This is JR Lentini, Andrew's campaign blogger. I wanted to share this with the OpenLeft community, and let you know that the next Senator from Kentucky is standing up for the Constitution.
Tomorrow, Chris Dodd will be standing up for all of us. While Mitch McConnell is trying to protect his contributors, Senator Dodd is working to protect our rights.
Andrew just posted this statement on our campaign blog:
As a Marine, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The FISA bill currently under debate in the Senate is a gift only to those who've violated our Constitutional rights. I strongly oppose retroactive immunity for those companies that helped George W. Bush illegally undermine our Fourth Amendment protections.
I take national security very seriously, but our nation's true greatness comes from our liberty and our laws, neither of which we can afford to abandon.
Senator Dodd is a patriot who understands we will always be better served by protecting our rights than by abandoning them. I urge every member of the Senate who cares about our Constitution to stand with Chris Dodd in opposing what is essentially a legislative pardon for the big telecom firms.
ANDREW HORNE ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR U.S. SENATE IN KENTUCKY
"I'm running for U.S. Senate because it's time for a change and because Senator Mitch McConnell is more than part of the problem. He is the problem," said Andrew Horne
Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, potential 2008 challenger to Senator Mitch McConnell, was kind enough to answer some questions that I had for him. The questions range from Iraq and veterans affairs, to civil liberties and torture. There is also a discussion of the performance of McConnell and the Democratic Congress, as well as his possible candidacy next year. If you like what you see, there is a petition to draft him into the race at DraftHorne.org. Here is the transcript:
Kentuckians don't like Mitch McConnell, and he is VULNERABLE in 2008.
Just as the last two Survey USA polls have shown, Kentuckians are starting to sour on their Senior Senator. Mitch McConnell's approval rating has fallen to 45%, while his disapproval rating has risen to 46%, the first time that any poll has shown his disapprovals eclipsing approvals.
There are a few races this cycle that are critical for progressives, and none of them are more important than the one against Mitch McConnell. McConnell is a very powerful member of the Senate, and has effectively outmaneuvered Harry Reid on the floor. He is leading a filibuster of every piece of legislation important to progressives, often substituting in weak amendments that sound progressive or right-wing amendments that force Democrats on the defensive. Fortunately, he's eminently beatable. Here are his latest SUSA numbers, courtesy of the excellent Ditch Mitch blog.
Approval/Disapproval: 48/44%
Let's briefly take a look at the dynamics of the data:
Among Republicans (34% of July survey): In June, McConnell was 73/22%; now he's 67/25%.
Among Democrats (43% of July survey): In June, McConnell was 38/56%; now he's 38/57%.
Among independents (11% of July survey): In June, McConnell was 67%/30%; now he's 39/53%.
McConnell's been severely damaged by the war, by immigration, and by his association with Bush. the war has turned the base of the Democrats viciously against him, his big business immigration stance and his meddling in a messy Republican gubernatorial primary has hurt him in conservative Boone County, and Bush is generally just dragging him down. More significantly, there are a host of economically populist issues that could be used to tremendous effect in Kentucky, including community college funding, education, and health care. The path is open for a progressive challenger similar to Jim Webb, though McConnell will be tough to beat and already has $5.7 million on hand. So who could that be?
Mitch has a record low approval rating of 48% and a record high disapproval rating of 44%.
Mitch thought that he would actually get bonus points for his oh-so-clever filibustering of any change to Bush's failed Iraq policy. The Webb amendment to give our troops the proper rest and rotation between tours passed easily, but Mitch voted against it and organized the filibuster. The Levin amendment passed, but Mitch again stood in the way, enabling Bush and obstructing any real progress in our Iraq policy.
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