Sen. Jim Bunning (R, Ky.) just held a conference call in which he positively eviscerated his Senate leader and Kentucky colleague, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.). The Louisville Courier-Journal reports:
“Good God, he wants to run everybody,” Bunning said of McConnell during a conference call with reporters…”Arlen Specter is probably as selfish as our leader is in trying to survive, that’s the only way he thought he would survive in the U.S. Senate,” Bunning said.
“Do you know Arlen Specter will be 80, has had four bouts with cancer and he still wants to run for the U.S. Senate?” Bunning continued. “And I’m being criticized at 77 and healthy for wanting to run for the U.S. Senate by certain leadership people in my party. Give me a break.”
Asked if the leadership he was referring to was McConnell, Bunning answered: “Obviously. Do you want me to spell it out for you?…Do you realize that under our dynamic leadership of our leader, we have gone from 55 and probably to 40 (Senate seats) in two election cycles, and if the tea leaves that I read are correct, we will wind up with about 36 after this election cycle…So if leadership means anything, it means you don’t lose … approximately 19 seats in three election cycles with good leadership.”
I have heard talk of Jim Bunning announcing his retirement as soon as next week. But if he’s going out, he’s going out with a bang.