McConnell Still Warring With Manchin Over Big 12 Bid

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is reportedly holding a grudge against U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-Wv., over a fight between their alma maters to get into the Big 12 Conference.Last fall, the University of Louisville was jockeying with West Virginia University to jump ship from the Big East Conference to Big 12 Conference. McConnell got involved in lobbying for the Louisville Cardinals, but the NCAA eventually selected Manchin's school.According to Politico, McConnell is still mad about the selection and the West Virginia Democrat's attacks. From Politico:Now, Manchin reports of maintaining a much “colder” relationship with McConnell, and some GOP senators said they’ve heard McConnell privately criticizing Manchin over his conduct.Things are so bad that Manchin and others in West Virginia suspect the GOP leader worked largely out of spite when he aggressively lobbied Republican John Raese to jump into the race for his Senate seat."People take things personally," Manchin said in an interview in the Capitol. “This is a bad place to have a personal vendetta, I can tell you that.”A McConnell spokesman declined to comment on Manchin.(SNIP)McConnell was nothing short of furious at what he believed were Manchin’s baseless personal attacks on his conduct alleging ethical impropriety as he pushed his beloved Louisville Cardinals.