Protesters greet Sen. Mitch McConnell with heated questions
LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. – About 1,000 Kentuckians hoping to confront U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell about policies and appointments of President Donald Trump caught up with him Tuesday at an Anderson County Chamber of Commerce luncheon, with a few of them getting inside American Legion Post 34 to fire questions at him.
But McConnell brushed aside questions he considered hostile, including one about the recent deadly raid in Yemen and whether Trump ought to be impeached because of it.
► UPDATE: Protests expected for McConnell's speech in Louisville
“Thank you for your speech,” McConnell quipped, turning to friendlier faces asking, “Is there anybody who has a question?”
Outside the hall, beyond a fence and a road, the demonstrators chanted and waved placards protesting the president and the senator on issues ranging from environmental protection, health care, immigration, education and others.
Eddie Kennedy, a retired teacher from Berea, said, “I’m here because of an overwhelming concern that so much of America is not being listened to. I’m concerned we’re not doing enough for kids and education. It’s just a nasty, depressing atmosphere that Mitch McConnell is a part of.”
McConnell acknowledged the protests as he began his remarks to about 90 ticket holders inside.
“This country has been for about 240 years has been an open country where you can express your points of view as long as you do it peacefully," McConnell said. "And we’re proud of that. So I’m proud of those folks out there. They don’t much like what I’m doing.”
McConnell’s response to the demonstrators was, “Now I’m going to express myself. Why are they protesting? They did not like the result of the election....Winners make policy and the losers go home."
McConnell spoke for about 30 minutes, praising Trump's appointments and saying he shared the president's priorities of repealing regulations, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and reforming the federal tax code.
“Am I fan of all the tweets?" McConnell asked. "Use your imagination. But if you focus on what the president’s trying to accomplish and you believe America needed to go in a different direction, I think he’s been doing all of the right things."
A handful of critics who were able to get tickets fired questions at McConnell at the end of the program. But the senator resisted engaging them.
One woman lectured McConnell that market forces mean coal jobs are not coming back to Kentucky and then complained about other issues including too many people being on welfare. She concluded by saying, "If you can answer any of that I'll sit down and shut up like Elizabeth Warren."
That was a reference to McConnell's action earlier this month in invoking a Senate rule to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, during a debate over Jeff Sessions' confirmation as attorney general.
McConnell fielded a few friendlier questions and said goodbye as the few protesters inside - clustered in seats near the back of the hall - shouted more questions in vain.
One of them, Lisa Tobe, a public health consultant from Louisville, said, "I wanted to ask him what he was going to ensure that myself, my child and other people in Louisville, can continue to have health insurance...But he just didn't respond to anything he didn't like."
Many of the protesters said they plan to continue demonstrating at McConnell speeches and town hall meetings indefinitely.
Afterwards, during a brief session with reporters, McConnell did separate himself from Trump regarding the role of the press. "I like you guys. I know what your job is..." McConnell said. "I think the press serves a very important function in our country, we need to have people looking at us and raising tough questions."
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