Mitch McConnell
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Mitch McConnell | |
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Incumbent | |
Assumed office January 3, 1985– Serving with Jim Bunning |
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Preceded by | Walter Huddleston |
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Succeeded by | Incumbent (2009) |
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Born | February 20, 1942 (age 65) Tuscumbia, Alabama |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Sec. of Labor Elaine Chao |
Profession | Lawyer |
Religion | Baptist |
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. (born February 20, 1942), is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky. A Republican, he was chosen by his peers as the Minority Leader in November 2006, making him the top-ranking Republican in the 110th Congress, which convened in January 2007.
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[edit] Early life and education
Born in Alabama to Julia Shockley and Addison Mitchell McConnell,[1] and raised in south Louisville, Kentucky, he attended duPont Manual High School and graduated from the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences with honors in 1964, where he was student body president. He graduated in 1967 from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association.
[edit] Career prior to the Senate
![Senate Majority Whip Sen. Mitch McConnell debates the issues of social security reform with his counterpart Senate Minority Whip Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) on Meet the Press on Tim Russert.](../../../upload/thumb/c/c1/MCDURBIN.jpg/300px-MCDURBIN.jpg)
McConnell became a member of the 100th Training Unit, U.S. Army Reserve, Louisville, Kentucky, in March 1967, during his final semester of law school, and reported for his six months of active service, primarily for training, in July 1967. Ten days after induction at Fort Knox, Kentucky, McConnell was diagnosed with optic neuritis. He was released from the military in August with an honorable discharge for medical reasons.
McConnell does not list his reserve service in his official biography and several articles have been written in Kentucky newspapers about the rumor that Sen. John Sherman Cooper actually intervened and assisted with McConnell's discharge [2]. A letter from John Sherman Cooper to the commanding officer at Ft. Knox is contained in the official papers of John Sherman Cooper, housed at the University of Kentucky Library.
McConnell gained experience on Capitol Hill as an intern under Senator John Sherman Cooper, later as an assistant to Senator Marlow Cook, and was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald R. Ford. From 1978 until his election to the Senate, he was the County Judge-Executive of Jefferson County, which includes Louisville.
[edit] U.S. Senate
[edit] Initial election and subsequent re-elections
In 1984, McConnell ran against two-term Democratic Senator Dee Huddleston and won by a razor-thin margin — less than half a percentage point. The race wasn't decided until the last returns came in, and it appeared that McConnell won only because of Ronald Reagan's gigantic landslide in that year's presidential election (Reagan won Kentucky by 21 percentage points). Part of McConnell's success came from a series of television campaign spots called "Where's Dee," featuring a group of bloodhounds trying to find Huddleston, implying that Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate was less than stellar. His campaign bumper stickers and television ads asked voters to "Switch to Mitch." Despite the wide perception that 1984 was a disaster for Democrats, McConnell was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democratic senator that year.
![Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell sits down with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to discuss the Senate Agenda for the 110th United States Congress after Democrats took control of the United States Senate by one seat.](../../../upload/thumb/a/ad/REIDMCC.jpg/300px-REIDMCC.jpg)
McConnell faced a tough reelection contest against former Louisville mayor Harvey I. Sloane in 1990, winning by only 4.5 points. He had a slightly easier time in 1996, even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the state. In 1996, Democrat Steve Beshear was unable to get McConnell to debate him. Bumper stickers were produced which read, "Ditch Mitch." McConnell's television ads warned voters to not "Get Besheared" and included images of sheep being sheared. In 2002, he was reelected with the largest majority by a Republican candidate in Kentucky history. On November 12 of that year, McConnell was unanimously elected Majority Whip of the Senate.
[edit] Republican leadership
McConnell was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. In both, Republicans maintained control of the Senate.
McConnell was first elected as Majority Whip in the 108th Congress; he was unanimously re-elected by Republicans in the Senate on November 17, 2004.
Sen. Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, did not seek re-election in the 2006 elections. After Republicans lost control of the Senate in November 2006, they elected McConnell to replace Frist as Republican Leader.
[edit] Committees
McConnell currently serves as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. He is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, a key foreign policy perch, and a senior member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and Rules and Administration Committees.
[edit] Political actions and positions
McConnell is a staunch conservative and a master of procedure, but no piece of landmark legislation bears his name. McConnell is widely considered a "kingmaker" in Kentucky Republican politics.
Although he is an ardent conservative, on one issue, Flag Desecration Amendment, he has distanced himself from the vast majority in his party by opposing the amendment.
Perhaps the only issue on which McConnell has a national profile is campaign finance reform, where he's known for having fought it at every turn.[3] McConnell spearheaded the movement against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (commonly known as the "McCain-Feingold bill"), calling it "neither fair, nor balanced, nor constitutional." [4] His opposition to the bill culminated in the 2003 Supreme Court case McConnell v. Federal Election Commission. He is considered a master of using soft money--a practice which has earned him the nickname "the bagman" in some Democratic circles. [5]
![Sen. McConnell listens on as newly elected Senate Minority Whip Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) comments on his desire to work with all 100 U.S. Senators on issues that face the nation.](../../../upload/thumb/2/2f/LOTT_LEADER.jpg/320px-LOTT_LEADER.jpg)
McConnell remains one of the strongest supporters of the American invasion of Iraq, which he considers a central part of the "War on Terrorism." He holds the view that the violence in Iraq is perpetrated primarily by al-Qaeda and other international jihadists, who would otherwise be engaged in terrorist actions within the United States. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on January 10, 2007 (after President Bush's announcement of an escalation in troop levels in Iraq), McConnell claimed that the war in Iraq was a "success," because it had prevented terrorist attacks in the U.S. since September 11, 2001. He warned that if the United States withdrew from Iraq, "the terrorists would come after us where we live."
In 1996, as a Senator McConnell, demanded that President Clinton allow White House aides to testify under oath. However, as Chris Wallace explained on April 1, 2007, his McConnell stance on Karl Rove and Harriet Miers testifying under oath in relation to the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy is contradictory. Wallace asked, "...in 1996, you were saying those White House aides should testify in open hearing. These were White House aides of Bill Clinton, in open hearing under oath. Why shouldn’t the same rules apply for the Bush White House and people like Karl Rove?" McConnell replied, "And what I’m telling you is the president’s going to make that decision."
[edit] Fundraising, contributors, and influence
In October 2006, the Lexington Herald Leader published a series of articles based on a six-month examination of McConnell's fundraising.[6] The paper reported that McConnell had raised nearly $220 million during his Senate career. Most of the money went to the campaigns of his GOP colleagues; in return, the paper said, those colleagues "have rewarded him with power." "He's completely dogged in his pursuit of money. That's his great love, above everything else," said Marshall Wittmann, a former aide to Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., and a Christian Coalition lobbyist in Washington.
The paper found a significant correlation between McConnnell's actions and his donors' agendas. He supported government action to help cigarette makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders, coal mine owners, and others who gave large amounts of money. McConnell has responded that he never allows money to influence him. His donors support him because they like his pro-business, conservative philosophy, he said, so it's hardly proof of corruption when he does what they want, he maintains.[7]
[edit] Personal
McConnell is a member of the Baptist Church. He married Elaine Chao, the current Secretary of Labor, in 1993, and has three grown daughters from his first marriage. McConnell's first wife worked as a librarian for a small college in the Northeast.
In 1992, McConnell teamed with the University of Louisville to create the McConnell Center.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/mcconnell.htm
- ^ "Senator's Discharge Questioned", Kentucky Kernel, November 1, 1996
- ^ Zachary Roth and Cliff Schecter"Meet the New Boss", Washington Monthly, October 2006
- ^ Speech to the House Appropriations Committee by Mitch McConnnell, May 3, 2001, on campaign finance reform
- ^ http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2000/03/roomgranny.htm
- ^ "The McConnell Machine", Lexington Herald-Leader, October 2006, accessed November 15, 2006
- ^ John Cheves, "Senator's pet issue: money and the power it buys", Lexington Herald-Leader, October 15, 2006
[edit] External links
Find more information on Mitch McConnell by searching Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- United States Senator Mitch McConnell official Senate site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - Mitch McConnell campaign finance reports and data
- New York Times - Mitch McConnell News collected news and commentary
- On the Issues - Mitch McConnell issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Mitch McConnell campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Mitch McConnell profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Mitch McConnell voting record
- "The McConnell Machine", Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader six-month investigation into finances of Sen. Mitch McConnell
Preceded by Todd Hollenbach |
Jefferson County Judge/Executive (Kentucky) 1978–1984 |
Succeeded by Bremer Ehrler |
Preceded by Walter Huddleston |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky 1985- Served alongside: Wendell H. Ford, Jim Bunning |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Al D'Amato |
Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee 1997-2001 |
Succeeded by Bill Frist |
Preceded by Harry Reid |
Senate Majority Whip 2003-2007 |
Succeeded by Dick Durbin |
Preceded by Harry Reid |
Senate Minority Leader 2007 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Kentucky's current delegation to the United States Congress |
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Senators: Mitch McConnell (R), Jim Bunning (R)
Representative(s): Ed Whitfield (R), Ron Lewis (R), John Yarmuth (D), Geoff Davis (R), Hal Rogers (R), Ben Chandler (D) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
United States Senate Minority Leaders | ![]() |
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Underwood • Robinson • McNary • Austin • McNary • White • Barkley • Wherry • Bridges • Johnson • Knowland • Dirksen • Scott • Baker • Byrd • Dole • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Frist • Daschle • Reid • McConnell |
Chairmen of the National Republican Senatorial Committee |
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Bridges • Brewster • Dirksen • Goldwater • Dirksen • Schoeppel • Goldwater • Morton • Murphy • Tower • Dominick • Brock • Stevens • Packwood • Heinz • Packwood • Lugar • Heinz • Boschwitz • Nickles • Gramm • D'Amato • McConnell • Frist • Allen • Dole • Ensign |
Persondata | |
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NAME | McConnell, Mitch |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McConnell, Addison Mitchell, Jr. (full name) |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Kentucky politician |
DATE OF BIRTH | February 20, 1942 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tuscumbia, Alabama |
DATE OF DEATH | living |
PLACE OF DEATH |
Categories: 1942 births | Baptists from the United States | Kentucky lawyers | Kentucky politicians | Living people | Louisville politicians | People from Alabama | Phi Kappa Tau members | United States Attorneys General | United States Senators from Kentucky | University of Kentucky alumni | University of Louisville alumni