The Long Game

by Mitch McConnell

  My parents, A. M. and Dean McConnell, on their wedding day, September 20, 1940. They had met in Birmingham, Alabama, and my dad was persistent in their courtship, convincing Mom to call off an engagement and follow him to Houston, where the photo was taken.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  Age four, having come through my ordeal with polio happy and healthy, all thanks to my mother.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With my dad in front of Mom’s sister’s house in Five Points, Alabama, 1944, where I would soon be stricken by polio and from where I would regularly travel the fifty-nine miles to Warm Springs, Georgia, for treatment. Dad was home on leave from basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas. He entered combat in March of 1945 and remained in the fight until the end of the war in Europe—VE Day, May 8, 1945.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  Fifth-grade class photo at James L. Fleming Elementary School in Augusta, Georgia, where my dad had been transferred after the war. Note the “I Like Ike” pin affixed to my collar. Four years later I would watch both party conventions gavel to gavel, including the one that renominated Ike.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With the baseball glove I bought partly with money made mowing lawns in Augusta in 1955. (Dad and I split the cost.) Together, my father and I attended no fewer than thirty-five Augusta Tigers games that summer. This was also the year my favorite team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, won its only World Series title. I would later attend the same Louisville high school that Dodgers captain Pee Wee Reese graduated from some years before.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  My 1960 high school graduation photo from duPont Manual High School, then the largest public high school in Kentucky. At the time of the photo I had been elected student body president after a come-from-behind win powered by endorsements I’d lined up from cheerleaders and jocks.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With Barry Goldwater at the University of Louisville in the fall of 1962. As president of the College Republicans, I was stunned when Goldwater accepted my invitation to speak to the U of L student body, but then realized that as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (which I later ran myself), Goldwater was likely already planning to be in town to campaign for Republican senator Thruston Morton. Years later, Goldwater and I would overlap in the Senate during my first two and his last two years in office.

  Originally published in Thoroughbred 1963

  As an intern for Congressman Gene Snyder in the summer of 1963 after my junior year in college. The highlight of the summer was witnessing Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the US Capitol. I couldn’t hear a word, but the moment was unforgettable.

  Louisville Cardinal

  Ceremonial swearing-in by Vice President George H. W. Bush for my first term on January 3, 1985, with my parents and daughters. From left, Elly, twelve; Claire, nine; Dean; AM; and Porter, six. I have used the large family Bible acquired in 1904 by my grandparents, Mamie and Big Dad, each time I’ve been sworn in for a new term.

  Louisville Courier-Journal

  With my role model Senator John Sherman Cooper during my first term. I won Cooper’s Senate seat two decades after interning in his office. A close friend and Georgetown neighbor of JFK’s, Cooper was appointed to sit on the Warren Commission by LBJ.

  Louisville Courier-Journal

  Answering questions in El Salvador with an election oversight team I chaired at the request of President Bush in 1989.

  US Department of State

  A 1996 cartoon from my hometown paper. Many of the most cutting cartoons about me over the years now hang on my office wall in Washington. This one relates to a response I published attacking a columnist for criticizing Elaine.

  Louisville Courier-Journal

  Greeting President Reagan with Elaine Chao sometime during our courtship and toward the end of Reagan’s second term.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With Senator John McCain debating campaign finance reform on Meet the Press in 1997. McCain and I were bitter foes on the issue, but have become close friends over the years and teamed up on many other important issues since.

  Richard Ellis

  On the West Front of the Capitol prior to the swearing-in of President George W. Bush. As chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, I was the first person to officially introduce Bush to the nation as America’s forty-third president.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  In Afghanistan in the fall of 2003 with members of the Kentucky National Guard and the Kentucky state flag. This was the first of nine trips to Afghanistan and six to Iraq since the 9/11 attacks.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With General David Petraeus in my Capitol office around the time I enlisted him to help sell President Bush’s surge strategy to a new Democratic majority. It was a tough sell, since Democrats had just claimed the majority, they believed, for opposing the president’s actions in Iraq.

  Photo courtesy of General David Petraeus

  With Ted Kennedy at the McConnell Center in Louisville in 2006. Kennedy added a personal touch by bringing a framed photo of his brother Jack and Senator Cooper. On it he wrote, “To the McConnell Scholars, With great respect and warmest wishes to the past, present and future McConnell Scholars in their pursuit of leadership, statesmanship and service. I know how much President Kennedy admired John Sherman Cooper in the Senate, and so did I. Mitch McConnell is part of that great Kentucky tradition of public service, and it’s a privilege to serve with him today (not that we always agree on the issues).”

  McConnell Center at the University of Louisville

  Speaking at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic in far western Kentucky in 2010. A Kentucky tradition dating from the 1880s and a must for aspiring statewide politicians, Fancy Farm has featured two vice presidential candidates and countless other politicians over the years. Hosted by a local Catholic church, it was once described by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest picnic.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  With my tailgating buddies outside Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium watching Louisville play Syracuse in 2011. Louisville won the game 27–10.

  Kelley Abell

  With columnists George Will and Charles Krauthammer in the Fox News studio in Washington, DC, having one of our frequent discussions about the Washington Nationals. Few things mix better than politics and baseball.

  US Senator Mitch McConnell Archives

  Meeting Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in person for the first time in early 2012 at her home in Rangoon after two decades of indirect communication. Suu Kyi would visit the McConnell Center later that year.

  Brian P. Monahan, MD, MACP

  At the Campbellsville, Kentucky, annual Fourth of July parade with Elaine on a typical Saturday during my 2014 campaign. A fantastic campaigner, Elaine has become a source of strength and encouragement on the trail and a fixture around the commonwealth.

  Shane Noem

  The moment when we learned Joni Ernst had won her race in Iowa and I would be majority leader. Pictured from left are Kyle Simmons, Stef Muchow, Terry Carmack, John Ashbrook, and my campaign manager, Josh Holmes. Josh’s wife, Blair, snapped the photo at just the right moment.

  Blair Holmes

  President Barack Obama outside the Oval Office on the West Colonnade with the new majority leader of the Senate, November 7, 2014. As usual, the president is doing most of the talking.

  Whitehouse.gov / CCA license

  Acknowledgments

  It would take more pages than I have to thank every one of the people who have had an impact on my life, but I would like to single out a few. First and foremost, my late parents, A. M. a
nd Dean McConnell. Nothing has meant more to me than their abiding love and support; and it was only through applying the lessons they taught me early in life—how to overcome adversity, tenacity, standing up for myself—that the long game was possible.

  I would also like to thank my wife, Elaine. I’m so lucky to have her at my side every day. She has made my life far richer and happier than I’d ever thought possible. Not only is she an incredible wife, she is also one of the best campaigners I’ve met. I’d be lost without her.

  I’m grateful to—and exceedingly proud of—my three daughters and their families: Elly, and her new daughter Rowan; Claire and her husband, Richard; and Porter, Tom, and Charlie. My daughters have enriched my life in so many ways, and have been a constant source of joy and inspiration throughout the years. They’re such good kids and mean more to me than I can say.

  Elaine’s parents, Dr. James S. C. Chao and his late wife, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, have been a source of tremendous encouragement. Their coming-to-America story is an inspiration to those who come to this country seeking greater opportunities. I’d also like to thank my four sisters-in-law and their husbands: May and Jeffrey, Christine and Jos, Grace and Gordon, and Angela and Jim.

  I’d especially like to thank the team behind this book. Not one word would have been written if it hadn’t been for Bob Barnett’s initial counsel and belief that this was a story worth telling. Brian McGuire was integral in organizing my initial thoughts. Aimee Molloy, an extraordinary talent, brought uncommon professionalism, steely determination, and good humor to what seemed like a monumental task under a grueling deadline. Special thanks also to Adrian Zackheim and Bria Sandford at Sentinel for pushing us all to create the best possible book. And to Deborah Skaggs Speth, the curator of the McConnell Chao Archives at the University of Louisville, and Nan Mosher, who’s been a member of my team for almost thirty years, for their help with research.

  I’m exceedingly grateful to the members of my Republican conference, especially the class of ’14, whose election made me the majority leader; as well as the members of my leadership team, past and present, particularly Jon Kyl, John Cornyn, Roy Blunt, John Thune, Orrin Hatch, and John Barrasso. Additional thanks to Judd Gregg for his strategic vision in the early years of my leadership and Lamar Alexander for his forty-year friendship and shared respect for the Senate.

  I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for the nearly five hundred members of the McTeam who have worked for, with, and beside me through the years. While I wish I had the space to thank each of them by name, I would like to extend a special word of thanks to a few, including my chiefs of staff, who deserve far more credit than they either ask for or receive: Janet Mullins Grissom, a fighter and a trailblazer whose many personal sacrifices on my behalf early on are not forgotten; Neils Holch; Steven Law, who has been at my side with good counsel and good humor for more years than any of us would like to acknowledge; Kyle Simmons, whose steady hand and uncommon wisdom have been a constant in my life; Hunter Bates, another constant whose intelligence and decency helped anchor and guide us in many early battles; Billy Piper, a friend and trusted companion in many political foxholes; Josh Holmes, whose political smarts and great good nature make him a joy to work with; Sharon Soderstrom, a remarkable woman who (knowing she’ll appreciate the sports analogy) is the Willie Mays of legislative staffers; and Brian McGuire, whose versatility and rare gift with the pen have served me well in many ways.

  My deepest thanks also to leadership staff past and present. Don Stewart, or Stew, my deputy chief of staff, whose bold personality rules the Senate corridors and whose sound counsel commands respect; John Abegg, the lawyer’s lawyer who packs a potent political punch; Tom Hawkins, my national security adviser, a serious leader for serious times; Julie Adams, a grace note in the Senate. Thanks also to Rohit Kumar and Hazen Marshall, alike in their keen negotiating skills and affable personalities; Meg Hauck, the valiant-hearted warrior against Obamacare; and Scott Raab, who continues that fight and is one of the best all-round players on my team. Thanks also to Neil Chatterjee, whose gift for relationships fostered legislative wins. I deeply appreciate the contributions of David Hauptmann, Matt Kenney, Rebecca Fleeson, Brian Lewis (whose knowledge of campaign law equals my own), John Ashbrook, Dan Schneider, Moon Sulfab, Lanier Swann Hodgson, Mike Brumas, Denzel McGuire, Libby Jarvis, Malloy McDaniel, and Brandi White—all of whom are among the most talented people to work on Capitol Hill. More recent additions to the leadership office deserve thanks as well, including Brendan Dunn, Erica Suares, Brian Forest, Jon Burks, Terry Van Doren, and Antonia Ferrier. And to Stefanie Muchow, a keeper of confidences and a source of strength. Stef is the first and last person I’ve talked with at work for more than a decade. She not only keeps me on my toes, she makes it fun.

  I have been lucky to have the knowledge and help of two extraordinary floor tacticians as well in Dave Schiappa and Laura Dove.

  Over the years, I have been fortunate to have incredibly talented legislative and press staff in my personal office too, including recent departure Russell Coleman and current staffers Jennifer Kuskowski, Phil Maxson, Katelyn Conner, Elizabeth Strimer, Stephanie Penn, Justin Jones, and Daniel Cameron. Robert Steurer, my communications director, has been an anchor and a valued adviser for decades, and Reb Brownell has been an invaluable help in ways large and small.

  Robin Cleveland, my foreign affairs adviser extraordinaire from the early days, taught me about the courage of Aung San Suu Kyi. Tam Somerville guided us through the early campaign finance reform battles. Paul Grove has been a great help at the Appropriations Committee. Mary Suit Jones has been a trusted and longtime friend.

  Thank you to my team in Kentucky, including Larry Cox, an indispensable help and rock of support from the beginning; Terry Carmack, my state director and longtime confidante; longtime state staffers Patrick Foster, Sue Tharp, and Angie Schulte. And also to the director of the McConnell Center, Dr. Gary Gregg, whose intelligence and creativity were on full display at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute before the McConnell Center was lucky enough to pluck him away; Sherry Allen, the beloved den mother of the McConnell Center; and the 160 graduated McConnell scholars, the overwhelming majority of whom have chosen to remain and work in Kentucky. This group of young men and women have helped make me feel very optimistic about the future.

  As I’ve said more than once, you can’t make policy if you don’t win elections. When it comes to winning mine, I need to first thank Roger Ailes. Without his creative genius, I’d probably be an unhappy and unsuccessful lawyer in Louisville, Kentucky. Thanks also to Larry McCarthy and Rob Hennings, worthy successors to Roger on the creative side, who’ve been absolutely invaluable during my hardest-fought battles. Laura Haney, my finance director, has trekked with me from Pikeville to Paducah, and around the country, to make sure I had adequate funding to run my campaigns. Jan van Lohuizen has skillfully managed the polling in all of my Senate races. Special thanks also to Joe Schiff, who ran both my campaigns for county judge, and Larry Steinberg, who has flawlessly (and on a wholly volunteer basis) managed every penny raised in every one of my campaigns.

  My Saturday afternoons in the fall would be far less enjoyable if it weren’t for the dear friends who’ve been joining me at our tailgate parties for many years: Dave Huber, with whom I went to college, and his wife, Kelley Abell; the late Judge John Heyburn and his wife, Martha, best friends of forty years; Jan Karzen, another friend of forty years; Rich and Dee Kern, friends of thirty years; John and Bridget Bush; Jim Adams and his wife, State Senator Julie Raque Adams; Rachel and Shep Schrepferman; and Gary and Krysten Gregg.

  Very special thanks, of course, to Dr. Alan Speir, who I met on arguably the worst day of my adult life, when he told me I needed triple bypass surgery. He saved my life and subsequently became a close friend.

  I’d also like to thank David Jones, an inspirational community and business leader and the founder of Humana, and
Jim Patterson, another longtime friend and an extraordinarily successful entrepreneur. Both have been with me since the “Mitch who?” days. And special thanks to two good friends from my college days, Judge Chuck Simpson and Dr. Larry Cook.

  And, finally, my special thanks to the magnificent people of Kentucky who have stuck with me. In resisting all of the arguments for my removal over the years, it’s they who have made the long game possible, allowing me to do what I love on their behalf for a very long time. For that, I will always be exceedingly grateful.

  Index

  The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.

  Abegg, John, 160

  Abraham, Spence, 117, 119

  Abrams, Floyd, 150

  Abu Ghraib scandal, 156

  Adams, Julie, 197

  advertising and soft money, 114

  Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), 190–99