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You are here: Home / Politics / So, In Other Words, It Was Going to be a Normal Political Campaign

So, In Other Words, It Was Going to be a Normal Political Campaign

by John Cole|  April 9, 20132:08 pm| 34 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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These shocking revelations aren’t that shocking, really:

On February 2, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate, opened up his 2014 reelection campaign headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, and in front of several dozen supporters vowed to “point out” the weaknesses of any opponent fielded by the Democrats. “They want to fight? We’re ready,” he declared. McConnell was serious: Later that day, he was huddling with aides in a private meeting to discuss how to attack his possible Democratic foes, including actor/activist Ashley Judd, who was then contemplating challenging the minority leader. During this strategy session—a recording of which was obtained by Mother Jones—McConnell and his aides considered assaulting Judd for her past struggles with depression and for her religious views.

Thomas Eagleton called and said hello, Mr. Corn.

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Reader Interactions

34Comments

  1. 1.

    Trollhattan

    April 9, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    Turtle is a snapping turtle. A’yep. Thank you Kentucky, may we have another? Oh, right, you did that already. Bastards.

    In other things senatorial, Feinstein announces possible deal between growers and farmworkers wrt immigration.

    http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/09/5328241/senator-tentative-deal-on-immigration.html

  2. 2.

    Kyle

    April 9, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    …in front of several dozen supporters vowed to “point out” the weaknesses of any opponent fielded by the Democrats.

    “My opponent has a chin. Chins are unAmerican”

  3. 3.

    piratedan

    April 9, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    love the fact that Turtle is crying foul that someone illegally taped his meeting. Geez Mitch, you think it might have anything to do with you being ethically challenged?

  4. 4.

    Violet

    April 9, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    Secretly taping candidates is going to be the new thing, isn’t it?

  5. 5.

    Davis X. Machina

    April 9, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    @Violet: I believe the preferred formulation is ‘There’s no reason to be worried if you’ve got nothing to hide.’ Hell, there’s probably video of McConnell saying it somewhere.

  6. 6.

    Valdivia

    April 9, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    @Violet:

    I think that the big thing here is that the McConell people accused MJ of bugging their offices but from the sound of the tape it seems to me it was someone who attended the meeting who taped it.

    Also: I left you a response on the immigration thread. I will make sure I check this week to give you guys a full report.

  7. 7.

    Quaker in a Basement

    April 9, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    AIIIIEEEE! It’s just like Watergate all over again! ahOOOGA!

  8. 8.

    Mike G

    April 9, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    Psst, nobody look too closely at the circumstances under which Turtle departed the US Army.
    Glass houses, rocks, etc.

  9. 9.

    CorbinDallasMultipass

    April 9, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    I’m sure he felt she was still mentally stable enough to own a gun.

  10. 10.

    catclub

    April 9, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    @Mike G: Details? Link?

  11. 11.

    CorbinDallasMultipass

    April 9, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    I’m just curious, would the context of a campaign make this more tolerable to the public? That is – does this make more of an impact since it almost seems like she’s not running and so it’s sort of this defenseless attack, even though they never actually publicly said any of this stuff or intended to? Whereas, if this were a campaign, maybe it would be seen as dirty but part of the game. Also, it would have been attributed to PACs or other surrogates and not directly to Senator McConnell?

  12. 12.

    piratedan

    April 9, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    OT: for our blog host, cruel but funny…..

    http://cheezburger.com/7273206016

  13. 13.

    Redshirt

    April 9, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    Gosh, I hope Fox News covers this important matter closely! And as always, objectively!

  14. 14.

    Ben Cisco

    April 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    @Violet: It is a dilemma, to be sure. If only there was an organization dedicated to, oh, let’s call it, reporting, or perhaps journalism, or maybe The Association for the Preservation of NOT Suckling Neo-Confederate Ballz.

    That would be AWESOME.

  15. 15.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    April 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    Let’s see just how much snap this turtle has.

  16. 16.

    Ed in NJ

    April 9, 2013 at 2:33 pm

    I’m guessing David Corn’s countertops are due for a thorough examination right about now.

  17. 17.

    patroclus

    April 9, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    The “this is Watergate – let’s call the FBI” reaction is a Karl Rove classic. That’s more or less what he did to Mark White in a Texas campaign a couple of decades ago. McConnell and his goons are apparently cut from the same cloth and will viciously attack, while at the same time playing the victim, any citizen who dares to challenge him in a democratic election. Since the advent of Atwater and Rove, this is standard operating procedure for Republicans and we shouldn’t expect anything different.

    Meanwhile, there are real victims from the Newtown tragedy who won’t even get a democratic vote by their representatives if McConnell has his way by filibustering anything and everything.

  18. 18.

    RaflW

    April 9, 2013 at 2:40 pm

    I just donated 25 bucks to the MJ investigative reporting fund. After all, if a RW org gets attacked via leaked news of a likely bogus investigation (hint to McConnel: one of your staffers had this newfangled thing called a smartphone. It can record things), they’d all fork over cash.

    You could do it too!

  19. 19.

    Alex

    April 9, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    McConnell has been able to elevate this meh non-story into a huge scandal exactly as big as Watergate. Well, he says it is one. And it’s kind of funny watching the conservative media apparatus fall in line.

  20. 20.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    April 9, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    @Alex:

    And it’s kind of funny all too predictable watching the conservative media apparatus fall in line.

    Fixed.

  21. 21.

    Face

    April 9, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    The place wuz bugged! By nobody using a nothingburger, so IMPEACH OBUMMER!

    Seriously, here come the impeachment calls….

  22. 22.

    Davis X. Machina

    April 9, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    If Breitbart had done it….?

  23. 23.

    danimal

    April 9, 2013 at 2:55 pm

    @Davis X. Machina: I’m shocked they haven’t blamed the leak on ACORN. Give it time.

  24. 24.

    C.J.

    April 9, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    @Davis X. Machina:

    It wouldn’t be wiretapping, it’d be freedom listening.

  25. 25.

    ricky

    April 9, 2013 at 2:58 pm

    Yes, Talking Point Memo is describing Corn publishing a tape handed to him by someone as “a blockbuster report.”

    The tape reveals the shocking news that a campaign staff and candidate discussed possible opponents and what they were able to uncover about them which might be useful in a campaign.

    Heaven forbid we have fallen to such in America. And to think they were actually stooping to discuss things Judd had said in public, on tape, and even secretly written about herself in her diary/autobiography.

    How could they!

    The feigned outrage on all sides makes me want to blush.

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    April 9, 2013 at 2:59 pm

    David Corn rocks

  27. 27.

    Tone in DC

    April 9, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    Karl Rove, Reince P., Oven Mitt, Ed Gillespie and every other hack from the GOP: HOW DARE YOU TAKE NOTE OF WHAT I ACTUALLY SAID!!

  28. 28.

    muddy

    April 9, 2013 at 3:06 pm

    @Tone in DC: I had a husband like that once.

  29. 29.

    askew

    April 9, 2013 at 3:06 pm

    @Valdivia:

    I think that the big thing here is that the McConell people accused MJ of bugging their offices but from the sound of the tape it seems to me it was someone who attended the meeting who taped it.

    I agree that it was probably someone attending the meeting. Maybe Mitch’s employees hate him as much as his constituents.

  30. 30.

    ricky

    April 9, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    @rikyrah:

    I don’t know if Corn rocks. But it is evident he can hit the “play” button on some sort of audio equipment if somebody provides him with a recording. And his mastery of
    an English language keyboard is functional if not legendary.

  31. 31.

    Cris (without an H)

    April 9, 2013 at 4:01 pm

    Curse Ashley Judd for deciding not to run. She had McConnell’s team shitting their pants this badly without even campaigning.

  32. 32.

    Ash Can

    April 9, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    Of course McConnell et al. were going to go after Judd’s personal background. It’s what political campaigns do, on — dare I say it — both sides. They weren’t discussing going after her friends or family members, just her, so that much of the story really isn’t a big deal. What’s fun about this story is that it was evidently an inside job — someone in McConnell’s camp ratted him out. And he and his cohorts are flipping their shit over it. That’s what cracks me up about this story.

    Don’t want to be outed as an asshole? Don’t be one.

  33. 33.

    Mike Jones

    April 9, 2013 at 10:47 pm

    I don’t have any delusions that there aren’t people on both sides of the aisle who do this sort of thing. I also don’t have any delusions that everybody on either side does it. There are assholes on both sides. They deserve to be shamed, and shunned. Let’s start here.

  34. 34.

    xian

    April 10, 2013 at 9:38 am

    @ricky: well he lacks your epic blog-commenting ninja skills, sure.

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