McConnell stop in Bardstown shows his 2014 campaign up and running

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, listens to state Rep. David Floyd during the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Bardstown Country Club. The event was sponsored by the Republican Party of Nelson County and the Nelson County Organization of Republican Women. Click image to enlarge.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, 11 p.m. — More than 110 people encompassing the full range of the political spectrum gathered Saturday night at the Bardstown Country Club for the annual Lincoln Day Dinner, sponsored by the Republican Party of Nelson County.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie were the top elected Republicans who attended the event. Guthrie spoke briefly during the pre-dinner social hour as he had an event to attend back in his hometown of Bowling Green.

McConnell was accompanied by his wife Elaine Chao, former U.S. secretary of labor during the administration of President George W. Bush. The McConnells were warmly welcomed by a crush of well-wishers as they made their way to their table.

Though McConnell’s re-election is more than a year away, his 2014 campaign apparatus is in already in up and running. He left no doubt he is anticipating a tough fight ahead — possibly from within members of his own party. Also attending the dinner Saturday was John T. Kemper III, a spokesman for the United Kentucky Tea Party, a coalition of Kentucky tea party groups that hope to support an alternative candidate for U.S. Senate.

Following a short campaign video, McConnell received thunderous applause as he began his remarks.

McConnell noted under President Obama, the U.S. has had four straight years of trillion dollar annual deficits. He said the federal government has added more than 300,000 new jobs. “Washington is a boom town while everyone else has had a struggle these past four years,” he said. “Your government has been fattening itself up these last four years, and your children and grandchildren get the privilege of paying for it.”

Elaine Chao took time during the Lincoln Day Dinner for a photo. From left, Marissa Espinosa, Chao, K.C. Crosbie, state GOP finance chairman, Cheri Floyd, state Rep. David Floyd.

Addressing complaints by some that the Republican party has not been effective in Washington, McConnell explained that it is important to go for the victories you can win when your party doesn’t control the government.

McConnell took time to give a behind-the-scenes look at the year-end fiscal cliff negotiations that earned him criticism for raising taxes without any spending cuts.

The Bush tax cuts were set to expire Dec. 31st which would have resulted in the largest tax increase in U.S. history. The last thing Republicans wanted was for the tax cuts to expire on Dec. 31, he explained.

“But here was the situation: You had a Democratic president, you had a Democratic Senate, and a Republican House, and the President could get everything he wanted by simply doing nothing,” McConnell said.

There had been no progress on talks to avoid the tax increases during December. After House Speaker Harry Reid informed McConnell there would be no deal on Dec. 30th, it was then that he called Vice President Joe Biden.

“Now why did I do that? I did it because no action was not an option,” he said. “If we did nothing, everybody’s taxes were going up.”

Negotiations continued through the day on Dec. 31st, and at 2 a.m. Jan. 1st, the Senate approved a bill freezing tax rates for individuals making under $400,000 and couples under $450,000. The bill also established a $5 million exemption per person in the death tax, which he touted as a benefit to family-operated businesses and farms. “If you have a business or family farm, you won’t have to sell it to pay the estate taxes,” he said.

McConnell said he would have preferred a deal that would have avoided raising any taxes, but given the circumstances it wasn’t possible. “We have a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic Senate, but ladies and gentlemen, it was the best we could do.”

He acknowledged critics from within the Republican party who complained the fiscal-cliff deal lacked spending cuts. “I acknowledge that, this was strictly a tax bill,” he said. “But we’re going to have our opportunity soon enough.”

Those opportunities include the sequester spending cuts which will start later this month and the debt-ceiling negotiations later this year.

Why are spending cuts important? Citing a list of Western European countries with high debt-to-GDP levels, McConnell explained there was a correlation between countries with high debt levels and and slow economic growth.

McConnell said he believes the government needs to make the sequester spending cuts. “You can argue its still not enough,” he said.

“The transcendent issue of our time is spending and debt,” he said. “You can give the president all the taxes he wants and it won’t fix the problem.”

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