Kentuckians turn on McConnell as economy implodes: 'Mitch better have my money'

On Tuesday, The Washington Postreported that Kentucky workers and businesses are losing patience with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as their economic prospect worsens.

"About five months after Kentucky reported its first loss of life from covid-19, its economy continues to sputter amid the coronavirus pandemic," reported Tony Romm. "Many unemployed workers say their benefit checks aren’t enough to afford their bills, and some here simply have stopped looking for jobs. Businesses say they’re also hemorrhaging cash, and local governments fear they’re on the precipice of financial ruin, too."

"The Kentucky representatives from the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and other labor groups had grown incensed with Mitch McConnell, their home state senator and the chamber’s most powerful lawmaker. For months, they said, he had been blocking much-needed congressional coronavirus aid, the kind of dollars that might help workers and businesses in the Bluegrass State struggling to survive financially," continued the report. "So they hit the streets on Thursday, drove down to McConnell’s Louisville office and started to circle the block, their 30 or so vehicles plastered with not-so-subtle orange and gray signs featuring a family-friendly rewrite of a popular Rihanna tune."

The slogan: "Mitch better have my money."

Business owners, too, are running out of patience. The report quoted Kenny Saylor, a self-employed trucker and lifelong Republican who says that "everything went south for me" in April and "I’m scared to death of losing everything." He blames McConnell for putting him in this situation.

McConnell has been a key obstacle in the negotiations for a new round of economic stimulus. He has opposed keeping unemployment benefits at their current level, and is threatening to kill any legislation that doesn't include a near-total liability shield for corporations that negligently expose workers and consumers to the virus.