MARK LYONS/GETTY IMAGES
KENTUCKY’S
KING
“When he took over a long time
ago, Republicans weren’t alive in
Kentucky,” Baesler says. “Now
everything’s competitive. They’ve
even had a Republican governor.
That wasn’t the case until he got
involved a long time ago. He’s the
backbone of the whole thing. And
I wish he wasn’t. If he hadn’t been
with Bunning, I woulda won.”
McConnell had moved Kentucky Republicans a long way
from Cooper’s passionate defense
of Medicare. The defeat of the
practical, reform-minded Baesler
HUFFINGTON
08.11.13
had consequences for the state.
In his 12 years as a senator, Bunning’s most significant legislative
achievement consisted of singlehandedly blocking the extension
of federal unemployment benefits
in 2010. His hardline stance eventually became a standard negotiating position of the Republican
Party, cold comfort to the more
than 10.7 percent of Kentuckians
who were officially out of work at
the time.
Bunning’s Senate career will be
best remembered for his message
to those politicians who dared
to provide aid to needy citizens:
“Tough shit.”
McConnell
and his wife
— former U.S.
Secretary of
Labor Elaine
Chao — wave
to supporters
during a stop
on his 2008
reelection
campaign in
Florence, Ky.