Democrats would be wise to look for warnings that they are perpetuating a cycle of election losses from past losses. Lunsford was just recently endorsed by 2003 gubernatorial candidate Ben Chandler, who lost to Ernie Fletcher and has endorsed Obama's presidential campaign. Even within the Democratic party, Senator Clinton easily won Kentucky's primary.

“Every expert in America tells us that Americans will be dependent on fossil-fuels for decades to come. And until the day when we’re all plugging in our cars or using alternative fuels, Americans can’t be expected to shoulder the crushing burden of ever increasing gas prices. Congress has a responsibility to act, and that action must involve a comprehensive approach."

Mitch McConnell in a statement from the Senate floor.

Mitch McConnell is an ardent supporter of offshore drilling and accuses the Democratic Party of hindering legislation that would allow for lower gas prices at the pump and quicken the day when we finally end our dependence on oil and fossil fuels by politicizing the clean energy issue leading up to the Presidential Election in November.

McConnell is pressing for solutions to be made before the election, not after, and that the primary cause of the rise in oil prices is the increasing demand and static supply. This cause, he argues, can be remedied sooner by tapping into our offshore sources for oil, which will lower prices and boost the economy, and begin an increase of our investments in alternative energy resources.

Lunsford lacks credibility when it comes to winning elections on a federal level. He's run for governor twice and couldn't even make it through his party's primaries. This results in voters not having enough information to work with when it comes to his stances. McConnell has not only served more than 20 years as a senator but is also in good standing with conservatives and has moved up to prominent roles. We are familiar with his stances. However, during this cycle, he will have to distance himself from his close ties to the Bush administration.

Mitch McConnell is a true conservative. That is good news for the 60% of Americans who claim to be conservative according to the latest Battle Ground poll. In 2007, the American Conservative Union gave McConnell a score of 92 which makes him one of the most loyal conservatives in the Senate.

McConnell is firm on Republican stances such as being for offshore drilling, smaller government, and the privatization of social security. He is also pro-life and anti-gay marriage.

At a time when liberals may not only have the majority in the House and Senate, but may also claim the White House, a traditionalist is needed, if only as a check and balance.

Mitch Mitchell (R) has recently been praised by the Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC) for helping to stop a legislative effort by the Bush Administration to pass a bill which would have cut federal funding for nursing homes in Kentucky by up to $4 billion over the next five years, $770 for the fiscal year of 2009.

Mitchell was instrumental in drumming up opposition to the proposal, which was manifested in a letter written to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. The letter warned that the proposal would "jeopardize the significant quality improvements made by the skilled nursing facility (SNF) community in recent years as well as the ability of nursing homes to continue caring for high acuity patients. Because nursing homes rely on Medicare to make up for chronic underfunding by the Medicaid program - an average of $13 per day for every Medicaid beneficiary in nursing homes nationwide - it is critically important that Medicare reimbursement remain fair and consistent. We believe that if the Administration were to finalize its proposed rule, the ability of providers to care for our nation's most vulnerable population - the frail elderly and disabled - would be severely threatened."

McConnell has such a large fund raising edge that he has kicked 100K from his coffers upstairs to the National Republican Senatorial Committee where it will be allocated to other races deemed more in doubt.

I have liked the job Mitch McConnell has done for Kentucky. I am also a conservative, and hold the same beliefs on the issues Mitch has. I think a lot of the problems we have today are due to the Democratic control House and Senate. We need less government and lower taxes to help stimuate the economy and Mitch understands this.

As a Kentuckian, I consider it a privilege to have Mitch McConnell representing me in the United States Senate. He is a true patriot who fights to get results for our Commonwealth every single day.

Of course, every politician claims to “fight every day” for their constituents, however, I have always been of the belief that actions speak louder than words. If you keep up at all with all the happenings in Washington, it isn’t hard to see how effective Senator McConnell is. Whether it is a reliable news source reporting actual facts or one of our state’s two major newspapers trying to hide his efforts behind the power of the pen, in reality, it is not hard to see just how much good Senator McConnell does for Kentucky everyday.

ALSO- I cannot fail to mention what a true honor it is to have a Kentuckian serving as the leader of one of the two major parties in the U.S. Senate. Senator McConnell is a true statesman who has always worked hard and that is why he was selected by his colleagues to serve in this post. I know that Kentuckians realize how impressive this is and understand how beneficial it is to have our senior Senator in such a prestigious position.

McConnell (R) has released a new ad attacking Bruce Lunsford's (D) ties to a company associated with a veteran's health care clinic that offered "deficient care" to it's patients.

The ad claims that through Valor healthcare, for whom Lunsford served as CEO, the Democratic candidate "got rich the Wall Street way."

The Lunsford campaign has yet to respond to the ad saying that when the time is right they will offer a "vigorous" response. Inevitably, the Democratic candidate will have to as an aggressive smear campaign like this one launched by a GOP ticket has a proven track record of being highly effective once the votes come in.

Lunsford's best bet at this point may be to do whatever it takes to tie McConnell as close to Bush's fiscal policies as possible with whatever opportunity he gets between now and the first week of November.

McConnell Votes for Bailout

What a difference two days make. While many in the House appeared to buckle under constituent pressure not to pass a bailout bill, voters now are expressing their concerns about future borrowing and are warming up to a bailout. McConnell voted for the bill to prevent the further spread of the crisis.

After his vote, he told the stories of a few of his constituents voicing their concerns,

“Small business owners in Kentucky are writing urgent letters to my office saying that their interest rates are already skyrocketing and putting their businesses — and employees’ jobs — at risk.

“A woman in Central Kentucky wrote that she’s afraid she’ll have to sell off part of her family’s farm.

“A retired school counselor wrote to say she can’t afford to see her small retirement savings vanish.

“A small business owner in La Grange told me he’s worried about the effect on his business and his employees because, in just the past week, the interest rate on the loan he took out to finance his office building more than tripled.

“The current crisis may have its roots in the actions of a few. But its effects could potentially reach into every single home in Kentucky, and every other home in America."

Senator McConnell will need to be ready to explain his vote for the revised Wall Street bailout bill even if this doesn't put him in danger of losing his seat. There's also no telling what Lunsford would have done if he were in office right now; we can only speculate and any claims he makes are basically empty. The bill has yet to pass and McConnell is the one with the most responsibility toward his constituents for what happens.

Despite the near disappearance of his lead in the polls and despite the obstacles that the economic crisis has posed to his and any other incumbent Senator in the nation, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is aggressively responding to his rival's, Democrat Bruce Lunsford, attempts to play the market meltdown to his favor.

In retaliation to the Democrat's negative ads claiming McConnell received campaign contributions from big corporations and Wall Street firms and criticizing his vote in support of the bailout, Mitch McConnell defended his vote arguing that the bailout "isn't about a bailout of Wall Street, it's a buy-in, so can turn our economy around."

He then turned the issue on Lunsford via his campaign manager, Justin Brasell, "It is the height of arrogance for someone who has made a fortune playing the Wall Street game to now say that he does not like the system. Worse yet is that Bruce can’t even offer an opinion about how we should work to help Kentucky’s families navigate these difficult times.”

Lunsford has yet to say how he would have voted with regards to the bailout.