McConnell, Paul rallies crowd

By Cheyene Miller

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Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell made his first stop in Louisville for his “Countdown to Victory” fly-around tour with fellow Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, urging voters to make him the “offensive coordinator in the U.S. Senate.”

“Victory is in the air and we’re going to bring it home tomorrow night,” said McConnell to a crowd of supporters at the Bowman Field airport in Louisville Monday morning.

McConnell told his supporters that they had the chance to make a Kentuckian the Senate Majority Leader, and that as “offensive coordinator,” he and his team would “put points on the board and take America in a different direction.”

Also speaking at the event was Paul, who is considered one of the top Republican potential candidates in the 2016 presidential election. McConnell said that Paul, who is often described as a libertarian, was “literally beginning to redefine what the Republican Party should be.”

Paul praised McConnell’s history of protecting the First Amendment, and said that a McConnell victory would help lead to a “repudiation of President (Barack) Obama’s policies.”

McConnell was introduced at the event by his wife and former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who called herself the “proud wife of the next Majority Leader of the United States Senate.”

Chao praised her husband and Paul, saying they had fought for Kentucky values and jobs, and he and Paul give Kentucky the two most powerful senators of any state.

Attendees at the event, including Kentucky Motorcycle Association member David Newman, were moved by the words of McConnell and Paul.

“We’re a freedom loving group, and Sen. McConnell has been a good friend of our issues for years,” said Newman, who said that KMA was concerned with highway safety for motorcyclists. “We want to retain him in the Senate position, and also have him step up as the Senate Majority Leader.”

Newman said that Paul was also a friend of the KMA, and that his views were in line with the association’s members.

“Our issues are pretty much ‘leave us alone,’” said Newman, who added that electing McConnell to his sixth term was his main focus rather than a potential presidential run by Paul. “We’re not there yet. Let’s take care of this and then move onto the next issue.”

Also in attendance was Jamie Finch, owner of a business development company in Washington, D.C., who said that he would be interested in a presidential run by Paul.

“I think there’s a lot of interest that’s starting to stir up,” Finch said. “The more that he gets out and the more that he’s talking to people, I think the more people that are going to become interested in him and his vision and his take on the issues.”