The United Kentucky Tea Party is so incensed by a recent deal that raised the nation’s debt limit, without extracting major spending concessions from President Obama, that it is calling on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign.
Hardline conservatives are applying pressure on Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, as he faces a primary challenge from his right next year in the form of businessman Matt Bevin.
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In a press release, the tea party group accused Mr. McConnell of caving to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, when Congress raised the debt limit and ended a government shutdown “precipitated by the Democrats’ unwillingness to compromise on Obamacare.”
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
They said he lacks the the stomach for tough spending fights in Washington.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
“McConnell finds that debt ceiling fights are unpleasant affairs that require him to show courage and leadership, two attributes he lacks,” the group said.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
Mr. McConnell’s re-election campaign, Team Mitch, touted his efforts to diffuse the recent standoff as an exercise in legislative leadership.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
“For the fourth time in three years, our government careened toward a self-generated crisis that had the capacity to severely impact the pocketbooks of every family in America. As the government closed and we edged closer to the day the Treasury Department said America could no longer pay its bills, I stepped forward to see if I could find a way out of the chaos,” Mr. McConnell said in a Nov. 4 response on his campaign website to criticism from Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat and likely opponent in next year’s general election.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
“For the fourth time in three years, I helped broker the deal that ended the madness,” he said.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Tea Party Voices
