Cervical cancer deaths haunt Mitch McConnell's Kentucky

While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fights Obamacare, environmental regulations and the EPA, his home state of Kentucky ranks 7th out of the 50 states for cervical cancer rates. At a rate of 9 cases out of every 100,000 women. (Source: U.S. Center for Disease Control)

On top of that shocking statistic, the DEATH RATE for Kentucky's women from cancer of the cervix is the 3rd highest in the nation after Mississippi and West Virginia, and tied with Arkansas and Louisiana. (Source: National Cancer Institute)

According to the Kaiser Family foundation, "Nearly all cervical cancer is caused by 10 to 15 high-risk types of a common sexually transmitted virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV)."

Perhaps Mitch McConnell and the rest of Kentucky's political leadership could learn something from Rick Perry's Texas when it comes to fighting cervical cancer.

In light of the recent Republican debate over public HPV vaccination programs, it is interesting that Rick Perry's Texas which has a much higher rate of cervical cancer cases (9.7 out of 100,000 or No.2 out of the 50 states) has obviously made some progress in fighting this life threatening disease.

Read more about health epidemics particularly cancer in Mitch McConnell's Kentucky
Kentucky leads nation in cancer deaths
Stroke deaths plague Kentucky
Could being the 7th biggest polluter be a source of Kentucky's cancer epidemic?
Mitch McConnell's Kentucky, sick and getting sicker
Jim Demint's South Carolina, average cervical cancer case rate but top tier in death rates from the disease

McConnell seeks green stimulus money after hit up by lobbyist

Despite opposition to Obama Administration's green energy and stimulus policies, Mitch McConnell sought money for Zap Motors at the request of a lobbyist and campaign contributor

Republicans Sought Clean-Energy Money for Home States
By ERIC LIPTON New York Times

WASHINGTON — On the Senate floor and the television airwaves, Senator Mitch McConnell has lambasted the Obama administration over what he has described as its failed efforts to stimulate new jobs through clean-energy projects backed with billions of dollars in federal loans or other assistance.

But Mr. McConnell, of Kentucky, is one of several prominent Republicans who have worked to steer federal money to clean-energy projects in their home states, Energy Department documents show.

Mr. McConnell made two personal appeals in 2009, asking Energy Secretary Steven Chu to approve as much as $235 million in federal loans for a plant to build electric vehicles in Franklin, Ky.

“I hope you will realize the importance of such job creation to Kentucky,” Mr. McConnell said in a July 2009 memo supporting an application from Zap Motor Manufacturing.

Federal lobbying disclosure records show that Mr. McConnell’s support for the project came after Zap Motor hired a Kentucky-based lobbyist, Robert Babbage, who has been a frequent contributor to Mr. McConnell’s campaigns and boasts on his own Internet site about his close ties to Mr. McConnell.

Read the rest of the New York Times article
Who owns Mitch McConnell? Read about the big money behind his campaigns

Kentucky bridge shuts down, McConnell down on infrastructure investment

While McConnell Opposes Infrastructure Investment, Major Kentucky Bridge Shuts Down Over Safety Concerns

By Travis Waldron from Think Progress.org

Sherman Minton Bridge in Louisville, KY

Yesterday, ThinkProgress published a report detailing Republican Congressional leadership’s opposition to infrastructure investments even as structural deficiencies in bridges and roadways persist in their home states. Among those is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, where 34 percent of bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

The Sherman Minton Bridge, one of three major bridges spanning the Ohio River between Louisville, KY and southern Indiana, was among the Kentucky bridges listed as deficient. And last night, the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed after further deficiencies, including cracks, were found in a load-bearing part of its structure. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports:

The Sherman Minton Bridge was closed late Friday afternoon and will remain shut down indefinitely after officials discovered cracks in the span.

But while McConnell insists that Republicans “agree that we must bring America’s infrastructureup to 21st century standards,” his recent record doesn’t show it. When progressives and Democrats argued that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should be geared toward infrastructure, the GOP under McConnell’s leadership fought to focus it on tax cuts. The Senate GOP derailed a 2010 jobs plan focused largely on infrastructure investment, and if McConnell’s post-speech rhetoric is to be believed, he will be at the forefront of the Republican Party’s opposition to this plan too.

Read the rest of the ThinkProgress.org article.