James R. Carroll, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal 3:42 p.m. EDT October 17, 2013
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks through the U.S. Capitol.(Photo: AP)
[h=3]Story Highlights[/h]
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell wouldn't do it. The political costs were too high.
That was the conventional wisdom among many political observers concerning the Senate minority leader and the chances of his involvement in another deal to end yet another budget crisis.
But Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican was standing on the Senate floor near Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announcing a bipartisan accord to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the federal government.
McConnell negotiated the deal to end the budget crisis deal because he had to, he said Thursday in an interview with The Courier-Journal in his Capitol office.
"The House couldn't pass anything. It became clear about 48 hours ago that the House was not going to pass anything," McConnell said.
It was the same situation, McConnell said, in December 2010, August 2011 and New Year's Eve 2012, when he played the deal-maker role to end earlier budget impasses.
"There isn't a stronger opponent of this administration than me. I don't like virtually anything they're doing," the Senate GOP leader said. "But when the country is in crisis, it's time for leaders to lead."
McConnell acknowledged that the shutdown has hurt the Republican Party, as many polls showed.
"Certainly, it has not been good for the party to be associated with the government shutdown," he said. "I like to use an old Kentucky saying, 'There's no education in the second kick of a mule.' The first kick of the mule came in '95 in that shutdown."
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Closing the government over the House GOP's demands to defund or delay President Obama's health care law "was a strategy that was doomed to fail," McConnell said.
"The tragedy of the shutdown was it took attention off the Obamacare train wreck," he said
Now, he said he expects the public to refocus on the program's problems. "That obviously benefits our party," he said.
McConnell would not criticize House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who failed to put together a separate budget accord among a fractious Republican caucus splintered by Tea Party conservatives and other GOP lawmakers.
But, McConnell said, "to say I had a weak hand has to put it mildly."
He offered a football analogy. "The way I look at it, I was on my own 2-yard line, the offensive line was pretty shaky, and the best I could hope was to punt to a better field position to live to fight another day," McConnell said.
His main objectives in the settlement were to hold the line against any tax increases and not to exceed the previously agreed upon spending limits under an earlier budget deal.
"But that's about it," McConnell said. "We'll be back at it in January and February. The differences between the two parties are still pretty clear."
He said he hoped Obama and the Democrats would negotiate over what he considered one of the most serious long-term economic problems — the growth in the cost of entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
He said depictions of him in the news media hanging back from budget talks as the shutdown approached were "just to try to embarrass McConnell."
"It bears no relation to reality," the senator said.
He declined to comment on criticisms from GOP Senate challenger Matt Bevin and some Tea Party groups that he abandoned conservatives in making the deal to reopen the government and hike the debt ceiling.
But he addressed charges from Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes that he "hid in the shadows" and created the shutdown, showing up late in the negotiation process.
"The whole rationale for her campaign," McConnell said, "is that I'm sort of part of the problem in Washington. I've demonstrated again within the last 24 hours that when the country needs an outcome, I'm the person who can negotiate with the other side."
Follow @JRCarrollCJ on Twitter.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks through the U.S. Capitol.(Photo: AP)
[h=3]Story Highlights[/h]
- GOP leader worked out deal with Majority Leader Harry Reid to end government shutdown
- McConnell says it was 'time for leaders to lead'
- He said shutting down government over health care law was 'doomed to fail'
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell wouldn't do it. The political costs were too high.
That was the conventional wisdom among many political observers concerning the Senate minority leader and the chances of his involvement in another deal to end yet another budget crisis.
But Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican was standing on the Senate floor near Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announcing a bipartisan accord to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the federal government.
McConnell negotiated the deal to end the budget crisis deal because he had to, he said Thursday in an interview with The Courier-Journal in his Capitol office.
"The House couldn't pass anything. It became clear about 48 hours ago that the House was not going to pass anything," McConnell said.
It was the same situation, McConnell said, in December 2010, August 2011 and New Year's Eve 2012, when he played the deal-maker role to end earlier budget impasses.
"There isn't a stronger opponent of this administration than me. I don't like virtually anything they're doing," the Senate GOP leader said. "But when the country is in crisis, it's time for leaders to lead."
McConnell acknowledged that the shutdown has hurt the Republican Party, as many polls showed.
"Certainly, it has not been good for the party to be associated with the government shutdown," he said. "I like to use an old Kentucky saying, 'There's no education in the second kick of a mule.' The first kick of the mule came in '95 in that shutdown."
Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
Last SlideNext Slide
Closing the government over the House GOP's demands to defund or delay President Obama's health care law "was a strategy that was doomed to fail," McConnell said.
"The tragedy of the shutdown was it took attention off the Obamacare train wreck," he said
Now, he said he expects the public to refocus on the program's problems. "That obviously benefits our party," he said.
McConnell would not criticize House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who failed to put together a separate budget accord among a fractious Republican caucus splintered by Tea Party conservatives and other GOP lawmakers.
But, McConnell said, "to say I had a weak hand has to put it mildly."
He offered a football analogy. "The way I look at it, I was on my own 2-yard line, the offensive line was pretty shaky, and the best I could hope was to punt to a better field position to live to fight another day," McConnell said.
His main objectives in the settlement were to hold the line against any tax increases and not to exceed the previously agreed upon spending limits under an earlier budget deal.
"But that's about it," McConnell said. "We'll be back at it in January and February. The differences between the two parties are still pretty clear."
He said he hoped Obama and the Democrats would negotiate over what he considered one of the most serious long-term economic problems — the growth in the cost of entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
He said depictions of him in the news media hanging back from budget talks as the shutdown approached were "just to try to embarrass McConnell."
"It bears no relation to reality," the senator said.
He declined to comment on criticisms from GOP Senate challenger Matt Bevin and some Tea Party groups that he abandoned conservatives in making the deal to reopen the government and hike the debt ceiling.
But he addressed charges from Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes that he "hid in the shadows" and created the shutdown, showing up late in the negotiation process.
"The whole rationale for her campaign," McConnell said, "is that I'm sort of part of the problem in Washington. I've demonstrated again within the last 24 hours that when the country needs an outcome, I'm the person who can negotiate with the other side."
Follow @JRCarrollCJ on Twitter.