Bevin: McConnell’s ‘not a conservative’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) top opponent in the upcoming Republican primary on Sunday accused McConnell of not being conservative enough to stop President Obama’s policies.

“The man is not a conservative, not even a little,” Louisville, Ky., businessman Matt Bevin said on MSNBC’s “Up With Steve Kornacki.”

“To those who think he is, they’re not looking at his votes,” Bevin added.

Bevin, who has received support and endorsements from tea party groups, specifically called out McConnell for what Bevin said was a deal with Democrats to allow a vote last year on an appropriations measure that funded ObamaCare. McConnell pledged some Republican votes to end debate on the bill, which Bevin said shows that McConnell is not opposed to ObamaCare.

“It could not have happened without Mitch McConnell’s support, and that’s what he did,” Bevin said.

Bevin went on to say that McConnell has not stopped a single Obama-supported policy or nomination since the president’s inauguration.

Kornacki asked how optimistic Bevin is about Tuesday’s primary, given that a recent Kentucky Bluegrass poll showed him losing with 35 percent of the vote to McConnell’s 55 percent.

“That gap is going to close quickly,” Bevin said. “When McConnell ran 30 years ago, he was down over 20 percent with less than a week to go, and he won that race.”