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Kentucky politics
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02/24/09 02:00 PM ET
It is hardly surprising that Senate Republicans are scanning the horizon for a strong candidate to challenge Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) in a 2010 primary.
We were going to explain this by saying Bunning is an accident waiting to happen, but that is not quite right — the accident, or accidents, have already happened.
True, the biggest of all has not yet taken place — the loss of his seat in the midterm election. But that is a clear possibility that the GOP, in another troublesome cycle, would like to avoid.
In 2004, Bunning won his second term with only 51 percent of the vote even though the GOP expanded its majority that cycle and an incumbent Republican president won fairly comfortable reelection.
That level of popularity, to put it kindly, does not bode well for Bunning’s chances 21 months from now. Nor does his fundraising. As of Dec. 31, the senator had just $150,000 cash in hand, down $25,000 from his total three months earlier. In politics, money is a measure of support, and Bunning has a dwindling supply of it.
Bunning has long been seen as a sour figure on Capitol Hill, but recently has suffered more self-inflicted damage.
On Saturday he commented bluntly on the recent cancer diagnosis of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg — “bad cancer … the kind you don’t get better from” — suggesting that she probably had little time left to live.
The senator apologized on Monday, but the damage was done — that accident had happened — and his image was further tarnished when it needed, rather, to be polished.
(Ginsburg returned to the bench Monday to hear oral arguments, just three weeks after surgery that a Supreme Court spokeswoman said had been a success. Ginsburg’s cancer was caught at an unusually early stage, the court said in a statement following the surgery.)
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) have both said they do not know Bunning’s reelection plans, which, given his repeated declarations that he would run again, is a broad hint that they would like him to step aside.
Cornyn is not spending money to help Bunning, as he is to help reelect other conservatives: Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La). DeMint, Coburn and Vitter have yet to draw top challengers, while several top-tier Democrats are considering challenging Bunning.
Bunning is complaining about this. But he is a notoriously irascible figure, and his Senate GOP colleagues could be forgiven for suggesting privately that he has only himself to blame.
We were going to explain this by saying Bunning is an accident waiting to happen, but that is not quite right — the accident, or accidents, have already happened.
In 2004, Bunning won his second term with only 51 percent of the vote even though the GOP expanded its majority that cycle and an incumbent Republican president won fairly comfortable reelection.
That level of popularity, to put it kindly, does not bode well for Bunning’s chances 21 months from now. Nor does his fundraising. As of Dec. 31, the senator had just $150,000 cash in hand, down $25,000 from his total three months earlier. In politics, money is a measure of support, and Bunning has a dwindling supply of it.
Bunning has long been seen as a sour figure on Capitol Hill, but recently has suffered more self-inflicted damage.
On Saturday he commented bluntly on the recent cancer diagnosis of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg — “bad cancer … the kind you don’t get better from” — suggesting that she probably had little time left to live.
The senator apologized on Monday, but the damage was done — that accident had happened — and his image was further tarnished when it needed, rather, to be polished.
(Ginsburg returned to the bench Monday to hear oral arguments, just three weeks after surgery that a Supreme Court spokeswoman said had been a success. Ginsburg’s cancer was caught at an unusually early stage, the court said in a statement following the surgery.)
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) have both said they do not know Bunning’s reelection plans, which, given his repeated declarations that he would run again, is a broad hint that they would like him to step aside.
Cornyn is not spending money to help Bunning, as he is to help reelect other conservatives: Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La). DeMint, Coburn and Vitter have yet to draw top challengers, while several top-tier Democrats are considering challenging Bunning.
Bunning is complaining about this. But he is a notoriously irascible figure, and his Senate GOP colleagues could be forgiven for suggesting privately that he has only himself to blame.
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