She warned that McConnell would take away coverage from half a million people who can now get prescriptions and visit doctor.
Interestingly, while "ObamaCare" is unpopular, the state's health expansion, called "Kynect," actually is. McConnell has gotten himself in hot water before by trying to draw a distinction between the federal law and the state program. While he criticized Medicaid expansion, he responded when asked if he would do away with Kynect: "It's a state decision. That's fine. I think it's fine to have a website. Yeah."
Grimes criticized Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell for not realizing the "economic benefits" the state of Colorado has enjoyed after legalizing recreational use of marijuana, adding that she's "in favor of having the discussion, especially to reclassify the use of marijuana."
"We haven't had a senator who's even wanted to have those discussions though," Grimes said.
A spokesman for McConnell's Senate office, said in a statement later that "Senator McConnell is strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana as Kentucky families deserve no less."
A February poll of registered Kentucky voters found that 52% favored "allowing the use of medical marijuana in Kentucky," with 37% opposed & 12% not sure.
She then called for a "balanced" approach to dealing with climate change while preserving Kentucky's coal jobs.
The McConnell campaign responded to the interview in a statement, saying that the "Whether it was entertaining the legalization of recreational drug use, endorsing climate change or supporting gun control efforts at gun shows, she sounded exactly like the kind of partisan Obama loyalist that has been attacking Kentucky in Washington for the last six years," said a McConnell campaign spokeswoman.
During the interview, Grimes said she disagrees with Obama on "many issues." "Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell is the only one that doesn't realize that," Grimes said.
Grimes said she is a "big supporter" of the 2nd Amendment and does not believe that banning weapons "is the way to actually reduce the violence that we see here in the US." Instead, she said, the government should work harder "to make sure we educate people and that we enforce the law."
When the Herald-Leader submitted a questionnaire to the Senate campaigns in May, Grimes responded to a question about requiring background checks at gun shows by saying that she supports "reasonable background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill." She said at the time, "However, these efforts should not infringe upon the right of law-abiding Americans to possess firearms."
The minority leader used his speech to nationalize the race and paint Grimes as a tool of national Democrats. McConnell said, "There's only one way to change America in 2014. That's to change the Senate and make me the leader of a new majority--to take America in a different direction." McConnell repeatedly compared Grimes to President Obama.
The charge that McConnell opposed the Violence Against Women Act and equal pay legislation is central to Grimes' pitch to female voters. McConnell's team has pushed back, arguing that he was originally a co-sponsor of the bill and only voted against it twice because he felt one changed version of the bill went too far, and because once it was attached to a ban on assault weapons.
"Obviously, Israel is one of our strongest allies in the Middle East, and she has the right to defend herself," Grimes said. "But the loss of life, especially the innocent civilians in Gaza, is a tragedy. The Iron Dome has been a big reason why Israel has been able to withstand the terrorists that have tried to tunnel their way in.
"My hope is that a cease-fire can be structured. Ultimately, I think the long-term solution though is not one we can impose. It has to come from within. It's a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine."
[OnTheIssues note: Iron Dome is an anti-missile system, not an anti-tunnel system.]
"I have emphasized during my campaign the urgent need to halt the flow of good jobs overseas and to start bringing them back to American shores. It is critical to the fight to create good-paying jobs and strengthen the middle class.
"The "Bring Jobs Home Act' is a commendable proposal that deserves broad bipartisan support. It would end taxpayer-funded subsidies for job exporters while providing tax credits for companies that move jobs and business activities from another country to the United States. I strongly support the measure and would vote for it in the Senate.
"Mitch McConnell said it is not a serious bill. That is because he does not take job creation seriously. He is wrong. This is a bill that would produce good-paying jobs for Kentuckians and other Americans."
Grimes' campaign issued a virtually identical statement in February when the same federal judge ruled that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. This isn't the first time Grimes has seemed reluctant to discuss the issue: In August, she declined to express her views on marriage equality in an interview with Politico. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whom Grimes is attempting to unseat, opposed the ruling.
McConnell slammed the proposal as a tax increase because it was paid for by closing tax loopholes for Americans earning over $1 million annually. Warren has made a personal mission of targeting McConnell, Grimes' opponent, since he successfully blocked her bill aimed at cutting student loan rates earlier this month. "McConnell said when you got a choice between billionaires and students, it's more important to protect the billionaires," said Warren. "We fell two votes short. If you send us Alison Grimes instead of Mitch McConnell, you change the world."
The chair of the UofL college Republicans said, "Alison Grimes is using Warren's failed student loan bill, which relies on raising taxes on Kentucky's job creators by 30%."
"This is a very dangerous and concerning development in Iraq, and I will continue to monitor reports and evaluate new information as it develops in the coming days. Ultimately, this fight is up to the people of Iraq. I would not support the United States reintroducing troops in Iraq. The United States should continue to play a supportive role by providing useful intelligence."
In his letter, Marksberry said an unnamed person close to Jerry Lundergan, the candidate's father and a former Kentucky Democratic Party chairman, approached him about dropping out of the race. "They said that Jerry really liked me, and that Jerry takes care of his friends," Marksberry wrote. "And if Alison wins, there could be a favor owed to me." Marksberry wrote of his desire to see Grimes beat Mitch McConnell, so he proposed a deal, which fell through
"It just largely became a food-stamp bill with production agriculture kind of stuck on as an afterthought," McConnell told reporters. He also voiced support for work requirements for many recipients.
Grimes didn't provide details about what level of funding she would support for the food-stamp program. She said she hoped the negotiations would produce a comprehensive bill that includes food -stamp funding.
Grimes doesn't offer much for the green community to rally behind. She has criticized Pres. Obama for taking "direct aim at Kentucky's coal industry" and faulted proposed EPA carbon dioxide controls of existing power plants. Those positions aren't likely to be controversial in the nation's No. 3 coal producing state, but they don't mix well with the agenda of environmental groups.
McConnell has increasingly taken aim at the Obama administration's climate agenda, including chiding EPA at a public "listening session" at the agency's Washington headquarters. But before groups such as the Sierra Club dole out campaign funds, they first want to make sure that Grimes is close enough to their camp to overlook the differences.
McConnell said that his high-profile part in the deal that ended the shutdown and extended the debt ceiling had taken the air out of Grimes' message. "It steps on the whole narrative of her campaign," McConnell said.
The Grimes campaign fired back with a release that McConnell was still "Senator Gridlock," noting a number of past remarks McConnell has made proudly proclaiming himself a "guardian of gridlock." A Grimes spokesperson said, "It is an embarrassment that McConnell waited until the 11th hour to stop the manufactured crisis that he and members of Congress created. It is not heroic for McConnell to do his job and reopen the government. Kentuckians now have to pay for McConnell's Washington dysfunction."
The two statements were her first substantive comments on policy matters. Until now she has spent most of her time attacking McConnell as the embodiment of all that is corrupt and unproductive about Washington.
Grimes is one of five daughters in a devout Catholic family in Lexington. "I am a practicing Catholic," she told me. "But I'm also for separation of church and state. I am supportive of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. And I think that this is the kind of choice that has to be up to the woman, her God and her doctor."
Her suggestion: delay the imposition of the coverage mandate on small business, as the president already has done for larger corporations. "The mandate will not work for many small businesses in Kentucky," she said, "so I believe that a delay is the right course so that changes can be made."
She also blasted McConnell for wanting to abandon the law altogether, pointing out that the state's health ratings are among the worst in the nation, and that other provisions in the law will extend coverage to an estimated 600,000 more Kentuckians. "Unlike Sen. McConnell, I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water," she said.
"As the issues are going on, especially the ongoing negotiations and meetings, I look forward to having further substantive conversations with you about those," Grimes said. In a key procedural vote on Monday afternoon, McConnell voted against cloture, saying the immigration reform bill was flawed.
|
The above quotations are from 2014 Kentucky Senate debates.
Click here for other excerpts from 2014 Kentucky Senate debates. Click here for other excerpts by Alison Grimes. Click here for a profile of Alison Grimes.
Alison Grimes on other issues: |
Abortion
|
Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade
Govt. Reform
| Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
| Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!) | |||||||