Bunning Is Running... Against McConnell

McConnell has wanted to dump Bunning ever since he first met his little Trey

Bunning and McConnell are ideological twins-- they both have ugly zero ratings when you look at how many times they have cooperated with President Obama's change agenda this year-- but instead of cooperating with each other for the good of Kentucky, they've been at each other's throats ever since Bunning detected that McConnell was trying to pressure him into retiring.

Bunning is widely viewed as unelectable-- his polling numbers are an absolute political death sentence-- and he can't raise money, is an awful campaigner and is a pretty advanced stage of senility. McConnell desperately wants to hold onto the Kentucky Senate seat so he and NRSC Chair John Cornyn have been strong-arming institutional Republican donors-- the kinds who appreciate Bunning's 100% obstructionist record-- into holding back the donations. At the same time, McConnell has been trying to get Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, another right-wing douche bag, to administer the coup de grâce to Bunning's played-out political career with a primary. Last week McConnell planted stories in the entire hackish Inside the Beltway media that Bunning had decided to retire and had blessed Grayson as his successor. Bunning said McConell was lying but all the reporters were told by McConnell that Bunning is too senile to remember what he says from minute to minute.

Today Jim Carroll and Joe Gerth reported on Bunning's latest media conference call and make it clear that Bunning has no intention of stepping aside and that he blames his woes on the detestable Miss McConnell.

“Good God, he wants to run everybody,” Bunning said of McConnell during a conference call with reporters.

Bunning contrasted his 2010 re-election bid with that of Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who last week bolted the Republican Party and joined the Democrats.

“It is the fact that Arlen Specter is probably as selfish as our leader is in trying to survive, that’s the only way he thought he would survive in the U.S. Senate,” Bunning said.

“Do you know Arlen Specter will be 80, has had four bouts with cancer and he still wants to run for the U.S. Senate?” Bunning continued. “And I’m being criticized at 77 and healthy for wanting to run for the U.S. Senate by certain leadership people in my party. Give me a break.”

Asked if the leadership he was referring to was McConnell, Bunning answered: “Obviously. Do you want me to spell it out for you?”

He said: “Do you realize that under our dynamic leadership of our leader, we have gone from 55 and probably to 40 (Senate seats) in two election cycles, and if the tea leaves that I read are correct, we will wind up with about 36 after this election cycle.

So if leadership means anything, it means you don’t lose… approximately 19 seats in three election cycles with good leadership.”

On the other hand, Bunning, who has been unable to raise much money, said he would abandon the race if he can't meet his fundraising goals (and there's no chance he will). Grayson, on the other hand and with McConnell's help, is raising money hand over fist. Remember, though, Bunning publicly declared that if he's forced out of the race because of McConnell sabotaging his campaign, he would consider retiring early and letting Democratic Governor Steve Beshear name a replacement, the ultimate revenge on McConnell.