Charlie Owen's Response To George W. Bush's Louisville Fundraising Trip For Mitch McConnell

Charlie Owen sent this letter to many grassroots activists across Kentucky after learning that George W. Bush was coming to Kentucky to raise money for Mitch McConnell. It was a true act of desperation by McConnell, at a time when his preffered candidate for Governor, Anne Northup was struggling to raise money. McConnell asked George W. Bush, with his 36 percent approval ratings in the state, to come raise money for the Senate race, even though it was crunchtime for Northup, who had just been bounced from Congress because she was a blind follower to Mitch McConnell and George W. Bush:

“Senator McConnell recently described himself on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ as President Bush’s ‘strongest supporter in the Senate’. It therefore comes as no surprise that the President would visit Kentucky again to thank him for his unwavering loyalty and raise money for his re-election in 2008. They will together raise all the money they believe necessary to hold Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat next year.

“Many Kentuckians believe the country is off course. They believe the policies of the President, backed faithfully by Kentucky’s senior Senator, do not represent the best interests of our state and nation. The President and Kentucky’s senior Senator have led us into an ill-conceived and mismanaged war. Together, they have failed to respond to the worldwide challenge to American leadership in science and education. They have failed to address the country’s healthcare crisis. They have refused to set the nation on a path toward energy independence and to seek solutions for the world’s most important environmental challenges. They have irresponsibly increased the nation’s debt at the expense of the next generation. And they have failed to support America’s middle class which has seen flat to falling wages at a time of record corporate profits and executive compensation.

“It is time for Kentucky voters to examine the Senator’s unswerving support of this President, his partisan record and his take-no-prisoners attitude. It is time to examine his support of special interests in the development of American public policy. It is time to examine whether his directions for the nation represent our own.

“This is a transforming time for America. It is not a time for partisanship or gamesmanship. It is a time for serious people who will put country above party and the common good above all else. This is a time for ordinary and dedicated citizens to retake and renew America.”