Amy McGrath came to Louisville on Thursday, first holding a press conference at the Big Four Bridge, and then attending a voter registration event at Shawnee Park.
Forward Kentucky contributor Cathy Hill attended the presser and wrote up the report on it, while photographer Del Ramey attended the Shawnee Park event and got some good pictures to share.
McGrath press conference
Reported by Cathy Hill
In the shadow of the Big Four Bridge at a local press conference on Thursday, candidate Amy McGrath unloaded on Senator Mitch McConnell – with both barrels.
“With 190,000 Americans dead from Covid-19 and our economy in shambles, it is obvious we need new leadership,” she said, noting that the US House of Representatives sent a comprehensive Covid-19 emergency relief bill to the Senate in May, and that bill has sat on Sen. McConnell’s desk ever since. “Sen. McConnell knew about this disaster all summer and yet he ducked his responsibility – he did nothing about it,” she stated.
A belated bill that is now being considered in the Senate is woefully inadequate for what this country needs, she said. “It has no money for state and local relief. That means no money for police or fire departments. He is leaving $1 billion for Kentucky public schools on his desk. Mitch McConnell is responsible for this mess in DC. He owns it – and we still don’t have a plan to tackle the coronavirus.”
What’s more, this is the first time in 100 years that we have an international crisis in which no one expects the United States to lead, she added.
Asked about the president’s recent comments disparaging our troops, she said, having served in the military herself, that really hurts. “It is an outrage that our commander would say that, for people like me who have lost friends in combat. The Senate Majority Leader has not said one word about that and he hasn’t stood up to Russia either. At the very least we should have a commander and a majority leader who have our backs and treat us with respect.”
On Friday, Sept. 11, candidate McGrath plans to attend a memorial service in Louisville honoring our first responders and those we lost. “On Sept. 11, 2001, I was in the cockpit of an FA-18 in southern California ready to go. I was deployed three times to combat after 9-11. It’s an important day in our country’s history, an opportunity to take a step back, honor those we have lost and recognize how special our country is.”
McGrath at voter registration event
Photographed by Del Ramey
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