from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnellMcConnell has raised nearly $220 million during his Senate career. Most of the money went to the campaigns of his GOP colleagues. The Lexington Herald-Ledger said that in return those collegues "have rewarded him with power". "He's completely dogged in his pursuit of money. That's his great love, above everything else," said Marshall Whitman, a former aide to Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., and a Christian Coalition lobbyist in Washington.
A six-month examination of McConnell fundraising found a significant correlation between his actions and his donors' agendas. He has supported government action to help cigarette makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders, coal mine owners, and others who have given large amounts of money. McConnell has responded that he never allows money to influence him. His donors support him because they like his pro-business, conservative philosophy, he said, so it's hardly proof of corruption when he does what they want.<3>http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/15763570.htmPosted on Sun, Oct. 15, 2006
Price tag politics
Senator's pet issue: money and the power it buys
By John Cheves
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
WASHINGTON - In the early 1970s, Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr., a young and intense Republican lawyer, strode into the political science class he taught at the University of Louisville.
He didn't introduce himself to his students. He went straight to the chalkboard and scribbled.
"I am going to teach you the three things you need to build a political party," he said, and backed away to reveal the words: "Money, money, money."
Three decades later, the teacher has mastered the lesson like few in history.
An extraordinary political fund-raiser, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has used his skill to put himself on the brink of a remarkable career achievement. If Republicans hold the Senate in the Nov. 7 elections, he is expected to succeed retiring Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee as majority leader.
more...
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0610.roth.htmlThe Washington Monthly, October 2006
Meet the New Boss
Quietly, Senate Republicans have already chosen
Mitch McConnell as their next leader—because
Congress just isn’t partisan enough.
By Zachary Roth & Cliff Schecter
-snip-
A recent press conference at the Capitol, on the subject of energy legislation, gave some hint of the differences between McConnell and the man he will replace. Frist—a tall, immaculately coiffed, square-jawed Tennessee surgeon—seemed almost to glow as he preened before the cameras. Behind him and a little to the side, his deputy stood staring impassively into space. With his pale complexion and gray, shapeless suit, McConnell appeared to exist in black and white. When it was his turn at the microphone, he used a dry, deliberate, and slightly monotonous speaking style to praise a colleague for his work on the bill, then quickly stepped aside.
He may not look as good as Frist, but many observers expect a more efficiently run Senate under McConnell. “I think you will not see Harry Reid run ‘Roberts Rules of Order’ circles around McConnell,” says Chuck Todd, the editor of National Journal’s Hotline, and a veteran Washington political observer. Indeed, of the few legislative successes that Frist has achieved, two of them—bills making it harder to bring class-action lawsuits and to file for bankruptcy—occurred when McConnell played a leading role. And it’s no accident that both were among the most eagerly sought items of the party’s corporate backers.
McConnell will also likely do more than Frist to help Republicans maintain control of the Senate. Some observers say they expect him to pressure certain of his colleagues with safer seats to share more of their campaign funds, with the goal of preserving or increasing the GOP majority. Already, McConnell has created a program that solicits money from top donors and sends it to candidates in the most critical races. In November 2004, it gave the maximum $10,000 to every Senate Republican incumbent facing an even remotely challenging race.
If Republicans do hold onto the Senate—and they might not—McConnell will likely have a smaller majority than Frist has enjoyed. A leader hoping to get legislation passed would probably respond by being more conciliatory toward the minority—but Republicans didn’t pick McConnell because of his talent for conciliation. “I think he’ll be more likely to pick a fight,” says the Heritage Foundation’s Darling. With a confrontational Republican leader, a narrow Senate majority, and an unpopular, lame duck president, the next two years don’t figure to see much landmark legislation passed. Instead, if the past is any guide, Majority Leader McConnell will focus only on measures that support Republican power or drive a wedge between Democrats, and will do everything possible to keep campaign dollars flowing to the GOP. But if and when that happens, don’t blame McConnell. He’ll only be doing what he was elected to do.
-snip-
more...
For a look at key votes by McConnell over the last two years, try this WaPo link:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/m000355/key-votes/ 
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