Mitch McConnell has a history of siding with big business over the interests of his constituents. But as an incident from 1999 illustrates, this isn’t a consequence of McConnell’s ideology, but rather of his relentless pursuit of campaign money. As this case shows, loyalty to McConnell is defined by a willingness of a business executive to write him a check, and if you who resist – even if you’re a powerful business leader – you get shut out.

Kentuckians expect their representatives in Washington to look after their interests, especially with so many serious issues – including health care, housing and education – facing them every day. Having “clout” isn’t enough; you’ve got to use it on behalf of your constituents, not out of state special interests or lobbyists.

Amid a deepening financial crisis, Americans have seen Wall Street get a bailout while they continue to struggle financially with high mortgage payments and mounting credit card debt. Kentucky, as of the fourth quarter of 2007, had the seventh-highest bankruptcy rate in the nation and had seen the rate of personal bankruptcies rise 85.4 percent since the first quarter of 2006.[1]  As of August, mortgage foreclosures in the state were up 37 percent over a year prior.[2]

Few issues have dominated an election like oil and energy did this summer. From foreign policy, to environmental protection, to the economic concerns of the middle class, candidates all over the country devoted a great deal of time to the problem of rising demand for oil and its environmental costs. Over the summer, Sen. Mitch McConnell joined in, observing that “there’s also little doubt … that the single most important issue facing Americans at the moment is the high price of gas at the pump.”[1]

From the 1997 until 2007, the federal minimum wage remained at $5.15, even as gas, grocery and other bills escalated[1] . The inflationary pressures were particularly hard on the 1,148,000 Kentuckians who, according to the most recent government data, earn the bare minimum.[2]  This was the longest period the wage did not increase since its inception in 1938.[3]  It should be noted that during that time the salary for U.S. senators increased nearly 24 percent.[4]

Every year, health care costs rise while insurance companies work harder and harder to deny benefits and exclude those with pre-existing conditions from obtaining coverage. Kentucky residents are particularly hard-hit, with 14.9 percent now going without any health insurance at all, and 17.1 percent without a specific source of ongoing primary care.[1]

In July 2008, Congress gave a “get-out-of-jail free” card to three major telecommunications companies – AT&T, Sprint and Verizon – that had handed over customers’ private telephone records to the government without a warrant. Civil liberties activists and pro-privacy organizations fiercely opposed this provision, which was included in the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Politicians are known to have big egos, but few in Kentucky have seen such institutional confirmation as Sen. Mitch McConnell in recent years.