McConnell vulnerable
2007-07-29
Source: Lexington Herald Leader
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell recently told CNN that his Kentucky constituents "overwhelmingly" support the war effort in Iraq.
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rss feedBut a poll conducted by The (Louisville) Courier-Journal in February found that 52 percent of Kentuckians wanted McConnell to oppose the troop surge, while just 40 percent wanted him to support it.
Two recent SurveyUSA polls also suggest that McConnell is misreading his constituents' minds.
One found that just 38 percent of Kentuckians approve of President Bush's performance, considerably less than the 53 percent who disapprove.
In the other poll, it was McConnell's performance being graded. And the 48 percent of Kentuckians who gave him good marks barely exceeded the 44 percent who viewed him negatively.
On CNN earlier this month, McConnell noted that Kentucky is the home of Fort Campbell and Fort Knox and added, "We've been on the point on the war on terror, and my constituents are overwhelmingly proud of the fact that we haven't been attacked here again since 9/11. And they believe correctly that it's because we've been on offense."
But being "on the point" of the war can take its toll, as Bo Ward, whose barber shop is the largest at Fort Campbell, recently told the Herald-Leader: "Soldiers are tired; wives are tired; families are getting worn down. I know these boys can't just pick up and come home from Iraq, but we need some kind of exit plan."
Do these poll numbers and the public's growing disenchantment with a disastrous war that McConnell continues to champion make the Senate minority leader vulnerable in 2008?
They should, and his recent flip-flop on an immigration reform measure opposed by many Kentuckians suggests that he's not taking re-election for granted.
McConnell is skewered daily by blogs on the left (DitchMitchKy) and the right (DraftForgy). He's already being targeted by TV ads paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a group called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.
In addition, the man credited with making Republicans a force in Kentucky now has alienated a segment of the party by failing to stand by Gov. Ernie Fletcher during his BlackBerry Jam hiring scandal.
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