A national conservative group says they are preparing to run negative ads against Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, accusing him not being supportive of the new conservative strategy to defund Obamacare.
In an email to supporters Friday, Senate Conservatives Fund Executive Director Matt Hoskins said the organization is “preparing to launch a statewide media campaign in Kentucky to expose McConnell’s record on this issue and to persuade him to lead the fight.”
“Mitch McConnell is telling people he opposes Obamacare while he refuses to oppose its funding,” Hoskins said. “We can’t let him have it both ways.”
A group of conservative senators — led by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — are pushing a strategy to not vote for a continuing resolution to keep funding the federal government unless President Barack Obama’s healthcare law is defunded as part of the legislation.
McConnell has not embraced the strategy, saying earlier this week, “I’m for stopping Obamacare, but shutting down the government will not stop Obamacare.”
Hoskins of the Senate Conservatives Fund has seized on McConnell’s comments, and says the ad campaign will hopefully lead McConnell to embrace the strategy.
“If he changes his position,” Hoskins said, “others will quickly follow.”
He told supporters of the organization that they “need to raise another $50,000 in the next few days to fully fund this campaign”
The ad campaign by the Senate Conservatives Fund is also notable because the group has stated that it is open to supporting Matt Bevin, the Republican primary challenger to McConnell, in next year’s election.
