U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell riled up the crowd of several hundred at Saturday night's Republican Party of Kentucky Lincoln Day Dinner in Lexington when he promised misery for his Democratic opponent in the fall.

"Whoever runs against me is going to have a perfectly miserable experience," McConnell promised.

The state's senior senator said he expects his opponent to argue that Kentucky needs a "fresh face" in the Senate. "I'm going to argue that I give us a competitive edge in a highly competitive environment." 

To drive home the point, McConnell played a lengthy video highlighting his efforts to bring back big bucks for tobacco farmers, universities, parks, the Bluegrass Army Depot and workers sickened at Paducah's uranium enrichment plant.

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McConnell pointed to Secretary of State Trey Grayson's ability to draw 51 percent of the vote last November as "the first indication that Republicans weren't going to fold their tent or go away."

Then came "a game changer" earlier this month when Republican Brandon Smith won the Eastern Kentucky state Senate seat formerly held by Democratic Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo. 

"I couldn't go to sleep I was so excited about it," McConnell said. "I thought it was enormously significant."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has introduced legislation that would award the Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy movement leader in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Suu Kyi, who already has been given the Nobel Peace Prize, has been under house arrest as the military junta has tried to suppress pro-democracy efforts in Myanmar.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor bestowed by Congress.

McConnell is co-sponsoring the measure with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

"While the Burmese government continues its campaign of oppression and abuse against its own people, Suu Kyi symbolizes the peaceful struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma," McConnell said in a statement. "By awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal, we are letting the Burmese military junta and the world know that the people of America will continue to stand beside Suu Kyi to defend the cause of liberty. And we honor her lifelong devotion to the freedom of her people."

You can read the entire post on the Courier-Journal's Politics in Kentucky blog here.

Sen. Mitch McConnell was the keynote speaker at Friday's Lincoln Day Dinner in Pulaski County. You can watch video from WKYT-TV below, or on their site here.