And now we come to the next chapter in the Saga of the Illegal Mitch McConnell Audio: damage control.
Courtesy of the helpful folks at the Associated Press:
The liberal super PAC from Kentucky that incurred the wrath of one of the country’s most powerful Republicans is an organization of outsiders that has barely raised any funds toward its stated goal of ousting U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell from office in 2014.
While super PACs active in the 2012 elections were run by savvy political operatives raising millions from well-heeled contributors, Progress Kentucky is led by what one former state Democratic Party official described as “just a couple of activists” who are more intent on making a mockery of super PACs.
Progress Kentucky, created in December, has collected about $1,000 and spent $18, according to its latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. By contrast, McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, has raised a hefty $10 million toward his re-election effort, according to his FEC filing.
“This has nothing to do with the party or even a group,” Chris Tobe, a former state Democratic Party board member, said in a statement to The Associated Press. “(They’re) just creating a national media buzz by bending or breaking the rules.”
Remember how the AP delved into Scott Prouty’s finances? Remember how the Democrats distanced themselves from him? Neither do I. He was hailed as a hero for the “47%” tape. These dimwits… not so much. Guess it’s only a David & Goliath story when you hit your target.
And note how they “incurred the wrath” of the big bad Republican. Well, yeah, when you commit a crime against somebody, he tends to get ticked off about it.
So now we’re supposed to dismiss Progress Kentucky because they haven’t raised much money, even though they were good enough for Mother Jones? Alrighty then.
Just last Wednesday, Paul Farhi of the Washington Post declared that David Corn and Mother Jones had probably “struck gold.”* Now they’re all trying to scrape it off their shoes.
It’s wonderful.
*Before they surreptitiously changed the headline, that is. They’re not very honest over there. Here’s the original:
Update: Every once in a while, I find myself agreeing with Howard Kurtz…
Was Mitch McConnell bugged, Watergate-style? Or was it just a clown show? daily-download.com/mitch-mcconnel…
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) April 13, 2013
“Clown show” is a perfect descriptor for David Corn and Mother Jones. But the linked article is just more “Who cares about these Progress Kentucky losers?” stuff. Under the bus you go, fellas.
Just further proof that the tape was a nothingburger. Now they’re on defense.
Update: Bryan Preston asks, “Why did David Corn run with a false McConnell tape transcript?” Well, why wouldn’t he? What’s the downside?