Grimes Is Too Repug-Lite to Take Advantage of Mitch's Weakness

Watching her throw this race away has moved beyond frustrating, beyond infuriating and deep into disgusting.

Daniel Strauss

Kentucky Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has an unlikely but potentially potent weapon in her Senate campaign to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): Kentucky's successful online health insurance marketplace.

While the federal government's Healthcare.gov website has been plagued with problems providing ammo to Republicans, Kentucky's online health insurance website, called Kynect, has been hailed as the model for how state marketplaces should work. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) himself has said the marketplace's success has exceeded "far beyond our wildest dreams."

But Grimes has been hesitant to be as vocal as Beshear about Kynect or the broader health care reforms. So far, she has followed the playbook of most red state Democratic candidates.

"She has called for an extension of the grandfathering period to allow the people of called for an extension of the grandfathering period to allow the people of Kentucky to keep their current plans, as well as an extension of the enrollment period and mandate delay for all Americans until the federal website is fixed," Grimes spokeswoman Charly Norton said in an email to TPM.

Keep that up, Alison, and you'll lose the general before the primary is even held..

Is there no one in Democratic campaigns who remembers that the way to win is to establish your differences with your opponent? Especially if your opponent is the incumbent? That if all you do is say the exactly opposite of what your opponent is saying you can't go wrong?

If the election were held today, Mitch would win by 20 points.