A Politician’s Life
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, started his thirty-fourth year as a Republican in the United States Senate last January. Before that, he spent eight years as the Judge (Chief Executive) of Jefferson County, Louisville, Kentucky.
He started as an intern for Republican Senator Cooper of Kentucky at twenty-two, followed by law school, a very brief few weeks in the Army Reserve (medical discharge for optic neuritis) during the Vietnam era, and four years as a political staffer. After a stint with the Justice Department, he ran for the Judge position in Jefferson County. He has, with the exception of a couple years in the seventies, spent his entire working life as a career politician.
Pushing the Envelope
Amy McGrath was born while McConnell was in the Justice Department. She grew up in Northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Childhood visits to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, inspired her to want to fly in the military. As a middle school student, she discovered women weren’t allowed to fly in combat.
She wrote her Senators (one was McConnell), and all of the Congressmen on the Armed Services Committee. While McConnell never responded, Democrat Congresswoman Pat Schroeder wrote back, encouraging McGrath to follow her dream. McGrath won a nomination to the US Naval Academy in 1993, the same year that Congress lifted the ban on women becoming fighter pilots.
Graduating from the Academy, she took a commission in the Marine Corps, and became a Weapons System Officer in F-18 fighters. She flew fifty-one missions in Afghanistan, provided air support in Iraq, and, after corrective eye surgery, earned her pilot’s wings. McGrath became the first woman to pilot a combat mission in the Marines during her second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
McGrath also earned a Masters Degree in International and Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She retired from the Marines after twenty years of service, ending her career as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 2017 she ran for Congress in Kentucky’s 6thCongressional District around Lexington, losing to Republican Andy Barr by less than 10,000 votes or 3.3%. Barr won with 60% of the vote in the prior two elections.
Changing Washington
Amy McGrath announced her candidacy for the Senate on Twitter:
I’m running to replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate. Everything that’s wrong with Washington had to start somewhere—it started with him. With your help, we can defeat Mitch and defend democracy.
McConnell responded with a website entitled Wrong-Path McGrath calling her an “extreme liberal” and “just another Washington Democrat.” The website also claims that the retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel is “weak on border security.”
Running against the second most powerful Republican in America will be no easy task, but McGrath announced she raised $2.5 million in the first twenty-four hours after her announcement. McConnell has virtually unlimited funds to match against her, so it will be a highly publicized campaign.
McGrath has an additional issue. In 2016 Kentucky voted for Trump over Clinton by nearly 30 points, and he will be on the ballot in 2020. McGrath’s key strategy will be to separate McConnell from Trump, citing McConnell’s inability (or unwillingness) to pass legislation that helps average Kentuckians. In a CNN interview she said:
“A lot of these things are being halted by Senator McConnell. Kentucky is tired of the swamp and the dysfunction and people in the state don’t like both political parties. Folks like Senator McConnell who have been around for 34 years are not the answer.”
Politics of the Senate
Kentuckians will make a choice for themselves and the rest of the nation in 2020. McConnell, the self-described “grim reaper” for any Progressive legislation, is the poster “turtle” for Congressional gridlock. His rating in Kentucky is poor; only 36% approve of his performance, while 50% disapprove. He is the most unpopular Senator in the nation.
Democrats know that winning the Presidency without controlling the Senate is a prescription for future gridlock. They need to recruit strong candidates across the nation. McGrath joins fellow aviator Mark Kelly in Arizona in challenging Republican incumbents.
Other vulnerable Republican seats include Cornyn in Texas, Perdue in Georgia, an open seat in Kansas, Collins in Maine, and Gardner in Colorado. Democratic candidates haven’t solidified for those seats yet, but Democrats need to make a “full court press” throughout the nation. This will not only increase the chances of Democratic wins, but also force Republicans to financially defend nationwide.
As the Democratic Presidential race narrows down, hopefully some unsuccessful candidates will return home to run for Senate. O’Rourke or Castro in Texas, Hickenlooper in Colorado, and Bullock in Montana would all be solid Senate candidates should their Presidential aspirations fail.
Great Candidate
Lieutenant Colonel McGrath is a solid candidate for Senate, with a great story, great experience, and realistic stand for her home state of Kentucky. She is the kind of Democrat that can win there, especially running against the “king turtle” of the real Washington swamp. She is exactly what the Democratic Party, and the Nation, needs.
