on former EKU Center for the Arts director called 'biased, unfair'
I am writing in response to the Richmond Register’s May 3, 2013, article concerning the former Executive Director of the EKU Center for the Arts. The article I reference appeared on the front page of your newspaper with the headline “Sexual harassment, other offenses alleged in Hoskin’s records in 740 pages of documents.”
-
Recognizing those who provide care
How fitting it is that the beginning of National Nursing Home Week is Mother’s Day, May 12.
- More Viewpoints Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
