McConnell And Grayson About To Throw Rand Paul Into A Wood Chipper

It appears that Trey Grayson has not slowed down at all when it comes to raising money.  In fact, according to one source, a recent push by the Beltway Bunch, with McConnell's encouragement, have been been helping him raise money in great lump sums.  Considering how quiet he has been, what might he be up to?

On our ICN6 program "Gridlock" with Patrick Crowley and Nathan Smith this week I opined that Grayson could probably not win against Paul's substantial lead without throwing Paul into a wood chipper (figuratively speaking of course).

Well that appears to be exactly what they have planned.  Grayson is preparing to rip Rand Paul to shreds tying him to his father's anti-war stance, his father's libertarianism and Rand's self created "outsider" dilemma.

It seems that Paul continues to be swimming against the current when it comes to various party functions.  His self proclaimed status as an "outsider" has created a growing impression among some party regulars that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

No doubt Paul has attracted a tremendous amount of attention and his views on conservative issues are clearly in line with those of the likely GOP voters.  And likewise Paul has been aided by Grayson's relative silence thus far in allowing the primary campaign to get pretty far along without Grayson becoming very well known.  But things are about to change dramatically.

According to one source Grayson and McConnell are about to spend their money in a two pronged approach.  On one hand Grayson will be portrayed in a positive light as the safest bet to continue the GOP fight against the liberal agenda.

On the other front they plan a destruction of Rand Paul the likes of which have never before been seen in a republican primary.  Grayson has been hoarding his resources, provoking Paul to spend money in rapid response ads and now is poised with a significant war chest to launch an all out assault on Paul in the last 6 weeks of the campaign.

Paul is having another "money bomb" today.  Unless he raises significant money to battle the onslaught which is coming his way, his charmed life may soon become a charred shell on a bloody battlefield.

This is going to get real hot, real quick.  Stay tuned.

Comments

[Jeff]

Grayson's approach is an old one that the Bluegrass has gotten tired of. I can go to Rand Paul's site and see issues. I go to Grayson's and I see links to a site portraying Paul as crazy. Grayson winning to me is unlikely, and if by chance he does it will probably be the quickest way to give the Dem's the seat.

[Marc Carey]

@ Arthur:

A "scorched earth" plan is rarely successful in the long run. I know exactly how Grayson could pull this off and very successfully but that's the kind of advice I usually get paid to give and he hasn't called. I do think though that he needs to look beyond May. Thanks for the comment.

[Arthur]

Marcus, wouldn't such an unprecedented attack end Trey Grayson's political career?

If he loses, he is toasted forever.

If he wins, he might lose the support of a fraction of the Rand Paul supporters for the general election, and lose it. Just a small fraction of pissed off Republicans can make the difference in a close election.

What do you think?

[Robert]

I anticipated Trey would resort to this campaign style two months out. Dr. Paul has been steadily plugging away at events all over the state talking to actual voters while Trey fiddles. Dr. Paul has stayed on message with the real issues (bailouts, govt. run health care, term limits, deficit spending and taxes) while Trey talks about Duke.

If Rand will stay positive these last couple of months, Trey's negative tone will backfire on him and Dr. Paul will win because the voters are sick of this crap from the Establishment.

Rand raised $250,000 today but now he needs his supporters' boots on the ground walking door to door. We've done a good job with that so far but if ever there was "Go Time" it's now.

[Ben]

I would rather support a candidate who is funded by tens of thousands of small donations from regular joes than a candidate who is funded by lobbyists. William F. Buckley said it best: "I'd rather be governed by the first 2000 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard."

[John S]

So much for the voters deciding who they want.

[Jeff Winston]

Never really thought about Bunning, but what would he have to lose if he threw his weight behind Rand?

Grayson calls Bunning a mentor, which initially lead me to believe Grayson would receive his endorsement, but the blatant Grayson/McConnell pairing could lead Bunning to say "the hell" with a Grayson endorsement, and endorse a guy who has nothing to lose (I really don't think Rand cares if he serves more than 1 term).

Bunning doesn't have anything to lose. He's a well-off, big family'd, retirement age gentlemen who has raised a fine family and been a distinguished servant of the nation. I don't see him as susceptible to political pressure. I feel as though he'll do as he damn-well pleases.

[Mel]

If Greasy and McConnell wait for the last moments of the campaign to label Paul as an antiwar leftist, this will be a fail because Paul will have already defined himself and his supporters grown attached.

[Frank]

New York and Louisianan. Yup, sounds like Rand's base is working hard today.

[John Jay]

I am intrigued by a possible Bunning announcement. I can't see him endorsing Grayson unless Grayson gets significantly closer in the polls, which I do expect to narrow. Bunning doesn't like McConnell, and it doesn't seem likely that he'd want to bail McConnell's chestnuts out of the fire, especially when doing so would alienate him (Bunning) from the tea party movement. That being said, I've learned to never underestimate the lengths to which the establishment will go to prevent a true outside from winning. I honestly think McConnell would rather have Lt. Dan win than see himself paired, like Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, with a fire-eating Jim DeMint-clone in Rand Paul.

[tall barb]

All the women at the mobile home park that I live in like Rand.

I personaly registered many of them to vote.

McConnell or Grayson is not at all liked here. They sure won't effect us.

I can't afford much but, I'll send something to him.

[Stephanie M.]

Glad I saw this article. I'm from Louisiana, & I've donated to Rand before; I wasn't going to today because money was tight, but after reading this, I'm digging deep.

[Mr. Scott Ryan]

This race is going to narrow.

The wild card: Jim Bunning.

What will he do?

If he makes an endorsement, one way or the other, it is a game changer.

[Jason]

New Yorker here, and Im giving money to Rand Paul, because AMERICA need the good of people like him to represent this nation.

Ill move to Kentucky if Paul Wins.

[Mel]

Marcus what amount of money does Paul need to raise you think?

[Mark]

I'm betting the "Unity Rally" doesn't happen if Rand wins.

[John Jay]

I think Rand has to watch his back very carefully right here. If he can raise a half million or so dollars today, I think he will likely beat off Grayson's attacks, but if he takes in a quarter million or so, he'll probably still be behind Grayson in advertising dollars. Voters don't like uncertain choices, even if they are better than an old evil, so Rand needs plenty of money to get out there and both fend off Grayson's attacks, counter-attack with whatever damaging material he's managed to dig up on the apolitical Grayson, and simultaneously run a ton of good-will, family, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-values ads to reassure the voters. I don't know if he has the resources, but he's ahead, so we shouldn't count him out. Incumbency isn't as strong an aid this year... Rand just might survive the wave against him.

One thing is certain, it'll be an interesting "Unity Rally" after the primary.

[Sik N Tarred]

And after the wood chipper breaks down ol Mitchiepoo can get Trey a job like he did Anne Northup.

[Johnny in Shelbyville]

Grayson and McConnell are progressive rino's and the people of Kentucky should be ashamed either one of them represent us! Grayson was a Clinton supporter in the 90's and I'm convinced if Hillary had won the nomination Grayson would have changed his party affiliation...again.

[OWB]

Running all of these negative ads is probably going to have an adverse effect on Grayson's campaign. Although it is a different state and a different office, Creigh Deeds wasn't successful with his negative campaign for the Virginia governorship last year. He kept trying to hammer Bob McDonnell on a thesis he wrote years earlier that was critical of working women. McDonnell responded by making ads featuring his daughters and their accomplishments. All in all, people who were polled there stated that they didn't like the mostly negative ads and weren't swayed by them. Hopefully, Kentuckians will react the same way to Grayson's negativity. Grayson is raising a lot of special interest money, and it will have an effect. However, having all of the money in the world isn't going to do anything for you if the people don't like you. If political contests were decided by money alone, Michael Bloomberg would be President right now.

[Steve H.]

I'm so going to get some beer and wings and watch this while giggling. Tee Hee.

[AlphaDog]

All that I know will be voting for Rand. Tired of the politics of McConnell and Grayson.

[BG]

Don't forget to mention how Trey is getting PAC money from lobbyists who got TARP money. That's out of state money with vested interest to take tax dollars as opposed to Rand's who want less government.

FWIW, Rand's on pace to raise $186,000 today.

[Proud Conservative]

I'd hate to have the job of selling Trey Grayson in this voter climate!

[Ole Boy]

Marcus,
Please check the actual amounts both candidates have spent before biting on the Grayson spin. It is actually Grayson that has burned through more dollars in the past three weeks than Paul. And it's been to little effect, judging the results based on last week's Research 2000 poll.

The Grayson camp is running on fumes and they know it. They've already used the wood chipper and it hasn't worked. They can continue to run the wood chipper, but that's not going to get Trey's own poll numbers out of the basement.

[Mel]

McConnell pisses me off.

[Tom Abrams]

Tom Abrams from Louisville - I really hope that the voters see through Grayson's attempts here. Rand Paul got popular by talking issues, and now they're just going to try and destroy him on political BS. Let's keep it about the issues. After reading this, I'm more likely to vote for Rand than ever before.