Mr. McConnell Goes to Washington
A look back...
1984 – McConnell is elected to U.S. Senate, promising, “I won’t forget who I’m there to serve.” [Courier-Journal, 5/1984]
1985 – McConnell votes to cut Medicare – after promising not to cut it one year earlier. [S. Con Res. 32, Congressional Quarterly, 5/11/1985]
1986 – McConnell votes for amnesty for three million illegal immigrants. The US now has 12 million. [S. 1200, 10/17/1986]
1987 – McConnell uses taxpayer funds to buy book about prostitution. [Washington Post, 7/31/1989]
1988 – McConnell voted against making energy companies liable for nuclear accidents that are their fault. [HR1414, 3/16/88]
1988 – McConnell rents a home in Washington – after he promised to remain a Kentucky resident. [Courier Journal, 5/16/1989]
1989 – McConnell votes against a solution to the Iran-Contra scandal. [HR 4637, 9/30/1989]
1990 – McConnell donates thousands of dollars to Senator Larry Craig. Craig later…well, you know. [CQ Money Line, www.tray.com]
1991 – McConnell founds the McConnell Leadership Center. He won’t tell you who paid for it. [Lexington Herald Leader, 12/15/2004]
1992 – McConnell votes two times against a child tax credit for middle class families. [HR 4210, Vote 40, 3/12/1992; HR 4210, Vote 51, 3/13/1992]
1993 – McConnell has been in Washington for so long, he moves into his second home there. [Deed, District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds, Doc. No. 9300007926, Filed 2/4/1993]
1994 – McConnell says, “I am a proud guardian of gridlock.” [McConnell Remarks to the Heritage Foundation, as printed in Heritage Foundation Reports, 9/21/1994]
1995 – McConnell votes for tax cuts for the rich instead of Medicare and Medicaid funding. [S.AMDT 1357 , Vote 502, 10/26/1995]
1996 – McConnell votes for the first of many times against increasing the minimum wage. [H.R. 1296, Vote 58, 3/28/1996]
1997 – McConnell votes against protecting the Social Security Trust Fund. Now we use it to give tax cuts to millionaires. [S.J.RES. 1, Vote 14, 2/25/1997]
1998 – McConnell asks for donations from the tobacco industry in exchange for killing a proposal designed to combat youth smoking. [The New York Times, 8/31/1998]
1999 – McConnell throws “temper tantrums” at McCain. They accuse each other of corruption. [New York Times, 10/18/1999]
2000 – McConnell was first to suggest Cheney as VP. Cheney later shot an old man in the face. [Courier Journal, 8/04/2000]
2001 – McConnell votes to raise his own pay. [HR 3338, Vote 360, 12/7/2001]
2002 – McConnell defends Enron after scandal; says company had gone through “hardship.” [Courier Journal, 1/22/2002]
2003 – McConnell starts sending $600 billion to Iraq – instead of building bridges and schools here. [Associated Press, 10/7/2003]
2004 – McConnell votes against rules to balance the budget. National debt later rises to $9.5 trillion. [S.Con.Res.95, Vote 38, 3/10/2004]
2005 – McConnell calls bankruptcy bill “exciting.” The bill makes it hard for Kentucky families to rebound from financial hardship. [Los Angeles Times, 3/09/2005]
2006 – McConnell sends $90 million in taxpayer funds to Armenia – then asks Armenian-Americans for campaign contributions. [Lexington Herald-Leader, 10/18/2006]
2007 – McConnell uses taxpayer funds to smear a 12-year-old disabled boy. And gets caught lying about it. [Time Magazine, 10/10/2007]
2008 – McConnell blames others for high gas prices – even though gas prices rose to $4.00 a gallon under his watch. [Herald-Leader, 7/19/2008]
2009 – McConnell becomes highest-paid lobbyist in Washington.
24 years...
...is long enough!
