It’s a tradition in Kentucky politics — the annual Fancy Farm — where opponents sling one-liners at one another. And this year was especially raucous as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faces challenges on both his right and left. Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes made a crack about McConnell’s unwillingness to get anything done in Congress, saying “If the doctors told Senator McConnell that he had a kidney stone, he’d refuse to pass it.” And McConnell linked Grimes to President Obama with a patronizing crack about her father, a former state Democratic party chair. It’s likely a sign of things to come in Kentucky, one of the hottest battles of the 2014 election calendar.
Voices of Reason? Republican governors are urging their GOP colleagues on Capitol Hill not to shut down the government in an attempt to block funding for Obamacare. Even opponents of the health care reform law say a shutdown would backfire, and Republicans would be blamed.
The State Department is extending the closures of 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and North Africa until Saturday. While there’s no new information about terror plots that may be in the works, officials are concerned by a heightened level of chatter.
Who’s the hottest person in America, politically speaking? A new Quinnipiac poll has the answer.
Finally, baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez is about to be suspended — reportedly for the rest of this year and all of next — for violating the league’s drug policy. But he’s expected to make his season debut today as he appeals his suspension. Bob Costas of NBC Sports joins us on Hardball tonight.
