The campaign entered a new phase this week, with Senator McConnell launching the first television ads of the general election. The ad deals with Bruce Lunsford’s record of fighting to raise Kentucky’s gas tax. Thanks to the record breaking support Senator McConnell has enjoyed this ad will be seen by voters in every market across the state.
Please take a moment to view this website: www.lunsfordgastax.com. You can see the ad there, plus read the facts about the energy debate taking place in this campaign. Make sure to share the site with your friends and check back regularly as it will be updated frequently.
After months and months of negative attacks, we are today beginning to set the record straight.
In addition to constant attacks from Lunsford in his primary campaign TV ads and his daily barrage of a negative rhetoric, Senator McConnell has been the victim of misleading attacks on the airwaves and news pages from Lunsford’s allies for more than a year. The Courier-Journal and The Herald-Leader have combined to run 139 negative editorial and opinion pieces against Senator McConnell since he became Republican Leader. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, Campaign Action Fund, Campaign to Defend America, MoveOn.org, Americans United for Change, Campaign Money Watch, and the Sierra Club are all partisan, liberal front groups aligned with Bruce Lunsford that have run TV or radio advertising against Senator McConnell since last summer.
Here’s what the newspapers have to say about Senator McConnell’s first ad:
“The automatic increase provision has kicked in each summer since 2004, bumping Kentucky's gas tax from 16.4 cents per gallon to 21.5 cents this summer after the most recent 1.5 cent-per-gallon increase took effect July 1. Since 2004, the extra pennies have cost taxpayers and brought into the road fund an additional $340 million, according to figures from the state budget office. McConnell's ad shows Lunsford in a recent press interview, saying, ”We changed the way we tax gas in this state that gave us a budget that can grow.“ – Lexington Herald Leader.
In the McConnell ad, a narrator says: "Gas prices are soaring and Kentucky's gas tax just went up again. Why? Nearly 30 years ago, Bruce Lunsford lobbied for automatic gas tax increases." Lunsford, as Brown's chief legislative liaison, did push for a change in the gas tax formula. At the time the tax was 9 cents a gallon; since then the price of gas has more than tripled, with the tax rising to 21.1 cents per gallon. The most recent gas tax increase was last month, when the tax went up 1.5 cents per gallon -- meaning that drivers would pay an extra 30 cents…on an $80 tank of gas. – Louisville Courier Journal.
Political Analysis
It is remarkable that nowhere in its flailing yesterday did Lunsford’s campaign deny that he fought for and supports an automatic, ever-increasing gas tax. As gas prices remain around $4 per gallon, Lunsford is in a terrible political position because his of own record on this issue and that of his party’s leaders in Washington who remain far out of line with the rest of the country.
Public polling shows a rapidly expanding number of Americans coming around to Senator McConnell’s position: “find more, use less.” While most of America clearly grasps the idea of supply and demand, liberal Democrat leaders in Congress remain in lockstep with the Sierra Club and other leftwing organizations that continue to drag the Democrat party away from the American people when it comes to America being less reliant on Middle Eastern oil rich nations.
Further, Barack Obama has yet to retract his statement that the only problem with $4 gas is that it happened too quickly. He told a reporter that he preferred a “gradual” increase in the price of gasoline. We presume Obama would love to have Bruce Lunsford in the U.S. Senate, as he already has a record of imposing a “gradual” gas price increase on consumers.
As you talk to people around the state, the central question is: who has a plan and a record of fighting for lower gas prices? The answer is simple:
Senator McConnell: voted against the last two federal gas tax increases in 1990 and 1993; sponsor of Gas Price Reduction Act to expand production and increase conservation and new technology.
Bruce Lunsford: fought for an automatic, ever-increasing gas tax; opposes domestic production; prefers to reinstate Jimmy Carter’s windfall profits tax, which during the 1980’s drove down domestic production and plunged the U.S. further in to dependence on the Middle East.
McConnell Secures Funding for Louisville VA Hospital
A huge story this week – Senator McConnell secured $75 million for the new Louisville veterans’ hospital. Even Democrat Congressman John Yarmuth praised McConnell’s efforts, which surpassed Yarmuth’s efforts by $30 million. Carlos Pugh, Kentucky state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called the approval of the $75 million "fantastic news."
"The veterans of the commonwealth welcome the money for the new facility, and we thank Senator McConnell and the rest of our delegation for all they do on behalf of Kentucky's veterans," Pugh said.
This is yet another story that drives another key message of our campaign – it would be foolish to trade in Senator McConnell’s clout to deliver for Kentucky for someone who could do but a tiny fraction of what McConnell has done for people and communities across the state.
Fundraising Follow-Up
Senator McConnell ended the second quarter of 2008 having raised $15 million, with $9 million in the bank. He raised $3 million in the second quarter.
Bruce Lunsford collected $600,000 in donations in the second quarter, and gave himself $2.5 million. He has just over $1 million on the bank. Lunsford has now donated more than $15 million to himself during two runs for governor and this U.S. Senate campaign.
The campaign will have to maintain its current fundraising pace in order in keep pace with Lunsford’s willingness to spend millions from his fortune.
Justin and Scott’s Western KY Adventure
On Friday, we left Louisville around 6:30 a.m. for stops in Elizabethtown, Owensboro, Paducah and Bowling Green. We are pleased to report excellent progress on building the statewide grassroots infrastructure that will help Senator McConnell and the rest of the Republican ticket turn out voters this November. Thanks to those who are helping put the party infrastructure in place for a successful 72-Hour Campaign. Get ready for an action-packed late Summer/Fall political season.
Scheduling Notes
Fancy Farm is Saturday, August 2, 2008. Make plans to show your support in far Western Kentucky.
Days Until Election Victory: 108
Thanks for your support, and prepare for an exciting campaign season!
