Subject: In New Book, McConnell Clutches His Pearls at Reid's Rhetoric, Misremembers Own Nasty Streak and "Lack of Restraint"
From: Jeremy Funk <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 14:44:17 -0400

www.americansunitedforchange.org<http://www.americansunitedforchange.org>

In New Book, McConnell Clutches His Pearls at Reid's Rhetoric, Misremembers Own Nasty Streak and "Lack of Restraint"

From Politico PLAYBOOK<http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2016/05/mcconnell-torches-reid-in-memoir-out-may-31-rhetorically-challenged-becomes-bombastic-and-unreasonable-spouting-things-that-are-both-nasty-and-often-untrue-remembering-karen-finneys-dad-214377>:

EXCLUSIVE: MITCH McCONNELL in his forthcoming book, "The Long Game: A Memoir," out May 31<x-apple-data-detectors://4>, re Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid: "Harry is rhetorically challenged. If a scalpel will work, he picks up a meat ax. He also has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. In person, Harry is thoughtful, friendly, and funny. But as soon as the cameras turn on or he's offered a microphone, he becomes bombastic and unreasonable, spouting things that are both nasty and often untrue, forcing him to then later apologize.  "For example, [in 2005] he'd called then-Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan a political hack and later decided to enlighten a group of sixty students by calling President Bush a loser during a speaking engagement at their high school. This lack of restraint goes against what is expected from a party leader, and I was skeptical, at best, about the direction of the Senate under his leadership." Amazon pre-order -- $18.12 http://amzn.to/1q9dMBb<http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=95d0b757e8ca9fff4416cacfb8f50c07db1180aad2b1924a8eae3fc4f44a2ab2> ... The cover http://bit.ly/1RadPm9<http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=525613754a28ae14a94376e66f393b5584356fa8fd97be35b325d7fdf8a91e8b>

"Lack of restraint...expected from a party leader?"  Mitch, please. This is clear case of sour grapes at Senator Reid outmaneuvering<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/mcconnell-filibusters-his-own-bill-to-lift-debt-ceiling> McConnell on the Senate floor more times than he can count, not to mention a stunning a lack of self-awareness.  From signing the 'Dear Ayatollah' letter undermining the President on the world stage during the Iran nuclear negotiations, to laughably claiming the "expectation" of Republican Congress was responsible for the economic recovery they had no part of, to shutting down the government over Obamacare doomsday predictions that never came to pass, to defying precedent to hold a Supreme Court seat political hostage, let's take a trip down Unstatesmanlike Lane by way of Hypocrisy Road:

?  Mother Jones, April 9, 2013<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/mitch-mcconnell-ashley-judd-secret-tape-senate>: 'Secret Tape: McConnell and Aides Weighed Using Judd's Mental Health and Religion As Political Ammo; A recording of a private meeting between the Senate GOP leader and campaign aides reveals how far they were willing to go to defeat the actor/activist.'

?  Politico, Feb. 13, 2016<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/mitch-mcconnell-antonin-scalia-supreme-court-nomination-219248#ixzz497TuhtS1>: 'McConnell throws down the gauntlet: No Scalia replacement under Obama; The Senate majority leader's challenge to the president's nominating authority appears to be unprecedented.'

?  NPR, March 9, 2015<http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/03/09/391920282/47-gop-senators-tell-iran-they-may-not-honor-a-nuclear-deal>: '47 GOP Senators Tell Iran They May Not Honor A Nuclear Deal'

?  Politico, Mar 15, 2015<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/mitch-mcconnell-iran-letter-reaction-116080#ixzz497XSrNgO> : McConnell on Iran letter: 'I don't think it was a mistake'

?  McConnell, October 2010<http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/10/25/126242/mcconnell-obama-one-term/>: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

?  New York Times, March 4, 2015<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/us/politics/mcconnell-urges-states-to-defy-us-plan-to-cut-greenhouse-gas.html>: 'McConnell Urges States to Defy U.S. Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gas'

?  PolitiFact, January 8th, 2015<http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jan/08/mitch-mcconnell/mitch-mcconnell-says-economic-uptick-coincides-exp/>: 'Mitch McConnell says economic uptick coincides with expectation of GOP Senate takeover; Ruling: FALSE"

?  McConnell: "Irresponsible Not to" Use Debt Limit as Political Hostage, Jan. 26, 2014<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9CSvqYRQtU>: "What I'm saying is we ought to attach something significant for the country to [President Obama's] request to increase the debt ceiling...it's irresponsible not to use the discussion - the request of the President to raise the debt ceiling - to try to accomplish something for the country."

?  S&P<http://www.marketplace.org/2013/10/17/economy/raising-debt-ceiling/sp-shutdown-and-debt-battle-cost-us-economy-24-billion>: Shutdown and debt battle cost U.S. economy $24 billion

?  Mother Jones, July 15, 2014<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/mitch-mcconnell-says-workplace-sexism-over>: Mitch McConnell Declares Workplace Sexism Over, Says Women Don't Deserve "Preferential Treatment"; Claiming there are a "ton" of female CEOs, the senator says "most of the barriers have been lowered" for women.

?  The Nation, August 26, 2014<http://www.thenation.com/article/caught-tape-what-mitch-mcconnell-complained-about-roomful-billionaires-exclusive/>: 'Caught on Tape: What Mitch McConnell Complained About to a Roomful of Billionaires'; McConnell: "I want to start by thanking you, Charles and David [Koch], for the important work you're doing. I don't know where we'd be without you." ... After he lays out his agenda to shrink the federal government "across the board," McConnell says: "And we're not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals. That's all we do in the Senate is vote on things like raising the minimum wage."

?  Roll Call, Aug. 6, 2015<http://www.rollcall.com/wgdb/mcconnell-no-immigration-reform-bill-while-obama-is-president/?dcz=>: McConnell: No Immigration Bill While Obama Is President (Video)

?  Politico, June 14, 2009<http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-now/2009/06/mcconnell-obama-wants-a-national-rationing-board-on-health-care-019087>: McConnell: Obama wants a 'national rationing board' on health care

?  McConnell, March 23, 2012<http://www.nationalreview.com/article/294203/down-obamacare-mitch-mcconnell> : "[W]e now know that Obamacare has been one of the single biggest drags on job creation since early 2010."

?  PolitiFact, January 12th, 2016<http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/12/barack-obama/business-has-created-jobs-every-month-obamacare-be/> : Business has created jobs every month since Obamacare became law, Obama said in State of the Union; Ruling: TRUE

In short, give us a break, Mitch.

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______________________________________________________
Jeremy J. Funk
Communications Director, Americans United for Change
Office: 202.470.5878
Cell: 605.366.3654
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